movie review
BUDDY
Running time: 95 minutes. Not yet rated.
PARK CITY, Utah — A screwed-up new horror-comedy asks the age-old question, “What if Barney the Dinosaur was a bloodthirsty psychopath?”
That’s “Buddy,” director Casper Kelly’s demented send-up of color-saturated morning kids shows that premiered Thursday night at the Sundance Film Festival.
It doesn’t have a release date yet, but college stoners should set a Google alert.
You probably know Kelly’s work even if you’ve never heard the name. He’s responsible for the viral Adult Swim video “Too Many Cooks” that parodied retro family sitcoms’ opening credits in 2014.
His latest nostalgia demolition is that 11-minute clip’s longer, darker and altogether more traumatic cousin. Angling to join “Cooks” in a boxed-set someday, “Buddy” also begins with a spot-on musical title sequence.
“He’s a unicorn from a magic land, and we call his name when we need a hand!,” sings a chorus of peppy youngsters who mug for the camera.
Kelly nails the cheap aesthetic and sugary vibe of a “Blue’s Clues” and comes thisclose to mocking the odd genre without going over the edge.
Our friend-turned-foe is Buddy. Bulbous and covered in orange felt, the “cuddly, snuggly” guy (Sergey Zhuravsky with a freaky voice) is instantly recognizable to anyone who’s owned a TV.
He’s got an annoying goodbye song, same as the purple dinosaur’s “I love you, you love me,” set to the tune of “This Old Man.” He creepily demands hugs. There’s something sinister about him.
Beyond Barney, Buddy is just like every creature from “Yo Gabba Gabba” or “Teletubbies” — programs kids devour but upon reflection were nightmarish hellscapes that are surely now paying for therapists’ vacation homes. That’s the smarts behind Kelly’s concept.
Of course, Tinky-Winky never went stabby stabby. The tangerine-tinted unicorn is upbeat and happy until one day a loner boy named Ralph refuses to attend his dance party. Buddy goes berserk. People start to die.
That’s when we realize the children are not paid performers on a studio lot with an adult actor in a costume. They’re trapped in some sort of alternate universe where this puppet show is very real. And the main character is actually a temperamental serial killer.
Too bad that’s also when “Buddy” slumps big-time.
The first 20 minutes were side-splittingly funny and bitingly observed while keeping the viewer a little off-balance. Think of it as a subversive “WandaVision.”
Then a more ambitious story involving parents in the outside world, played by Cristin Milioti and Topher Grace, takes over, and the movie struggles to match its rocket-fuel kickoff.
Yes, some children embark on a dangerous adventure through an artificial forest. And the small actors are all terrific, especially Delaney Quinn as Freddy — a lil Laurie Strode — and Caleb Williams as savvy Wade.
Milioti is jittery and redeyed as her mom character Grace appears to go mad and stages a rescue mission of sorts.
But, because “Buddy” isn’t really scary (it’s less frightening, in fact, than last year’s other movie about young people in peril — “Weapons”), all the events are rather one note.
In short: “Too Many Cooks” plus too many minutes.
