Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett, three of the brilliantly insane minds behind the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema o... more »f yesteryear as The Film Crew. Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary tracks, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, continuing with Wild Women of Wongo.The beautiful women of the lush, tropical island of Wongo think that the only men who exist are the ape like creatures that live on the other side of the island. Then they set eyes on a handsome prince from a neighboring island, where all of the men are equally gorgeous! Meanwhile, the beastly men of Wongo, on their way to select their mates, are unhappy about their new competition.« less
"Of the three Film Crew DVDs available at the time of this writing, this one seems to be the most consistent throughout, though let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed all three of The Film Crew DVDs and like to watch them repeatedly like a good episode of MST3K. The movie itself, Wild Women of Wongo, is less dark and disturbing than Hollywood After Dark (easy to do!) and less dull than Killers From Space (also really easy to do!), so while this is not saying much, it is a "better" movie all on its own than the other two from a light amusement standpoint. That said, however, no one is buying these DVDs for the movies alone, but for the hilarious Film Crew commentary that's been added and Kevin, Mike and Bill deliver some pretty good laughs on this one. Besides delivering great commentary during one of the goofiest movies ever made, the host segments are also very entertaining. I particularly liked the "lunch break" segment in the middle of the film wherein Kevin Murphy presents his map of how to get to Wongo and the final host segment in which the Crew says goodbye in the style of the final scene of the film is a blast. The extra feature, which recalls the "Dance...DANCE!" scene from the film also proves that these fellows still have a knack for physical comedy. Wild Women of Wongo is a forgettable little film that fails miserably at its deliberate attempts at humor, but The Film Crew turn it into an entertaining comedy treat in spite of that. Keep them coming, guys!"
The guys haven't lost a step...
Blake Petit | Ama, Louisiana United States | 01/20/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This was the first "Film Crew" DVD I've seen, and I was highly satisfied. Mike, Bill and Kevin haven't lost a single step since their days on the Satellite of Love, making with the funny just as much as they did back in the day. And boy, did they have their work cut out for them... this movie was ATROCIOUS. Stupid, sexist, superficial and lots of other negative adjectives beginning with "S" all apply to this clunker. With the exception of the skinny-dipping scene (yowza) there isn't a frame of film here that would be viewable to a sentient lifeform without the Crew there cracking jokes. This was a lot of fun to watch."
The Sgt. Pepper of The Film Crew DVDs (so far)
Wes Saylors Jr. | Boone, North Carolina | 09/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Beatles had 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and the Beach Boys had 'Pet Sounds'. And so it is with The Film Crew and 'Wild Women of Wongo.' Of their output so far, this one is the most satisfying through and through. As one reviewer said, the movie is just bad and fun enough to be watchable and Mike, Kevin and Bill are highly amusing as they riff on a film that looks like it was shot with a Super 8 mm camera on a public-access beach. Even the bumper segments are funny (Mike and Bill take lunch appreciation to new heights). I think, too, for me, the appeal is the fact that Mike and Kevin and Bill have some age on them. In a decade when comedy is represented by hair gel and those slim, black faux horn-rimmed glasses, these three still 'keep it real'. It's jeans and t-shirts and not the merest hint of hair coloring in the 'world headquarters of Bob Honcho.' Like MST3K, we never forget that this venture is home-grown and put together by talented people who are also friends. You can imagine them calling it a wrap and then going out together with their wives and sharing an appetizer at Applebees (though Bill did go to Yale and may not actually be familiar with chain restaurants). Film Crew and 'Wild Women of Wongo' is, to date, the best mix of bad movie and comedy talent. I am optimistic that things will continue to get better. After all, the Beatles managed to get in a White Album. And p.s. -- The Wongo good-bye as demonstrated by Mike and Kevin and Bill is hilarious."
DANCE!!!DANCE!!!!DANCE!!!!
Michael J. Brister | Lafayette, LA | 09/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"SO far my favorite by The Film Crew. This is the perfect film that was just bad enough to be watchable with the crew's humor. The guys from MST3K bring you their next project The Wild Women of Wongo where mother nature has separated the beautiful women on one island to be with brute and and the pretty men with the "non" beautiful women. One of the women reminds us of Chris Farley. The skits are a little dry as usual but most of us get it for the commentary anyway. The group also has Rifftrax. Downloadable commentaries for mainstream movies if you like the idea but find it too difficult to sit through. The DVD is exactly what it is, a bad movie with funny commentary to make it watchable. And remember Dance....Dance.....Dance. You will have to see to understand.... then again I still don't understand, and I am OK with that."
Lame movie, decent riffing, a nice treat for MST fans
Lemon Magic | Omaha, NE USA | 11/10/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have a fondness for cult cinema, but not when it is intentionally "campy" in the way "Wild Women" tries to be. Very few film makers can pull off "intentional" camp. Camp (and kitsch) are usually something that happen to a movie in spite of the earnest efforts of the creators, not something a movie can aim for, and frankly, "WWOW" stinks on ice. The least harsh adjective I could come up with for it is "genial". I wouldn't waste a moment's thought on it as a standalone film.But Mike, Kevin and Bill had chose it as the third selection in their comeback as "The Film Crew". So I was more than happy to support their new series with my hard earned dollars.
The riffing is...pretty good. Without the entire "Bad Brains" writing team to supplement their efforts, without the goofy robot personas to hide behind and the wild science fiction framing devices that made the the MST enterprise seem somehow larger than life, the Film Crew commentary just doesn't have quite the zip and freewheeling madness of MST at its peak. It's basically just a bunch of guys making dryly witty remarks off camera. Even the "bumpers" are scaled way down...instead of an intro, 4 or 5 skits and movie or pop culture parodies, the summary segment and the "stinger", we get a very mild intro, a "lunch break", a concluding segment and a "bonus extra". None of those segments look like they took more than 5 minutes to come up with and film. The net effect is like switching from a steakhouse dinner to an Arby's value meal...it's a decent product, but it's just not the same,
Still, this is Mike, Bill and Kevin doing what they do better than anyone else I can think of. It's close enough to the original to be enjoyable, and the crew does get off some good ones. I enjoyed this release a lot, and will await further releases with anticipation.