Jaws (Rifftrax)

Film Year:  1975
Genre:  Horror, Adventure
Director:  Steven Spielberg
Starring:  Roy Schieder, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
Rifftrax Year:  2009
Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

The Movie

*I HAVE SURVIVED WATCHING THIS MOVIE UNRIFFED*

Jaws.  The first summer blockbuster.  One of my favorite movies of all time.  What can I say about it that hasn't been said a thousand times before?  Believe me, I don't even want to try.

For those who actually haven't seen this film by some act of god, Jaws is about a small town haunted by a killer shark.  The sheriff teams up with a shark hunter and a marine biologist to catch the shark before the next attack.

A notoriously troubled production, everything that went wrong somehow worked in Jaws's favor.  The malfunctioning mechanical shark forced the filmmakers to use suspense more than monster action.  Keeping the shark out of view makes the first half more interesting, as it builds to the man vs. nature second half where putting the hunter and prey face to face provides immeasurable payoff.

A lot of aspects of Jaws are dated.  The rubber mechanical shark is pretty much an internet meme today.  The negative portrayal of sharks sparked controversy, leading to mass shark hunting back in the 70's.  Even the author of the original novel, Peter Benchley, became an activist for preservation of the species.  The ending of the film was even disprove on Mythbusters.  But Jaws is not about realistic portrayal, it's pushes exaggeration just enough to enhance it's adventure qualities, much like Moby Dick.

Director Steven Spielberg was thrust into the spotlight after this film's success, leading to one of the most impressive film careers of all time.  Even with the pressure of following up such a popular movie, Spielberg managed to live up to it with films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T.:  The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and many more.  It has been proven many times over that his overnight success was not a fluke.

There are plenty of aspects to discuss about the production.  Just pick your fancy and run with it.  There's definitely a lot of essays Jaws can inspire, but personally I'd rather stop typing and watch the movie.

The Trax

Surprisingly enough there aren't many, if any at all, "fake shark" riffs in Jaws.  One would imagine that would be the default mode in which a comedian would make jokes about if one were making jokes about a Jaws movie.  Maybe it was considered too safe, but for whatever the reason it's almost a relief.  I would have been pretty bored with this riff if so.

But even though they don't go the safe route with Jaws they struggle to make it anything special.  Some of the biggest laughs in the first hour of the trax are at the expense of the grieving Mrs. Kintner, the mother of the boy who was the second victim.  The whole "not all librarians are secretly foxy" and ensuing jokes at her expense are somewhat harsh, but I won't deny that I laughed at them.  But for the most part I find myself wondering why they picked this movie to riff if there was nothing that was seemingly inspiring better material.

Then Quint appears.  Mike, Kevin, and Bill gravitate toward the crusty sailor and never let go.  It seems like the only reason Jaws was riffed was so they could play with Robert Shaw's shark hunter character.  And it's fun.  Sometimes the laughs miss, but even if the joke bombs the Quint impressions are usually on point and delivered with enthusiasm.

But overall Jaws is lackluster with a few high points in Quint and Mrs. Kintner making it worth a listen.  But one can't help but be disappointed that they decided to riff this film and let Jaws:  The Revenge get away scott free.  But at least Janet Varney and Cole Stratton balanced the force by riffing Jaws III the following year, proving that there is some sort of justice in the world.

Note:  When this riff ends the guys treat us to an original song sung by Kevin, "When a Man Loves a Shark."

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