Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)

Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)

“I’m callin’ for a rumble with the Chaplains to protect our honor!”

Synopsis:
In 1950s Brooklyn, a couple of hoods named Vinnie (Richard Romanus) and Crazy (David Proval) romance a busty babe (Tina Bowman) and her plump girlfriend (Jesse Welles) while gearing up for a rumble with rival gang members.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Animated Features
  • Gangs
  • Juvenile Delinquents

Review:
Peary lists five of “adult animator” Ralph Bakshi’s feature-length films in his GFTFF: Fritz the Cat (1972), Heavy Traffic (1973), Lord of the Rings (1978), American Pop (1981), and this dreadfully unappealing “nostalgic” look back at the 1950s. There is little to redeem in this film — neither the distasteful characters, nor the meaningless lives they carry out. Sure, I’m being hard on these punks, but they’re abject losers, and it’s genuinely challenging to watch them on-screen for more than an hour. Not even Bakshi’s unique animation style carries this one for me.


Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Not much of anything.

Must See?
Nope; skip this one unless you’re a Bakshi completist. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book — which I suppose all Bakshi’s films ultimately are.

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One thought on “Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)

  1. First viewing – agreed; skip it.

    Most likely the least interesting of the Bakshi flicks, made worse by the feeling that it was something of a rush job; it just seems thrown together though hinged on a few ideas. I had the thought that the general intent may have been to appeal to audiences who made hits out of ‘Grease’ and ‘Saturday Night Fever’. (There’s also a hint of ‘West Side Story’, what with the rumble and all.)

    But, all told, this is a sorry and generally tiresome project. What humor there is is largely forced – we feel the strain in the effort.

    The pastiche score that runs throughout is serviceable but little more.

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