It’s a Wonderful Riff

Can you make fun of a good movie? Sure you can.

“They’re not laughing at you, honey, they’re lauging with you.”

One of the things that a child must be taught is the distinction between mean-spirited mockery and affectionate amusement.

Does this distinction apply to movies? You can certainly laugh at a bad movie, but can you laugh affectionately at a good one?

Anyone who follows me on social media knows that I’m a huge fan of a TV show called “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” It started on local Minneapolis television, then ran for seven seasons on Comedy Central (1989–96) and three seasons (1997–99) on Sci-Fi (now SyFy). In 2017, it was rebooted on Netflix, where it ran for two seasons.

The meat and potatoes of MST3K (as its fans call it) is making fun of bad movies. Three characters, a human being and two robots, make a constant stream of remarks as they watch the movie along with us. The jokes might include pointing out flaws in the movie, or simply making funny cultural references — perhaps an extra in the background looks, at first glance, like some big-name politician or movie star.