{"id":3004,"date":"2007-04-14T17:51:18","date_gmt":"2007-04-15T00:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3004"},"modified":"2021-01-23T23:55:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T06:55:41","slug":"just-imagine-1930","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3004","title":{"rendered":"Just Imagine (1930)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;If you make this trip successfully, you&#8217;ll be the most distinguished person in the world!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Poster-300x235.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"235\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-30842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Poster-300x235.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Poster-128x100.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Poster-1024x802.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 1980, a young man named J-21 (John Garrick) is unable to marry his girlfriend, LN-18 (Maureen O&#8217;Sullivan), because another man (Kenneth Thomson) has been voted a better candidate. In order to distinguish himself as worthy of LN-18&#8217;s hand, J-21 travels on a historic flight to Mars with his friend RT-42 (Frank Albertson) and a man from 1930 who has been brought back to life (El Brendel).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aliens<\/li>\n<li>Astronauts<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Maureen O&#8217;Sullivan Films<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Race Against Time<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<li>Time Travel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis early sci-fi oddity tries to cram as much as possible into its overlong 109 minutes &#8212; including a love triangle, music and dance sequences, aliens, a space voyage, time travel, a race against time, a courtroom drama, and lame comedy (courtesy of the insufferable pseudo-Swedish comedian, El Brendel). The most effective elements of <em>Just Imagine<\/em> are its futuristic sets (which are reminiscent of Fritz Lang&#8217;s <em>Metropolis<\/em>), and the glimpse it provides of a hypothetical future society in which both food and drink come in the form of pills, letters and numbers have replaced names, individuals jet around in private planes:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets-1024x778.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"486\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-65508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets-1024x778.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets-768x583.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets-355x270.png 355w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Jets.png 1331w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and eligibility for marriage is determined by a court. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble-1024x788.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"493\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-65509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble-1024x788.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble-768x591.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble-351x270.png 351w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Bubble.png 1309w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Much <em>less<\/em> effective are the tedious musical interludes, which seem like they belong in a different film entirely. At a certain point, Brendel sings a song during which he frantically puts on a series of different hats while mimicking various characters &#8212; it&#8217;s mildly creative, but so out of place! <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats-1024x783.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"489\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-65511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats-1024x783.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats-300x229.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats-768x587.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats-353x270.png 353w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Brendel-Hats.png 1319w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With that said, the Busby Berkeley-inspired dance sequences on Mars (not to mention the Martians&#8217; outlandish costumes) are just surreal enough to be campily hypnotic. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes-1024x784.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"490\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-65491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes-1024x784.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes-300x230.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes-768x588.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes-353x270.png 353w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Costumes.png 1323w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And you&#8217;ve got to give director David Butler credit for taking on such an enormously overinflated script &#8212; though one can&#8217;t help wishing it had been trimmed back to a slightly more manageable (and enjoyable) size. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The lavish art deco sets and over-the-top Busby Berkeley-esque dance sequences on Mars<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3-1024x781.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"488\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-65490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3-1024x781.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3-300x229.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3-768x586.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3-354x270.png 354w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Dance3.png 1325w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An intriguing vision of what 1980 <em>might <\/em>have looked like, from a 1930s perspective<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go-1024x785.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"491\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-65514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go-1024x785.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go-300x230.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go-768x589.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go-352x270.png 352w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/04\/Just-Imagine-Stop-Go.png 1319w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A bizarre, if not entirely successful, pastiche of nearly every possible movie genre &#8212; including comedy, science fiction, romance, and musical<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its status as a truly surreal cinematic hybrid. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0021016\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifilm.org\/musings\/musing207.html\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pre-code.com\/just-imagine-1930-review\/\">Pre-Code Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moviediva.com\/MD_root\/reviewpages\/MDJustImagine.htm\">Movie Diva Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/sciencefiction\/just-imagine-1930.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If you make this trip successfully, you&#8217;ll be the most distinguished person in the world!&#8221; Synopsis: In 1980, a young man named J-21 (John Garrick) is unable to marry his girlfriend, LN-18 (Maureen O&#8217;Sullivan), because another man (Kenneth Thomson) has been voted a better candidate. In order to distinguish himself as worthy of LN-18&#8217;s hand, J-21 travels on a historic flight to Mars with his friend RT-42 (Frank Albertson) and a man from 1930 who has been brought back to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3004\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3004"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65516,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3004\/revisions\/65516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}