Hey guys I’m Dev and this season of ‘Rick and Morty’ feels kinda different from the first two.
There’s a lot more exploration of the Smith family’s relationship and Ricks twisted psyche.
I'm a scientist. Because I invent, create, transform and destroy for a living, and if I see something I don't like in the world I change it.
But one thing definitely hasn’t changed:
Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon are still cramming obscure references into nearly every frame of the show.
The ‘Rick and Morty’ crew love to reach deep into the catalogue of cult cinema,
and they’ve shouted out a ton of weird old classics that are definitely worth your time.
Hey, you guys ever use that Thunderdome or did you just put it up for decoration?
So if you’re looking for something to fill your week between episodes, we’ve got some Rick and Morty: Reference Recommendations for you.
Let’s start with Zardoz.
In ‘Raising Gazorpazorp,’ Rick and Summer find themselves on a planet ruled by a society of warrior women.
Obviously, Summer, it appears the lower tier of this society is being
manipulated with sex and advanced technology by the superior ruling class.
They’ve moved beyond traditional means of reproduction,
so instead they fly around in a giant floating stone head and drop sex robots for the male population to mate with.
The whole thing is a reference to ‘Zardoz,’ one of the weirdest, trippiest ‘70s movies you’ll ever see:
I hate all women! Birth! Fertility! Superstition!
The movie takes place in 2293, where humanity has been divided into two classes:
The savage Brutals and the immortal Eternals.
The Brutals worship a god called Zardoz, who appears to them as a giant floating stone head.
He’s a little more eloquent than his ‘Rick and Morty’ counterpart.
YEAH BABY.
Zardoz likes to give soliloquies about penises instead:
PENIS IS EVIL. THE PENIS SHOOTS SEEDS. AND MAKES NEW LIFE TO POISON THE EARTH WITH A PLAGUE OF MEN.
Seriously, everyone in this movie is obsessed with dongs.
Nobody could quite determine how this becomes this. Of course we all know the physical process involved...
More specifically, Sean Connery’s dong.
And can you blame them? Check out his outfit.
I know the second I’m stuck in an apocalyptic wasteland, I’m throwing on a diaper and growing a ponytail.
I think Dan Harmon has to be the ‘Zardoz’ fan at the office, since he dressed up Star-Burns in Connery’s costume for an episode of ‘Community.’
Honestly, explaining more of the plot would just spoil how baffling and weird this movie is.
But that’s why we love it.
It’s easily one of the best bad movies ever made, so you should check it out if you’re a fan of cinematic Titanics.
Up next, we’ve got the works of David Cronenberg.
In ‘Rick Potion #9,’ Rick whips up a serum that makes Morty’s crush Jessica fall in love with him.
It works a little too well, though.
Morty! He's mine! Get him!
The entire town falls in love with Morty,
and, long story short, their antidote mutates the entire population of Earth into formless blobs of flesh and teeth that Rick calls “Cronenbergs.”
Boy, Morty, I really Cronenberged the world up, didn't I?
Instead of referencing a specific movie, this one is a tribute to the entire filmography of Canadian director David Cronenberg.
He’s one of the innovators of a sub-genre called “body horror.”
Most Cronenberg films are full of revolting body transformations,
brought to life by disgusting makeup and dripping, gooey animatronics.
Whether it’s caused by parasites, disease, hallucinations, f*cked-up TV signals, or good old mad science,
Cronenberg uses the human body as a canvas for grotesque and gory metamorphosis.
He’s done a ton of body horror films over his career, but the best entry point is probably ‘The Fly.’
It stars Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum at his absolute sexiest.
His DNA gets fused with a fly after one slips into the teleportation pod he invented.
At first, it almost feels like a superhero origin.
Flyboy gets super strength, he can crawl up walls, and his sex drive goes through the roof.
But as the movie goes on, he devolves into a disgusting monster.
His hair falls out, his skin melts off, and he even loses the ability to digest food.
Although he can chew up solid food, he can't digest it. Solid food hurt. So, like a fly, Brundlefly breaks down food with a corrosive enzyme.
By the end, he’s a full-blown animatronic fly creature,
But for me the grossest part is when he pulls off his fingernails.
It just touches a real, sickening fear we all have deep down, kinda like that episode
of 'Spongebob' where Squidward drops a couch on his foot and he stretches out his toe.
Somehow it’s more disturbing than an inside-out baboon.
Now, if you’re ready for some real heady shit, there’s plenty of other awesome Cronenberg movies to turn your stomach.
There’s ‘Videodrome,’ where James Woods grows this bloody vagina/VCR thing in his stomach.
And if you’re ready for a full-on psychedelic freakout, you’ve got to see ‘Naked Lunch,’
It’s an adaptation of William S. Burrough’s f*cked-up novel and even more f*cked-up life.
Now that you’re completely grossed out, you should probably cleanse your palette with 'Midnight Run.'
Harmon and Roiland probably don’t think too highly of this flick.
After all, they did reveal it as Jerry’s favorite movie in the episode ‘Mortynight Run.’
Who wants to watch 'Midnight Run' with director's commentary on?
It’s a little on the cheesy side, but if you find it on TBS on a Sunday afternoon, you should give it a chance.
Basically, after ‘The Untouchables’ Robert De Niro was itching for a more comedic role.
He actually was gunning for the lead part in ‘Big,’ but the studio went with Tom Hanks instead.
So ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ director Martin Brest whipped up a road trip movie for him.
The plot kind of resembles Morty’s misguided quest to free Fart.
The Fart the poops gold. No wonder every cop in the system is looking for us.
De Niro plays a bounty hunter named Walsh, who has to drag a bail-skipping mob accountant played by Charles Grodin from New York to L.A.
I can't fly. I suffer from aviophobia. What does that mean?
It means I can't fly.
You're a goddamn pilot, you sonofabitch?!
Along the way, they’re chased by the mafia, the FBI, and rival bounty hunters.
And of course, the two unlikely bedfellows become the best of friends.
It's not a payoff, it's a gift. You already let me go. You son of a bitch.
Yeah, it sounds like every buddy comedy under the sun, but come on,
It’s not often you get to see De Niro flex his comedic muscles.
At least in the pre- ‘Meet the Parents’’ era.
I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me?
Ahahahahaha! That's terrific. That's terrific.
We knew from the ‘King of Comedy’ that he had the chops,
And he actually has incredible chemistry with Grodin here.
Don't tell me how to do my goddamn job! I'm half thinking not to turn him in just to watch Eddie go down the toilet.
See that's a good thought. What? Who the hell's talking to you?
Obviously, this movie isn’t on the same level as a ‘Raging Bull’ or ‘Goodfellas,’
Now now now, you insulted him a little bit. You got a little out of order yourself.
But if you’re looking for a great Bobby D movie you’ve never seen, this one’s worth a shot.
I mean, a roomful of Jerry’s can’t be wrong, right?
Just make sure the factory tint setting isn’t too high.
The factory tint setting is always too high!
Now, like any sci-fi show worth its salt, ‘Rick and Morty’ has plenty of references to the work of Stephen King.
The title of the episode ‘Something Ricked This Way Comes’ is a reference to Ray Bradbury’s classic novel,
Which is strange because the entire plot is basically a parody of King’s ‘Needful Things.’
This aftershave made women want me but it also made me impotent! A price for everything, Mr. Goldenfold.
I mean, it’s not like it’s subtle about it, it’s the name of the damn store.
So what are you, like, the devil? Store comes outta nowhere... All the shit's old and creepy...
In the movie, the owner is still basically the devil, only he’s called Leland Gaunt.
You must realize what a deep pleasure it is doing business with you.
He gives the people of Castle Rock the trinkets of their dreams, but as payment he forces them to do nasty shit to their neighbors.
Eventually he just straight-up starts giving everyone guns and the whole town breaks out in a bloody riot.
You killed my doggie, you bitch! You broke my microwave you crazy f*ck!
Too bad they didn’t have a Curse Purge Plus! franchise in Maine.
Those two testicle guys in ‘A Rickle in Time’ are King references too.
They’re from ‘The Langoliers,’ the story of a plane that flies into a chronal rip and gets trapped back in time.
The titular monsters are basically time Pac-men.
They feed off of the past, chowing down on the timeline until only the present is left.
Also, they look like absolute shit.
Honestly, both of these movies are kind of terrible.
But the books they’re based on are solid,
And it wouldn’t kill you to read every once a while.
Good or bad, all of these movies are worth checking out.
It's impossible, don't you understand? Whaaat?!
Though you might want to save them for that long-ass wait between new seasons of ‘Rick and Morty.’