I hereby proclaim, for no good reason, May 30th, 2007 as Mac and Me day.
Thank you Walter Chaw for reminding me of this long-lost staple of my youth, which—if memory serves—I caught in the theater as part of a friend’s birthday celebration (I also believe this to be the only birthday of said “friend” that I ever attended, before or since). All I can recall of that viewing is limber little Mac, lost alien visitor-cum-McDonald’s/Coke spokesman, stretching himself into a Silly Putty-like string and screaming like a cat in heat. (Apparently, this was his way of getting past an electric fence—good thing, I suppose, that he didn’t use Ren & Stimpy’s method.) But, god bless YouTube, I can now catch up more fully with this cinema classic (from soon-to-unleash Mannequin 2: On the Move autuer Stewart Raffill), and preserve it in digital amber for all future generations.
Of course, after subjecting myself to the following clips, I’ve determined that Mac and Me might better be titled, per that other masterpiece (for real!) of ’88, Die Hard. As in my soul. Is dying. Hard. Ah, the vicissitudes of the intervening years on the formative mind. Let’s begin, shall we?
The original theatrical trailer, featuring Ronald McDonald. “Makeup? Me?” (Ah HA ha ha ha ha ha HAAA!)
A sequence a YouTuber has dubbed “Infamous Wheelchair Scene.” Yes. I’d say that about covers it.
The moment when Mac and Me suddenly becomes a Shabba-Doo/Boogaloo Shrimp breakdancin’ epic. What Nicholas Ray might have done with this tonal switch.
Finally, a little revisionist history. What if Mac… was evil? (Redundant question, I know, but go with it…)
This article was originally published on The House Next Door.
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