Red Letter Media

[Shartavius]

I wish the guys did stuff like this

I think RLM fans in general would benefit from lowering their expectations. Though Mike has insight sufficient for highlighting the most obvious flaws of the worst Star Wars films from twenty years ago, RLM's own films exist to demonstrate their collective failure to apply this presumed knowledge of filmmaking toward producing anything else of value.

And though the parasocial element is inherent in their Friend Simulator business model, some fans seem to be watching under the belief that liking Mike somehow obliges them to pretend that going to film school elevated the quality of his work beyond the dilettante level, and I assume becoming Youtube Famous is the only reason he didn't commit suicide through means faster than cirrhosis.

 

[Mr. Racewar1488]

Am I the only one that thinks Mike is Lowtax with a bit more of a work ethic? Does anyone know Mike's SomethingAwful username? He'd be in the right age range to have joined in the early 2000s and early RLM content, "Horsey Sause" era, fits the humor of early SA.

 

[Shartavius]

Am I the only one that thinks Mike is Lowtax with a bit more of a work ethic? Does anyone know Mike's SomethingAwful username? He'd be in the right age range to have joined in the early 2000s and early RLM content, "Horsey Sause" era, fits the humor of early SA.

His pre-fame username on sites in the '00s was just Stoklasa. The most I recall anyone digging up was him shitting on Jay's movies while he lived in Arizona.

 

[Neodanthril]

RLM's own films exist to demonstrate their collective failure to apply this presumed knowledge of filmmaking toward producing anything else of value.

It is easier to bitch than to make. Twtg is proof enough of the truth of that aphorism

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

RLM's own films exist to demonstrate their collective failure to apply this presumed knowledge of filmmaking toward producing anything else of value.

In fairness to them, their own films are typically under a million dollars, so their jank is a bit more forgivable.* The problem comes from only making cheap shit between high quality Youtube videos and garbage-tier feature films. They can't manage to make an 80s B movie because they don't want to make an earnest B-movie (that then fails) and go for ironic, intentionally bad B movie, which results in unironically bad movies. They can never make a movie like The Room because that requires artistic honesty without the competence.

*I criticize Space Cop because it isn't funny or well-written, not because it looks cheap.

 

[Neo-Nazi Rich Evans]

In fairness to them, their own films are typically under a million dollars, so their jank is a bit more forgivable.* The problem comes from only making cheap shit between high quality Youtube videos and garbage-tier feature films. They can't manage to make an 80s B movie because they don't want to make an earnest B-movie (that then fails) and go for ironic, intentionally bad B movie, which results in unironically bad movies. They can never make a movie like The Room because that requires artistic honesty without the competence.

*I criticize Space Cop because it isn't funny or well-written, not because it looks cheap.

i defend gorilla interrupted and feeding frenzy. i think both of those are good movies when you consider their budgets. it is space cops which is their big flop. i also like their short movies they made back when they did the 48 hour film challenges. i also really love the grabowskis.


it makes sens to me why i like those things but dont like space cop. gorilla interrupted was them just goofing off on camera with zero dollars for budget, and for those of us who like that about RLM then it is a fun movie. feeding frenzy is their love letter to rubber puppet movies which is something they clearly love.


space cop on the other hand. they went all in and tried to make it a real movie, and it flopped hard. it is clear they had no real passion for it. in their own words they hated working on it, and it shows. it was an idea mike and rich had and sat on for years until they decided to make it a movie for whatever reason.


i think as with all things RLM, when they have a passion for it, whether it be a movie, sitcom, or review, they can make excellent stuff. problem is they dont seem to have a passion for anything they make anymore. and i get it. how many times can you make a plinkett review, or do a half in the bag and still keep enthusiastic about it?

i know it has been said a million times, but i do think RLM needs to take a long break to recharge. if they are going to put out something, it should only be something they have a real passion for. otherwise they are jsut goign to chur out mediocre crap while continuing the cycle of being burnt out by it all.

 

[Mola Ram]

i know it has been said a million times, but i do think RLM needs to take a long break to recharge. if they are going to put out something, it should only be something they have a real passion for. otherwise they are jsut goign to chur out mediocre crap while continuing the cycle of being burnt out by it all.

I've begun to think the "break" is going to come when either Rich or Mike hits the big 5-0 (and that is a lot sooner than you might suspect), and I further think the break is going to be a permanent one. Who needs to be stacking Jenga towers of videotapes, setting up the Plinketto board, or further ruining your middle-aged eyes by watching six hours of pure garbage on a weeknight when you're in your 50s?

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

Space Cop broke them and they've never truly recovered IMO

 

[Akerman]

They did a commentary track in 2022 for Demon Wind that's hidden in the game High on Life. You should be able to find links to a ripped version of it in this very thread or on the SuprBay forums in the Rifftrax section.

I forgot about that one, I am going to listen to it now. Thanks. I did find the SpaceCop one too recently which for the longest time was an elusive "missing commentary" for me, and finally listened to it. I really recommend tracking it down to hear it for the first time, as I am sure most RLM viewers didn't buy SpaceCop on BluRay. It's honestly better than the movie.

 

[McMitch]

I've begun to think the "break" is going to come when either Rich or Mike hits the big 5-0 (and that is a lot sooner than you might suspect)

I got my dad into watching them, and I constantly have to remind him they are closer to his age than they are mine.

 

[Shartavius]

I really recommend tracking it down to hear it for the first time, as I am sure most RLM viewers didn't buy SpaceCop on BluRay. It's honestly better than the movie.

All their commentary tracks for their own films are superior to the film themselves; because none can stand on their own. Had I watched The Recovered without their commentary, I would have called someone to complain about the implausibly shitty movie I had just watched. My favorite version of Space Cop is the deliberately shitty VHS edit with the commentary as the primary audio track. I forget if I made it or found it that way on SuprBay.

 

[Tepes Thot]

Space Cop broke them and they've never truly recovered IMO

Sort of like what people think happened to James Rolfe too.

 

[Idiotron]

Gems from a Google search:

 

[Shartavius]

Sort of like what people think happened to James Rolfe too.

All I know about Rolfe is that he can't seem to go bald with any measure of dignity, and squandered so much of his adult life daydreaming - intoxicated with his potential and the prospect of using Youtube as a stepping stone to Bigger and Better Things -, that any actual opportunities to be something more than the Angry Video Game Nerd had evaporated before he knew it.

It seems distinguished from RLM's ethic of blatantly coasting until Mike or Rich dies first.

 

[TheHarbinger]

In fairness to them, their own films are typically under a million dollars, so their jank is a bit more forgivable.

$1 million? The first Saw movie was a little over $1 million. Same with Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Reservoir Dogs adjusted for inflation is $2 million. Blair Witch was $60K. Paranormal Activity was $15K. And tons of small horror films are under $1 million.

Practically every single made-for-television movie is well under that budget. Hallmark or Lifetime movies are made for half of that. $1 million for a small film is a massive budget. Almost no one outside of larger studios will finance that. Napoleon Dynamite was $500K. You can shoot a 'movie of the week' for $100K for almost any network today.

Space Cop could have been made for under $10K based on what I watched. Their films are nowhere near $1 million to make. You could make a legitimate big studio horror film for even half of that money.

 

[Akerman]

All I know about Rolfe is that he can't seem to go bald with any measure of dignity, and squandered so much of his adult life daydreaming - intoxicated with his potential and the prospect of using Youtube as a stepping stone to Bigger and Better Things -, that any actual opportunities to be something more than the Angry Video Game Nerd had evaporated before he knew it.

He should have just gone all in on producing AVGN content occasionally for the cash, while focusing his actual creative efforts on talking about old movies.

I don't particularly care for many of them, but it's clear he was at his best when discussing them because that's what he genuinely seemed passionate about. I remember he showed in a video that he collected them as far back as his childhood, even building an entire fake rental shop in his basement because of his love for old movies. There are people who probably talk about them better than him, but he was by far best placed to become the one go-to guy for those kind of films. He screwed that up.

I'd rather listen to someone talk about a passion I don't share than see them pretend to care about something they don't, ala RLM talking about Acolyte for example. Disingenuous content often feels desperate and is easy for viewers to detect, which is always a huge turn-off.

 

[Tepes Thot]

All I know about Rolfe is that he can't seem to go bald with any measure of dignity, and squandered so much of his adult life daydreaming - intoxicated with his potential and the prospect of using Youtube as a stepping stone to Bigger and Better Things -, that any actual opportunities to be something more than the Angry Video Game Nerd had evaporated before he knew it.

It seems distinguished from RLM's ethic of blatantly coasting until Mike or Rich dies first.

He made his movie but was so hellbent on filming in Hollywood/California, he burned the budget on things that ultimately did nothing for a terrible film.

After that failure, he stopped giving a damn and let his handlers puppet him through his YT content.

 

[Doctor of Autism]

RLM is honestly more palatable to watch compared to Rolfe. Say what you will about RLM but they at least are not pretending to be anyone else, and are just themselves.

Rolfe constantly forces himself to be angry in his newer AVGN videos and overacts that feels rather cringeworthy.

 

[I'm a Silly]

They did a commentary track in 2022 for Demon Wind that's hidden in the game High on Life. You should be able to find links to a ripped version of it in this very thread or on the SuprBay forums in the Rifftrax section.

 

[Tepes Thot]

RLM is honestly more palatable to watch compared to Rolfe. Say what you will about RLM but they at least are not pretending to be anyone else, and are just themselves.

Rolfe constantly forces himself to be angry in his newer AVGN videos and overacts that feels rather cringeworthy.

Oh 100% agreed. I’m just talking about how much their big movie not working out had an impact on them.

They definitely put more effort into their current content than he does. Funnily enough, they joked about one of his biggest blunders from laziness a while back.