5 Feet of Fury

John Landis, liberal doofus, ruins otherwise entertaining montage

I love Trailers from Hell, but as I once told the (very nice, honestly) folks behind it, their offerings are too often ruined by lameass leftist commentary.

Today, John Landis outdoes them all.

While correctly praising the silent film stars of yesterday for pulling off jawdropping visual gags without CGI (watch Keaton “hitch a ride” with a passing car, for example), he can’t resist playing “turd in the punchbowl” by contributing a truly pointless “joke” at George Bush’s expense.

I appreciate funny Bush jokes, believe me, but Landis’s aside literally makes no sense. None.

It was always 50/50, but when they work (Trading Places is one of THE definitive, time capsule movies about the 1980s) Landis’s movies seem to succeed in spite of him, through the stubborn efforts of the cast. I always knew the guy’s comic instincts weren’t exactly as sharp as a helicopter blade, but wow. Thud.