Viewing Date: Jun 26, 2025
Starring: David Keith, Kathy Shower, Brant Van Hoffman
Plot: A drunken, down-on-his-luck adventurer is hired by a wealthy man and his beautiful wife to take them on a hunting expedition in the jungle. After a while, though, the guide begins to suspect that there’s more to the expedition than just hunting. (via IMDB)
Rules
- Tennessee Buck is drunk
- Elephant hijinks (sadly, this did not come into play)
- “cannibal”
Quotes
- (viewer): “Tennessee Buck has had zero adventure so far” (mid-way through the movie)
- “The way to a man’s heart is through his liver.”
- “4-5 hours a day, 7 days a week.” “You practice shooting that much?” “No. That’s how much I drink.”
What We Learned
- Keith David is not David Keith
- Cannibals call human meat “long pig”
- Cannibals sleep outdoors in piles (like the Croods?)
- Nothing leads to a romantic jungle encounter like having your husband decapitated and then getting raped.
Final take
I can see how this film came together: Mid-80’s, a group of low budget filmmakers sitting around a table thinking about how to capitalize on the success of Indiana Jones.
“Our hero should be a drunk loser that still has a way with the ladies. What should we call him? Alabama Smith? Arkansas Pete? I got it- Tennessee Buck!”
“Great! But he can’t be too likeable. Let’s have him shoot an abused elephant in one of the opening scenes.”
“I like it. Should it be a slapstick comedy? Action adventure? Suspense and horror? Porn?”
“Let’s do it all! But we need jungle natives that behave like cave people in black face- and wacky cannibals! And let’s conclude it with a decapitation and graphic rape scene!”
“Pure gold!!!”
So we have no idea what this movie is supposed to be- it is a mash up of several genres that doesn’t do any of them well. There are a few funny lines, but the movie never figures out what exactly it is trying to be. And why exactly are these are the ‘further’ adventures of Tennessee Buck? The ‘adventure-level’ of this movie was questionable at best. Did they think this steaming pile of crap would lead to a prequel or something else because viewers were left wanting to know more about this fascinating character? In summary, it seemed like a great BMT fit, with all the necessary ingredients, but in the end is only borderline enjoyable.
Bad Movie Thursday 