The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension (1984) is a film written by Earl Mac Rauch and directed by W.D. Richter that is one part B-Movie, one part Action Adventure, one part comedy, and one part political satire. -All the Tropes
Are you finding yourself taking life too seriously? It’s easy enough to do. I do it all the time. But, don’t worry we can remedy that. Here we look at a decidedly silly science fiction classic that should be in everyone’s home library. It’s titled “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th Dimension” and it’s funky strange enough to pull you out of your funk and set you down for some delicious movie time.
Why is this movie important at this time in our lives?
I personally wouldn't invest a lot of emotional energy in the hope that things will go back to normal. "Normal" is gone forever. Even before the virus the only consistent pattern we've been seeing is things getting stranger and stranger. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. - Caitlin Johnstone
The Characters
It’s so strange that you’ve got to love it.
- Buckaroo Banzai – Peter Weller! Brilliant particle physicist and neurosurgeon, he is also a martial arts master and plays in a band.
- Lord John Whorfin – John Lithgow! Evil leader of the “Red Lectroids.” Buckaroo vaporizes him.
- Penny Priddy – Ellen Barkin! The lost twin sister of Buckaroo’s deceased wife.
- New Jersey – Jeff Goldblum! A cowboy at heart, this neurosurgeon partner of Buckaroo is joining The Hong Kong Cavaliers.
- John Bigboote (Bigbooty! Hehehehe!) – Christopher Lloyd! Red Lectroid from planet 10, shot by Lord Whorfin for talking back.
- Rawhide – Clancy Brown! (He played Kurgan in “Highlander.”) Member of The Hong Kong Cavaliers, poisoned by a Red Lectroid.
- Perfect Tommy and Reno – Two of The Hong Kong Cavaliers. Tommy has some serious bleached hair.
- John Parker – Black Lectroid, sent to help Buckaroo save Earth before his people are forced to destroy it.
- John O’Conner – Vincent Schiavelli! (He’s been in lots of stuff, the teacher in “Better Off Dead” and the subway ghost in “Ghost.”) A Red Lectroid. Vaporized.
The Plot
There’s a plot here somewhere. It’s just a tad confused.
This movie has more famous people in it than most blockbuster films! Look at them all! Just look at them!
What we have here my friends is a seriously out in left field piece of work.
Buckaroo Banzai and his partners have just perfected the “Oscillation Overthruster” and it allows them to travel into the 8th dimension.
Why did we miss all the ones between? I dunno!
How can a 3rd dimension being interact on the 8th? I dunno!
Lord Whorfin is trapped on Earth with a select group of followers, he wants to steal the overthruster and free all the Red Lectroids from exile in the 8th dimension.
Then they will return to their home on the 10th planet and defeat the Black Lectroids!
Black Lectroids are the good aliens by the way, they’re also all Jamaican oddly enough.
Need a romance in here somewhere so Buckaroo runs into Penny while performing at a club, she’s the lost twin sister of the woman he loved. (She died, we don’t really know how.)
Well, the Black Lectroids can’t let Lord Whorfin escape Earth, they are fully prepared to precipitate a nuclear war if necessary.
They do have the courtesy to shock (literally) Buckaroo so he can see the alien’s true forms.
With his elite band of six shooting scientists, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, Dr. Banzai is able to defeat Whorfin and save Earth.
Do you get the idea?
What more do you need?
Okay, how about Christopher Lloyd running around and everyone calling him “John Bigbooty?” Or Jeff Goldblume as New Jersey, decked out like a cowboy – he even has black and white spotted luggage.
Gateway 2000 luggage!
Watch the film two or three times, the plot is there…
…somewhere.
Things I Learned From This Movie
Yup. I did learn a thing or two.
- Neurosurgeons shouldn’t tug on things they don’t recognize.
- Rocket powered pickup trucks don’t look right.
- The 8th dimension looks a good deal like what you might see through an electron microscope.
- New Brunswick, Maine is a tough town.
- Aliens with bird like ships should stay well clear of Earth during duck season. Especially you, yeah you, darn Romulans.
- Alien Lectroids have nads.
- Hologram viewing glasses are made out of bubble wrap.
- Girls: Never try to get intimate with some guy carrying a electric charge.
- Bacteria can affect people via television.
- Good aliens appear to hail from Jamaica.
- Four star generals should not use the phrase, “I’m barely holding my fudge.”
- Alien thermal pods carry parachutes.
Stuff to watch for;
If yer gonna watch it, take the time to notice these selected highlights…
- 7 mins – This is some serious high tech stuff!
- 10 mins – Buckaroo is driving through a mountain?
- 13 mins – John Lithgow is applying electric current to his tongue!
- 23 mins – If Peter Weller was bawling out a song to me I’d do the same thing.
- 32 mins – Somebody shut Penny up, damn blonde…
- 48 mins – That little asian guy looks funny riding a Harley.
- 50 mins – Awful lot of folks named John.
- 53 mins – What the heck did the alien kill him with? Spit?
- 60 mins – Yeah, why is there a watermelon there?
- 78 mins – These guards don’t notice a double decker bus?
- 85 mins – Now that is a mad looking slug, um thing.
Some Pictures.
Check out these screen caps.
When it was released in 1984, W.D. Richter’s (Late for Dinner) incomparably droll comedy was misunderstood on every level: diluted by editors, wrongly promoted as a straight sci-fi flick, trashed by many critics, and scorned by the public. Only a scruffy band of cultists have kept the film alive over the years, but given the higher ’90s profile of Buckaroo costars Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin, and John Lithgow (previewing his 3rd Rock From the Sun demented-alien shtick 12 years ahead of schedule), it may at last be worthy of a mainstream audience. Or vice versa.
Kicking off with an expository title crawl that apes Star Wars and is, if anything, even more incomprehensible, Buckaroo plays like chapter 27 of a Saturday-matinee serial, and too bad for you if you missed the first 26. All you need to know is that Buckaroo (Peter Weller, exuding Zen coolth) is a world-famous physicist/neurosurgeon/rock star who leads his Hong Kong Cavaliers to overthrow the Red Lectroids from Planet 10 while at the same time wooing his ex-wife’s long-lost identical twin (Barkin). That’s skipping the Rasta aliens, a mysterious watermelon, and the bit where we find out Orson Welles’ 1938 ”The War of the Worlds” broadcast actually wasn’t a hoax.
-EW
Oh, it’s so very 1980’s.
Brain surgeon, rock musician, adventurer Buckaroo Banzai is a modern renaissance man and has made scientific history. He perfected the Oscillation Overthruster, which allows him to travel through solid matter by using the eighth dimension. Along with his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, he must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer our dimension. He is helped by Penny Pretty, the long-lost twin sister of his late wife, and some good extra-dimensional beings who look and talk like they are from Jamaica.
—Greg Bole <bole@life.bio.sunysb.edu>
Conclusion
Have you looked around lately? Don’t you think that the world is taking itself a little too serious? Eh?
I do hope that you enjoyed this post. I have others in my Movie Index. Here…
MOVIESArticles & Links
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
To go to the MAIN Index;
Master Index.
- You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
- You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
- You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE .
- You can find out more about the author HERE.
- If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
- If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.
Please kindly help me out in this effort. There is a lot of effort that goes into this disclosure. I could use all the financial support that anyone could provide. Thank you very much.