Labyrinth

I have decided that every Thursday I will introduce those of you that read this blog to my Awesomely Bad Movie pick of the week. Now you may ask what an awesomely bad movie is, well it is pretty simple, it is a movie that is so bad that it is actually an enjoyable movie to watch occasionally. The wonderful masterpiece that I will introduce to you tonight is that of Jim Henson's Labyrinth. Labyrinth is the story of a young teen who wishes her baby half brother, to be taken by the Goblin King Jareth and her brother will be kept unless she can successfully navigate through Jareth's Labyrinth in a matter of thirteen hours.

With Labyrinth being directed by Jim Henson it is only natural that one would see a movie full of muppet created characters. Henson does not disappoint, as the Labyrinth is chock full of unique and interesting characters that help or try to hinder, the heroine, young Sarah in her journey to make it through the maze in time. Two of the most memorable characters are taht of Ludo and Didymus. Ludo is the lovable gentle giant goblin of the labyrinth, who Sarah rescues and befriends. Didymus on the other hand is a little small animal of some kind, who believes he is a knight, who believes in chivalry and makes up for his tiny size with his heart when it comes into going into battle.

The character of the movie that takes this over the top is Jareth, the Goblin King who is played by none other then David Bowie. Being a rock star, it took nothing for Bowie to play this role over the top whether its his over teased 80's metal hair to the songs that he sings throughout the movie, especially his song meant to seduce Sarah to being with him. Yet, his character is played so over the top that after seeing the movie you too will think that this role was specially made for him and could not have been portrayed by anyone else.

With this movie being made in 1984 the technology and use of the muppets may have been very progressive for that time it would be very interesting if Hollywood were to remake this movie today it would be interesting to see how today's CGI and visual effects would affect our view of this movie. With today's technology the remake more then likely might change this movie from an awesomely bad one to just a bad movie. It is the acting of David Bowie, the use of muppets and the costuming of all the different characters that give this movie an awesomely bad movie designation.

Along the scale for an awesomely bad movie I am going to give Labyrinth two buckets of popcorn out of five. With an extra bucket of popcorn going to David Bowie himself because of his hair and costumes that take the character of Jareth way over the top. If you are in the mood for a movie that will make you laugh and is one that is enjoyable to watch every now and then, I would highly recommend renting Labyrinth.

-The Movie Man-