The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

It can honestly be said that, in the intervening decade and a half, I never quite figured out what was happening in this film. I just knew that I liked it. This seems to be the typical state of many of the film's fans. Of course, it was never intended to enlighten, just to please and thrill, which it did a great job of doing. In addition, the dialog was unbelievable. Lines like 'hold my thruster,' and 'no matter where you go, there you are' abound. The closest thing there was at the time to an intelligent reader's comic book.

Now I've discovered that the Buckaroo Banzai Rosetta Stone has finally been written. A new paperback containing not only the entire scintillating story, but a whole insert of color of photos and an introduction by the author himself. Suddenly, I am no longer one of the perplexed, but one of the cognoscenti. Now I understand the mystery of Penny Priddy and why a bunch of guys named John wanted to get at her overthruster. I know who in the blue blazes are the Blue Blazes, and why a scarlet cowboy in mohair chaps was called New Jersey.

Of course some questions are best left unanswered. Such as why the alien police of Planet 10 (the Adders) felt it was necessary to trigger World War III on the Earth to stop the bad guys (the Lectroids). I would have used their incredible death ray to simply blow up the interdimensional spaceship being built at Yoyodyne Enterprises. Which shows that I have yet to learn about how to think like an alien (despite the claims of my friends). One the other hand, this whole book (and the film) wouldn't have occurred if someone had thought of that earlier. And so we are treated to the entire titanic struggle of B. Banzai to save the Earth. Complete with commentary.

While the book stands quite well without the film, I think it would be scurrilous not so see the film and read the book. What order you should do this in is up to you. In retrospect, I thing you should read the book and then invite some unsuspecting friends over to see the film. During which you can make yourself popular by pointing out all the good parts and giving away the plot.

After five viewing, I think I understand the appeal. So I bought the book.

First of all, which is better-the book or the movie? I think that the book has the "Dune" problem, in that we are placed in a complex world with plots within plots within plots, and it is almost as if we are joining both "Dune" and "Buckaroo Banzai" in "Part Six" of a series. The book starts out very thick and layer with much of the Hong Kong Cavalier's past alluded to in the text and in the MANY footnotes. However, the book seems to loose steam in places where the movie is strongest, such as the chase scenes at the end.

In some parts of the book, we are reading a script-a la "This side of Paradise." This allows for quicker, choppier action to be presents almost as it is seen on the movie. But it also may be due Rauch getting tired of novelizing his script.

Secondly, the style. Rauch's prose was choppy and bulky at first, but I got used to his style. The story is told from the point of view of Reno, much like Doyle had Watson as Sherlock Holmes's chronicler. This allows us to share the wonder and mystery of the dominating Elvis-like figure that moves events. It supplements the enchantment, and allows us to follow the non-Banzai threads of the book.

The narrative has minimal exposition, which keeps the story punchy, but you feel that there is a whole new world with a whole new history behind it, and we are given a peek. Watson always alluded to untold Holmes cases, and Rauch does the same thing as combo parody-tribute. This complexity works well for "Dune" and "Lord of The Rings," and makes the milieu glisten and teem with life.

Rauch also peppers his book with oddball, quirky humor. If you are not careful you can miss the gags and one-liners that are so apparent in the movie. With this mulligan soup is a peppering of philosophy-some of it quite observant, some of the philosophy reminds me of my thoughts as 14-year old thinking I was unusually profound. Orson Scott Card once described this type of thinking as "undergraduate level philosophy." (Children of the Mind). Then again, this may be part of the humor, a sort of hyper-irony that is prevalent in "The Simpsons."

As far as novelizations go, this one has merit. I always prefer it when the scriptwriters novelize their own stories, since the authors are telling their own story, instead of having a distant hack try to elusively capture the writer's passion and dream.

I think the cover is an improvement over the original book-it is more eye-catching, more engaging. Among the original book cover, the original VHS cover, the VHS reissue cover, and the DVD cover, I think the book ahs the best composition. It would have been nice to have some continuity between the covers so we are not confused. But then again, how do you package the #2 cult film of all time. I will sell itself by reputation.

For any hard-core fan of the film, I endorse this book, since so many jokes in the movie now make sense. In one scene, New Jersey mistakes Reno for Pecos-well, Pecos is a woman! The casual fan would also be interested, or anyone wanting a quick read. By the way, you need to read the last page VERY carefully!