The Big Bus

I probably shouldn't like this film, but sweet damn, I do. Very much.

By way of synopsis: this is the story of the inaugural non-stop atomic bus service from New York to Denver. Cyclops, an articulated twin deck bus (with a swimming pool and a bowling alley on board of course), is beset by various unlikely perils en route.

This venerable spoof predates "Airplane!" by four years, and is at least its equal in cheesy quality. This film is cheese, and it's matured for 28 years. With no word of a lie, it is THE cheesiest film I have ever seen, and I've witnessed some fine acts of cheese.

And there are some pretty bad moments to be sure, the sort of moments where you cringe so violently that ligaments tear, but there's comedy of fine calibre in this too: both by way of deadpan "throwaway" lines, and the overall situation (sublimely funny).

The grandfather of a genre (and I'd argue, an exemplar), The Big Bus deserves far more recognition than it presently receives. A fine spoof with no high ideas of itself, which doesn't need to stoop low... by virtue of starting low. Perhaps that's my favourite thing about this film: it was written, acted, and produced without shame. And for that, it's the best quality low quality you'll ever see.