Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)

It's the same joke over and over and over....., 25 April 2005

Elvira moves to a small town to claim her inheritance - an old, rundown house. Although most of the townspeople don't approve, the kids in town are only too happy to help her fix-up her house. Elvira finds what she believes to be a cookbook in the house. Her uncle offers to buy it from her, but she won't sell. The book, it seems, contains more than ordinary recipes. It's a book of spells that Elvira must learn to use to save herself and the town.

I've seen this movie several times over the years. And with each viewing, I find myself enjoying it less and less. Elvira is a one note character - boob jokes. And, while some of the jokes are funny the first couple of times, the jokes get tired real quick. Without the comedy, Elvira becomes little more than a bad actress in a very revealing dress.

The brightest spot in the movie is Edie McClurg. She's one of those people that can make me laugh regardless of how bad the material may be. When you see her, she's the exact opposite of what you expect a comedian to look like. And she uses that to her advantage here playing the holier than though Chastity Pariah.

Even though Elvira, Mistress of the Dark may not be as good in my eyes as I once thought it was, it's still miles better than Elvira's second movie, Elvira's Haunted Hills - another one joke movie.

5/10