| Being Different (1981) |
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| Directed by Harry Rasky. Featuring Billy Barty, Priscilla the monkey girl , Sandra Allen , Ronny and Donny Galyon , Bob Melvin, and narrated by Christopher Plummer. |
| Entertainment : 3 out of 4 |
| Watchability : 2 out of 4 |
| Overall : 2.5 out of 4 |
| The cover of my copy of Being Different says that this mondo movie 'has warmth and humour, and is almost miraculously devoid of voyeurism and sensationalism....' You'll be happy to hear however, that this is an out and out lie. Being Different is a mondo movie that shows how human oddities cope with everyday life. It starts with a bang , showing us Bob Melvin , a real life modern day elephant man. It then goes on to show us people who work in circus sideshows. People like Ronny and Donny Galyon , who are siamese twins. Their father pretty much explains that at first he didn't want them exhibited in circus sideshows, but that if they were going to be stared at , pointed at , or laughed at, they might as well get payed for it. |
| Ronny and Donny are interviewed, and don't come across as being too bright. When they are asked if they ever get jealous of each other, one replies : "why get jealous.... where I go he goes, where I go he |
| goes , where I go he goes". The interview is mercifully cut short after that inane statement. Perhaps Ronny and Donny share the same brain. |
| We are also treated to more oddities from the same sideshow, like Priscilla the monkey girl. Things get slightly less exploitational as we meet Sandy Allen , the worlds tallest woman. She reminded me a lot of what pro-wrestler Andre the Giants sister would look like if he had one. The worlds fattest man is also pretty funny. He is extremely bitter , and blames everyone but himself for his poor health ( hasn't he ever heard of salad?). The strange thing about the worlds fattest man, and lady, is that people are a lot more unhealthy today than in 1981. I found myself thinking " they're not so fat". At this point, the movie really begins to drag a little, with the exception of the midget section, which covers the annual ' Little people of America' convention. |
| Prolific pint-sized actor Billy Barty ( Foul Play , The Vidiot from UHF) steals the show here. We see him playing golf , baseball , and hosting a midget ball. There is a midget at the ball that looks uncannily like Stephen King , and another who loses an armwrestling match who looks like a mini-Tarantino. These are about the last worthwhile scenes in the movie , and the remaining half hour gets very repetitive. |
| But I think that this was the aim of the movie. To bombard us with as many human oddities as possible , so that next time you see one on the street you won't bat an eyelid. The modern left wing way of thinking that banned freakshows not only robbed these people of their income, but has shaped society into segregating them more than ever. Instead of paying your money, having a look, asking questions, and finding out more about these people, society has conditioned us to not even look in their direction. Or if we do approach them , society has taught us to pity them , help them out , and talk to them with the assumption that they are mentally deficient. I believe that this is a more degrading lifestyle than a career as a circus oddity. Being Different is a pretty entertaining movie , at least up until the last half hour, and a perfect companion to Tod Brownings Freaks. |
| Reviewed by Blake. |
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