Pet Shop Boys- It Couldn't Happen Here
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Pet Shop BoysEdition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 89 minutes
Release Date: 1992-03-04
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: Columbia/Tri-Star
Studio: Columbia/Tri-Star
VHS Movie Reviews of Pet Shop Boys- It Couldn't Happen Here
Movie Review: Pet Shop Boys go Bizarre in Cinematic Misstep
Summary: 3 Stars
It Couldn't Happen Here is something of a relic of a bygone era, when the excesses of successful bands/musicians would have them churn out large amounts of licsensed merchandise, do the occaisonal guest tv show appearance, and maybe even do a feature film. Pet Shop Boys are somewhat an oddity because although the 80s found them success, they weren't the phenomenon of Madonna or Prince or in a more modern context, Britney Spears or the Spice Girls. Also, their musical content wasn't exactly the sugar coated pop that caters to the demographic of the aforementioned bands. So that the Pet Shop Boys have a movie in and of itself is a strange anomoly, which makes for even stranger viewing.
The film can best be described as a long form music video. Music plays in the background is actually lip synched by the boys in true music video fashion. What happens in between the music though is what makes the film so bizarre. There is a loose story that basically revolves around the boys' childhoods - fictional but with a hint of reality - and the characters they encounter, including a goofy uncle, a homicidal priest, and an eccentric ventiloquist with a dummy babbling about existentialism. While it doesn't make for great everyday viewing, the bizarre nature of it makes it worth a look.
And you have to give the boys credit for not letting their image be tarnished. In the midst of the strange and sometimes poorly acted scenes, there are some great visuals that have always been a PSB trademark. Catch men painted as zebras or a man on fire during "King's Cross" or Neil start to bleed while a bunch of skin heads look in on him while he's in a spinning phone booth. Stranger still is the dialogue, some of it culled from old Steven Wright jokes while other lines are from Milton's Paradise Lost.
In retrospect, it's strange that the Pet Shop Boys ever made a movie, but be it as it may, this is probably the best we could expect. It's not embarrasing, but it's not one of these noteworthy music films either. If nothing else, it's no "Cool As Ice" or "Spice World." For that alone, it's worth a look.
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