1989 was not a strong year for conventional film. But for weirdo movies, it did OK. For example, this episode is about Meet the Hollowheads (otherwise known as Life on the edge). Written by Lisa Morton & Tom Burman with Burman directing, Hollowheads is possibly the strangest pg-13 movie to come out of ’89, maybe strangest from any year. I often describe the film as “a live-action Jetsons meets Eraserhead by way of Pee-wee’s playhouse.”
Starring John Glover, Nancy Mette, Richard Portnow & Juliette Lewis, Hollowheads tells the tale of “the boss is coming to dinner!” and seems, on paper, to be just that simple. But as the film unfolds, we are witness to the everyday strangeness that is just so commonplace for those living “life on the edge”. You see, the Edge is the setting, the ‘world’ so to speak. We only once venture out into it, and yet nary get a clear glimpse of what the Edge actually looks like. But it seems to be a world populated with tubes and ducts and pipes and plumbing of every sort. There are strange creatures on the periphery, that to those living on the Edge are just as innocuous as a peanut butter & softening jelly sandwich. “What’s softening jelly?”, you ask…Why don’t you watch the film and get back to me about that, because, I really just don’t know.
Joining me to discuss the film is Mike Delaney , who also has made a film called Medias Res that is set to be released toward the end of July 2019 via Amazon Prime (more info can be found about it here). Mike also has a podcast (that both Elbee & I have contributed our silly voice acting to from time to time. In fact my input is minimal compared to Mike’s because he’s the HOST of the show) called the Splathouse Podcast. Splathouse is not dissimilar to WDWJW in that they sometimes cover strange films, however, they cover a lot more schlock than I’m willing to.
That said, Mike seems to have been the perfect guest to talk Hollowheads with, especially since he has the freshest, most virginal eyes between us. That is to say, He’d never even heard of the movie before. And I’m willing to wager that you haven’t either. So watch the flick (provided below) and then listen to our attempt to make sense of it all!
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