Meet the Applegates is a black comedy that isn't particularly funny. And not really all that black either. It really just sorta sucks in a non-spectacular and pretty boring way. One gets the impression they were trying for a edward scissorhands/heathersey biting satire on contemporary American culture. They only partially succeeded. It bites. The costumes and set design are going for that 50's era kitschy look that John Waters uses so well, but Applegates is just a cheap imitation.
The "story" is about a bunch of giant bugs disguise themselves as humans and invade America in an attempt to sabotage a power plant and wipe out a town as a first strike in the war between mankind and bug puppets. Dabney Coleman wears a dress in a phoned in performance as their leader Aunt Bea. This is as far as I can tell the only joke in the movie. Man it's dull.
As our culture corrupts them, we watch the Applegates go from the Brady Bunch to the Manson Family. Then in a rather hastily done fashion the Applegates decide we aren't so bad and try to save the town from Dabney Coleman. Along the way we get some environmental messages that are more forced than the average Captain Planet episode, but not nearly as funny.
Dabney Coleman is much better in other movies, as for the rest of the cast... three words. Ed Begley and Jr. It's about as bland and dull as the stereotypical American family they're mocking in the first place.
If you have insomnia and happen to stumble across Meet the Applegate on late night cable as I did, you might want to keep flipping, with all the channels we've got there's definitely something better on.
The "story" is about a bunch of giant bugs disguise themselves as humans and invade America in an attempt to sabotage a power plant and wipe out a town as a first strike in the war between mankind and bug puppets. Dabney Coleman wears a dress in a phoned in performance as their leader Aunt Bea. This is as far as I can tell the only joke in the movie. Man it's dull.
As our culture corrupts them, we watch the Applegates go from the Brady Bunch to the Manson Family. Then in a rather hastily done fashion the Applegates decide we aren't so bad and try to save the town from Dabney Coleman. Along the way we get some environmental messages that are more forced than the average Captain Planet episode, but not nearly as funny.
Dabney Coleman is much better in other movies, as for the rest of the cast... three words. Ed Begley and Jr. It's about as bland and dull as the stereotypical American family they're mocking in the first place.
If you have insomnia and happen to stumble across Meet the Applegate on late night cable as I did, you might want to keep flipping, with all the channels we've got there's definitely something better on.