Yes, that's the Peter Jackson who is currently tackling the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  But it's also the Peter Jackson who provided us with Bad Taste and Dead Alive.  Now I'm a big fan of Dead Alive.  And I was hugely disappointed by Bad Taste.  That was about 1996 when I had discovered Peter Jackson, and yes, I had heard of this movie, but I had never been able to find it.  Fast forward to 2002, and my friend found it on DVD, and let me borrow it.  Good thing I borrowed it, because if I had seen it in the store, I definitely would have bought it, and let me tell you, it's not worth buying.

Meet the Feebles is a depraved little movie starring puppets - yes, puppets, and not the Jim Henson kind either.  These puppets are all too human. Drugs, sex, and violence run rampart in their lives.  Taking puppets, which before this film were used entirely for children's programming, and making them druggies and porn addicts and cannibals and whores sounds like an incredible idea.  One that I would normally sink my teeth right into.  So, I was looking forward to watching this.  And then, it started.  From the opening scene, I was disappointed.  It opens with an annoying singing number, an homage to the Muppet Show intro song.  But it was poorly done, annoying sung, and painful on the eyes.  Although, numerous scenes of bloodshed and puppet breasts and bodily fluids followed, I could not get into this movie.

As for the story, the Feebles produce a variety show, and their upcoming live television performance, if well received, could land them a syndicated series.  So, Bletch, the producer and a coke-snorting and adulterous walrus, is under a lot of pressure to have a flawless show.  And that pressure flows down to the performers - which include, Bletch's wive Heidi (a singing hippo with an eating disorder), a sexaholic rabbit, a semen-drooling anteater, a shit-eating fly, a junkie knife-throwing frog, and a rat who makes porn films, just to name a few.  I know, I know, this sounds like it could be a hilarious movie.  And I really wanted to like this movie - I just couldn't. It's poorly shot, and the lighting is abysmal.  The entire 97 minute piece is in dark shadows (except maybe the ridiculous golfing scene).  The singing scenes were yearning for me to fast-forward (one of the song's had lyrics like "I've got one leg missing - How do I get around?").  Maybe it would have been more fun if I watched it with a group, or with someone who might have been insulted or shocked by what he/she saw.  Sometimes it doesn't pay to be so desensitized.

There are some high points to the film, the final shoot-em-up scenes, the sodomy song, the Deerhunter parody, the total lack of dignity and total acceptance of depravity that all the characters seem to share.  But overall, it just didn't pull together.  It might be worth a one-time viewing, to see the forerunner of "Greg the Bunny" and "Crank Yankers", or if you're part of a large group of bad-movie loving mofos, but other than that, I'd suggest you rent "Dead Alive" instead.  Then you'll see some entertaining low-budget horror from Peter Jackson.
 
 
 

Quality: 3.5  Visuals: 2.0  Intensity: 3.5  Laughability 4.5  Gore 5.0 
OVERALL RATING: 3.7