In late June, I walked into a semi-filled movie theater to watch Rifftrax’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 reunion, expecting to laugh and enjoy myself. I didn’t, however, expect to laugh so hard that I would somehow ooze across the armrest and fall into the waiting and all-too-comfortable arms of a large man that I’ve never met before. As the tears streamed down my face, his rumbling belly comforted me from the fact that I was missing joke after joke due to the crowd’s riotous laughter drowning out the performers.
When I moved, seconds later, we locked misty eyes and smiled. The segment ended, which led to the show ending, and we got up and went on our merry way. We never uttered a word to each other. We just exchanged smiles, knowing that we just shared one of the most hilarious moments ever witnessed in riffing history. For the WW2 vets reading this, it’s like sharing a foxhole at Bastogne but warmer.
Now, you too can enjoy Rifftrax Live’s MST3K reunion. You may not fall, laughing, into someone’s arms, but the chances that you do are high. The reunion featured the usual Rifftrax and ex-MST3Kers Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy, who were joined onstage by MST3K creator Joel Hodgson, revived MST3K experiment Jonah Ray, as well as cast members Frank Conniff, Trace Beaulieu, Mary Jo Pehl, and Bridget Nelson.
It’s truly wonderful, and it will have you asking: Is corn grass?
Download the reunion here. It’ll be the best thing you do today. Die laughing. You’ll enjoy it. This won’t hurt.*
*Your belly will hurt and your face and throat may actually hurt. Dying laughing would actually be very painful and horrible. Please do your best to live through this.
