Tijuana Bible Stories: Heavy Metal

By AARON MESH

I don't know if Heavy Metal is a good movie, but it is an original and—in its crude way—a brave one. A fantasy cartoon urtext with SCTV voices, the 1981 omnibus hails from an era before fanboys roamed safely in herds. Drawn from Leonard Mogel's Heavy Metal magazine (which had little to do with thrash, and a lot to do with naked, pneumatically gifted women riding giant wasps and lizards), the vignettes are a stepping stone from underground comix to The Fifth Element, with Nudie Babes in 13-Year-Old Boyland. Like Fritz the Cat a decade before, this movie marks a moment when public entertainment and personal fetish were indistinguishable. "There was no way I was gonna walk around this place with my dork hanging out," says Den (John Candy) as he wraps himself in a loincloth. Heavy Metal lets its dork fly proudly. Laurelhurst, presented by Beer and Movie.

  1. Best paired with: New Belgium Blue Paddle Pilsner.
  2. Also showing: True Romance (Bagdad, 9 pm Monday, Feb. 14).

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