BUDDY: 3 STARS. “cult movie in the making, a bizzarro blast of retro fun.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Buddy,” a comedy slasher film now playing in theatres, the host of a children’s television show has some dark secrets.CAST: Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Patton Oswalt, Michael Shannon, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key. Directed by Casper Kelly.
REVIEW: There’s no Tickle Trunk in “It’s Buddy,” the kid’s show within the movie. If there was, it would be used to store the bodies of Buddy’s victims.
A nightmarish version of “Barney & Friends” with a side of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” thrown in for good measure, the show is a brightly colored kid’s show, hosted by a giant unicorn who should rightly be called Bloody instead of Buddy, where children are taught basic skills, manners and how to run for their lives.
This strange blast of 90s nostalgia begins with increasingly demented episodes of the TV show. The kids dance and sing simple songs—”I love Buddy yes I do, I’m so glad he loves me too.”—while Buddy (Keegan-Michael Key) becomes increasingly erratic when one youngster (Tory Jacqui Malone) refuses to play along.
Soon, the kid disappears and an argument with the show’s nurse turns violent.
“Everything’s fine,” says Strappy, the chipper backpack (Patton Oswalt), “look at how tightly he’s hugging her neck!” The remaining children flee, disappearing into the make-believe world of Diamond City with Buddy in pursuit. “I hate Buddy yes I do, I hate, I hate, I hate you,” they sing. “Stab your heart and kick your knee, Buddy you’re my enemy!”
Meanwhile, in present day, suburban mother Grace (Cristin Milioti) with the help of a parapsychologist is sucked into the television and the deadly world of “It’s Buddy.”
Definitely not kid friendly, “Buddy” is a tribute to an unlikely combo of 90s kids shows and the era’s slasher movies. The mix and match is a one joke premise, but it’s a pretty good joke that sustains the film’s brisk ninety-minute running time.
From the songs like, “You Gotta Be Scared to be Brave,” which sound like echoes from an alternate “Barney” universe, and Keegan-Michael Key’s twisted Pee Wee Herman vocal tribute (“Now it’s time for your hug,” he says before dispatching a victim.), to period perfect set design and Clint Howard’s nutty performance as a former kid show host, “Buddy” is a keenly observed, if somewhat absurd take on its inspirations.
“Buddy” is a cult movie in the making, a bizzarro blast of retro fun.
