The Reel Nerds have had the pleasure of interviewing director Glenn Berggoetz about his most recent movie, Midget Zombie Takeover, and in the process he mentioned that he was a fan of Leslie Nielsen and he made a spoof of Die Hard called To Die Is Hard. Right away I was excited to see this movie. I love spoof movies and when we saw Zombie Takeover and he had To Die Is Hard I knew I had to get a copy. And it did not disappoint.
The movie starts with Mr. Berggoetz suiting up, as Joe McCann a no nonsense English professor, who everyone loves. His wife can’t get over how hot he is, and his daughter just beams with admiration. The tone of the movie is set very early as on his way to work Joe is listening to a song which lyrics describing how awesome he is, and at the end of the song he declares “I am awesome.”
In Joe’s office he is grading and helping a female student who is also in love with McCann. He tells a story of how he placed 3rd in co-ed softball, and shows off the trophy that he is really proud of. Great Easter egg gag on McCann’s desk is a super sexy picture of himself, yes he love himself as much as everyone else. Terrorists strike his University and only Joe McCann can stop them! He is the most terrifying adversary of all time “a pissed off English professor!”
A spoof movie either succeeds or fails on the lead actor and Glenn Berggoetz shines throughout. He plays McCann with the right amount of gruffness and his ability to deliver silly dialogue and believe it is not easy but he pulls it off. His love for the Naked Gun and Leslie Nielsen shines all over this movie. From a physical and comedic delivery Berggoetz is in top form. The movie moves by briskly and doesn’t linger on jokes, you have to watch it more then once to catch them all and a tribute to Bergoettz the writer for being able to squeeze so many jokes into the dialogue. The music is also pretty good, gloriously over the top at times and delivers the right mood.
The biggest drawback in the movie is that not all the performances are as good as Berggoetz, where he understands the spoof genre not everyone in the cast does. It’s not about being over the top, the dialogue and the situations already are, you have to play it straight. Greg Nemer as Detective Al Stimpson doesn’t understand that and comes across as annoying.
If you like spoof movies there’s a good chance that you will like To Die Is Hard. Glenn Berggoetz crafted a fun spoof of Die Hard and Naked Gun. Make sure you check out our interview with Glenn, and if Zombie Midget Takeover is playing in your town check it out, it too is a good time.
https://pdcn.co/e/reelnerdspodcast.com/2013/05/01/reel-interview-midget-zombie-takeover/
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EcvbDFL7QU&w=560&h=315]