After the massive success of Saturday Night Fever, various movies were made to capitalize on its success. Some of these included Thank God It’s Friday, Skatetown USA, and Roller Boogie. But then, there was Can’t Stop the Music, which bombed at the box office and led to the creation of the Razzies. Alongside it was Xanadu, which was a financial disappointment, but it has spawned a cult following. Around the same time, there was The Apple. Directed by Menahem Golan of The Cannon Group, this was to be his big hit. Golan planned on having this film be the next big thing, hoping that this would be his big break in the American film industry. Sadly, this wasn’t the case as the film was destroyed by critics and audiences. Overtime, it found its audience and now has a new appreciation. So what is it that makes The Apple so special?
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Set in the far-off (at the time) future of 1994, the film takes place in a world dominated by BIM. BIM, which stands for Boogalow International Music, is a major record label that more or less runs the world. At the Worldvision Song Festival, BIM is showcasing their two latest stars, Pandi and Dandi. Things change when a young couple, Alphie and Bibi, show up to perform. While hated at first, the crowd starts to love them. Mr. Boogalow ends up sabotaging them, but still wants to sign them for a contract. While Bibi agrees to sign, Alphie realizes this isn’t right and refuses. Unfortunately, Alphie is thrown out and living in a flophouse while Bibi is a major superstar. As time goes on, Bibi realizes how evil BIM is, and she manages to get out of the contract and reunites with Alphie at a hippy commune.
To say that this movie is crazy would only be scratching the surface of just how ludicrous this movie is. There are musical numbers almost every five minutes. It’s very colorful, it has elaborately designed costumes, and the set design is amazingly weird. Being the feature film debut of Catherine Mary Stewart, she’s pretty decent and really does come across as a young naive woman. While she does lip sync, it’s done so well that you actually believe she’s singing. George Gilmour who plays Alphie isn’t terrible, but it does feel like acting isn’t really for him. Grace Kennedy and Allan Love, who play Pandi and Dandi respectively, are a lot of fun to watch. Vladek Sheybal completely owns his role as Mr. Boogalow, and he’s clearly having a blast here. Also of note is Ray Shell as Boogalow’s assistant Snake, who is so wild and over-the-top, he is wonderful.
While I do love this movie, I can totally understand why people wouldn’t like the film. It’s very ridiculous, nonsensical, and very loud and bombastic. The movie is very weird, it’s out there, and it has one of the biggest deus ex machina endings ever. Audiences in 1980 were not very kind to this movie. At the premiere, guests were given free copies of the soundtrack, and they hated the movie so much, they started throwing the soundtracks at the screen. Golan was so distraught by how much hate the movie got, he almost jumped off a balcony to his death. Luckily, his business partner saved him, and he may have gone a bit too far, but it’s very understandable. Here was a movie he put his heart and soul into, and people are booing it and throwing things at the screen.
However, as time went on, a cult following started to develop and people started liking it. There are people who love it ironically, but there are those who legitimately love it. Personally, the movie is so much fun to watch that it’s hard for me to hate the movie. It’s so crazy, weird, and out there, but The Apple is the kind of movie that is too much fun to hate.
