The cultural sensibilities of the early 1970s assault our senses, and the popcorn assaults our tastebuds.
Dave: Normally I don’t subscribe to the “people used to be so stupid” explanations for social and cultural phenomena, but nothing else can explain this movie. Despite a sultry, hilarious Eileen Brennan and a quick-witted, elegant Maggie Smith, not to mention a hilarious bit performance by Maggie Walker as the cook, Murder By Death felt like a romp through outdated stereotypes. We had, in no particular order: the blind butler bit (he can’t see to greet guests!), the horrible East Asian accent bit (he doesn’t use pronouns correctly!), the weird gay/trans bit (the vaguely masculine character was rumored to have dressed in drag!), and the deaf mute cook bit (she can’t hear the butler tell her what the menu is!). The campy gags and over-the-top twists and turns take a back seat to the comedy that - putting it mildly - didn’t age well. (⭐️⭐️1/2)
What is the sound of one hand clapping? Who put the bomp in the bomp-she-bomp-she-bomp? And what does it mean to have nacho cheese popcorn without the cheese? Alas, dear reader, I can answer none of these queries. I am simply a man. A man who ate more than his fair share of nacho cheese popcorn because of its slightly spicy, smoky flavor, not caring a whit that it had no discernible cheese. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Joe: When it comes to any type of art that's more than, say, 15 years old, I turn on my Historical Perspective™ lens. That is, I know there's probably something in that piece of art that might be triggering or upsetting or offensive. So by turning on that lens, I can simply say to myself, "Look, this was acceptable - or at least tolerated- at the time" and then try to enjoy the art for what it is through that lens. Oftentimes, this approach is fairly effective - otherwise, I'd like next to nothing made before 2005. Rarely, like in the case of Murder by Death, I just "nope" my way through it. I was appalled by pretty much everything. This movie was atrocious. And aggressively offensive. Happy to never watch it again. (⭐️1/2)
Nacho Cheese Doritos are a treat I haven't had in a very, very long time, and this popcorn was a kiss-on-the-lips reminder. Like the snack food, it only tasted vaguely like the dish it was ostensibly inspired by. Also like the snack food, I couldn't stop eating it. This popcorn was a lot of fun to make because I had to prepare an infused oil that smelled like heaven. Side note: I don't know why popcorn.org uses Parmesan as its go-to cheese for, like, every one of its recipes. This would've been way better with a Mexican blend cheese. And maybe some jalapeños. Still, it was delicious. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Popcorn recipe from: Popcorn.org. (The Popcorn Board, 2019).
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