odds

This movie has the dubious honor of being the first inductee into my Rather Odd Ones category. This section will be filled with movies that I feel are really strange or not even
worth the weekend somebody probably spent making them. As always, you are free to disagree with me on these choices, maybe even wanting to see them. That is quite okay with me, just be wary of said " films."

Anyway, first up is " Space Mutiny ", a David Winters picture. I wonder if he intended to make this a clear ripoff of other space movies or TV shows. I say this because the outer space scenes are BLATANTLY RIPPED OFF from Battlestar Galactica, which itself got its cue from Star Wars. They don't even try to come up with something original!

Not only that, the bulk of this movie takes place supposedly in the vast interior of the ship but looks like it's in a huge basement or warehouse, which is apparently where it was shot. Look closely and you can even see sunlight coming in from a window or two! Gee, I didn't know that sunlight in space would be that bright unless you were pretty close to a star, at which point you'd probably be dead... oh, well, I just should suspend my disbelief a little... nah, not that much...

But that's merely the beginning...

The captain, played by Cameron Mitchell, whom I like to call Captain Santa Claus, can't seem to control his same-age-as-himself daughter Lea, played by Mitchell's girlfriend Cisse Cameron ( hmm, intersting, eh? ), and the pilot David Ryder ( Brown ) of course ends up falling for her since he's the star. But all is not well, with the evil Pat Riley... I mean John Philip Law as Kalgan ( isn't that some sort of product for pets? ), the traitorous handicap MacPherson, and a bunch of idiotically named bad guys ( Mohawk, a constant reminder of Ed Grimley; Trash, Sid, etc. ) called " Enforcers " wanting to get off the ship.

So they hatch a plan to disable the docking bay to keep anyone from entering or leaving... wait, I thought THEY WANTED OFF THE SHIP! Oh well, things only get worse... Apparently the 80s music survived until mankind starts flying around in space, with the dance club scene where Lea almost moons Ryder ( and the audience ) with her shaking her rear up on the screen. Next the rather male-looking female lieutenant is killed by Kalgan and some lobster-looking henchman who are then chased by Ryder and Lea in the first of two really slow chase scenes in some kind of electric carts.

But for those who actually liked the lieutenant, fear not! During the next scene on the bridge, the first officer Commander Devers walks right by her at her station! Wasn't she supposed to be DEAD?!? Continuity jumped right out the window in the ship basement at this point.

After that, the movie just kind of goes downhill from there ( as if it could get much worse... ). Ryder finds out Kalgan's plan, space pirates attack but are destroyed with ONE SHOT each
( these ships look as big as the good one ), Ryder and Lea get it on, Lea's captured and tortured with a laser that sounds like a drill, a fat Phil Collins lookalike gets tricked by her after standing by some wall-mounted keyboards while Ryder goes around in the basement... uh, ship, tossing Enforcers off of railings, saves Lea ( sort of ), Santa Claus orders an assault by a bunch of band uniform-wearing guys on the Enforcers, lasers shoot all over, more guys tossed over railings, Ryder screams like a little girl fighting MacPherson before roasting him in a gas expulsion thing, and finally one more thrilling golf cart chase between Ryder and Kalgan going 3 miles an hour in the base-uh, ship again and Kalgan gets blown up, Ryder and Lea get it on again, and we see Kalgan survived...

Except for the Bellarians, some sort of swimsuit-wearing psychic women who play with electron balls and who try to seduce Santa Claus ( sort of, but he sure looks happy ), that pretty much is the movie. Alone it's unbearable, but I saw it shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and the comments made by Mike Nelson, Crow, and Servo made it all worthwhile just to laugh at.

Overall, I give this movie 1/2 a star for a stand-alone movie, but shown on MST3K it gets
3 1/2 stars as something that's so bad it's hilarious. Take your pick, fellow viewers, and let your mind be turned to mush for a while!