It's seem like a parody out of a SNL TV Funhouse live action skit, but this was indeed a real life 1980's motivation video hosted by Mr. T. He doesn't have any real talent. He can't really act, dance and or sing as its shows in this film. Mr. T is famous solely for his insane crazy personality, so I guess the true meaning to this video is to stand out even if it makes you look like a fool. 'Be Somebody or be Somebody's Fool' should be a call 'Be a Fool"! The movie focus on message help kids out. I don't know if any of those messages; honestly works. The vast majority of Mr. T's dialogue is just plain incoherent, mainly due to the liberties he takes with the English language. It seems like they are sending the wrong message in some of the sequences. One is the whole 'Treat your mother right'. It's OK to call people fat, ugly or skinny, but not mothers. That's where Mr. T draws the line. It doesn't care if don't have a mother, or your mother abandon or abuse you or turn into a psycho and try to kill you. Treat her right. Then the movie has a scene where a kid gag spring snakes his mother and scare her senseless. Does scaring your mom out really qualify as treating her right? Very Norman Bates there, Mr. T. Then there is the whole 'Friendship' sequence that says, a true friend is someone that suck the poison out if you get bitten by a snake. First off, sucking out venom doesn't work. Plus, they can get poison themselves. Second, why have a scene of Mr. T telling children to suck something, and he then excuse himself to presumably to suck on another guy's toe. I find the whole thing, disturbing. There is a lot of disturbing thing that Mr. T says or do. In the break dancing scene, stiffly moves his arms around for a while, before he finally gives up and just flexes his bicep. He even jokingly tells the girls to take a look. Stop trying to pick up on sixteen year old girls, Mr. T! There is a lot of this, even in the styling sequence, calling a young woman, 'hot ice cream'. Then there is the song with sexually provocative lyrics in the work out scene. Who put this into a kid's movie? Another good example of bad advice is the Shyness sequence that has a young girl asserts herself by using her temper. That isn't the best way to show that you matter by being bi-polar bitch. Then there are those sequences that don't really finish or has nothing to do with the main subject. One scene look like they would tackle a serious issue like street gangs, and it end up talking about reading. What? Then there is the roots BS with Mr. T lying. The whole Mandinka tribe and explaining that all the gold chains he wears symbolize the shackles put on his slave ancestors when they first came to America! Are you sure, it's not from your bouncer days, Mr. T? I think, I read somewhere that you said that, it was. This is a lot of sequences about anger & frustration and how not to lose it. I was about to lose it due to the ugliest video effects ever. It's just aboriginal. You can tell with the awful low budget with the odd white fade out, bright color gradient schemes backgrounds, orange and heliotrope haze and the bad fonts text. Then there was the countless montages and running gags of Mr. T playing a cello. Throughout the video, some random nobodies reminding us of what the title of the video is. It's get really annoying. There are some sequences that are really outdated. The styling sequence showcase the not so great styles of the 1980s. The Asian girls look like cheap Chinese hookers. Me love you long time. Then there is one that looks like a hot dog to the point that even Mr. T agrees. The guys are not even better with outcasts of 1980's movies, Weird Science seizure guy and Electric Boogaloo. This was really 1980 retro. I don't think Mr. T is the best advice for what looks nice in the 1980 fashion sense. Most of the movie, he wearing awful camouflage boot camp-style or in his shiny speedos, which I don't want to see, either. The movie use new wave and R&B culture of the mid-1980s to appeal to children, but it rarely works. The rapping get funnier when you find out that it was ghost-written by a then-unknown gangsta rapper Ice-T. Most of the songs are surprising good. I love the opening song, 'Be Somebody', and love 'Peer Pressure' from New Edition. That's right, Bobby Brown is ironic contributing to a segment about the virtues of avoiding alcohol and cigarettes. I just can't stand, the song, they sang at the finding of your roots sequence. The break dancing sequence is just out of place. I guess, the next time, I ever do something completely humiliating, I should just turn it into a break dancing move so I can make myself look like a fool even more. The movie did featured a showcase of emerging talent, including Martika, Fergie, Tammy Townsend, Bumper Robinson, and Shanice. Great one liners like Hey, you! You with the teeth'. 'Everybody gotta wear clothes! And if you don't, you get arrested!" So what did we learn, kids! Don't join a street gang call the mighty midgets. If somebody is angry, make sure the potato salad away from them. Last, do squats with popcorn on your head. I'm not sure exactly what benefit this provides over just doing normal squats. Just do it! Just don't be a fool! Watch this movie if you want a laugh
Be Somebody... or Be Somebody's Fool!
(1984 Video)
I pity the fool who doesn't like this. You have to be a fool, not to find this funny as hell!
14 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers