“Meatballs 4” is not, as its title suggests, a sequel to a preexisting story. Like the other “Meatballs” sequels (save to a small extent “Meatballs 3: Summer Job”), “Meatballs 4” is a self-contained story. Perhaps this is for the best; I doubt the average audience member for a raunchy comedy
More importantly, it means there is no barrier of entry for potential views of “Meatballs 4.” This is for the best, because the performance of star Corey Feldman as cool camp counselor Ricky Wade must be seen to be believed.
Simply put, Feldman is hilarious in “Meatballs 4,” both intentionally and unintentionally. Because he grew up as a top child star in the 1980s, by the early 1990s Feldman was instinctively familiar with the rhythms and cadences of the era’s popular teen comedies. He knows how to set the right tone, and as a result he effortlessly leads the cast as they engage on their various misadventures.
Yet he is also inadvertently funny. In real life as in “Meatballs 4,” Feldman can’t shake the notion that his true calling is to be a song-and-dance man. The results are hardly flattering to Feldman… but his bruised vanity aside, they are also quite entertaining.
Feldman’s Michael Jacksonian hoofing are enough to recommend “Meatballs,” but I also recommend it as a throwback to the shamelessly perverted, corny, un-PC and self-indulgent teenage comedies that dominated the box office from “Animal House” and “Porky’s” to “American Pie” and “Old School.” Note that the first two films listed there were released in the late 1970s/early 1980s (1978 and 1981) and the last two in the late 1990s/early 2000s (1999 and 2003). Released in 1992, “Meatballs 4” falls in the middle of that cinematic cycle, and this shows.
For anyone fond of that subgenre, “Meatballs 4” is also rewarding.
The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and context.
Logan:
In 19—gosh, when was it—’92, we shot the film “Meatballs 4,” which, by the way, was never gonna be called “Meatballs 4.” It was gonna be called—uh, uh—it was gonna be called “Happy Campers.” And during the middle of the making of the film, the producers came to me and said, ‘Hey, we bought the name ‘Meatballs.’ We’re gonna call it ‘Meatballs 4.’’ I had no idea that I was gonna be involved in a ‘Meatballs’ or any movie called ‘4.’ So just get that outta the way first.
Anyway, we were shooting the film, and then we had a sequence at night where the young kids at the camp are getting together, and they’re dancing, and they’re having a good time, and we got a DJ playing music.
And then Corey came up to me and said, ‘Hey, can I go up on stage and dance during one of the—one of the musical songs?’ And I went, ‘Well, sure,’ you know, because I thought, what the hell? We had a little bit of time to shoot. And also, I could always—if it wasn’t good, I could cut it out or whatever.
And so we went ahead and shot it. And we wound up sticking it into the film, ’cause we thought — he’s not gonna like hearing this—’cause we thought it was funny as opposed to what he wanted to get, which was, like, entertaining. That was kind of funny.
Anyway, that’s got him into really wanting to perform in the whatever. And then he—he went off, and we’ve seen him now on “The Today Show” and lots of other places. And he’s got his new career doing this rock stuff. I like Cory. I do like Cory.
Rozsa:
I have to ask: whose idea was it for his character to be introduced parasailing with a boombox strapped to his chest? He parasails into a lake with a boombox strapped to his chest. Whose idea was that?
Logan:
It was me. I mean, I had—the thing is, I got—I got approached to make this movie. And again, like I said, it wasn’t gonna be called ‘Meatballs”; it was gonna be called “Happy Campers.” And it was a—it was a pure deal that we had to get the production going. They called me and said, “Would you like to make this movie?” I said, “Well, send me the script.” They said, “There is no script.”
I said, “Well, tell me what the story’s about.” “There is no story.” “When will there be a script?’ “Well, we want you to write it and direct. We want you to be the guy on this.” “And I went, ‘Well, how long have I got to write the film?” “They go, ‘Eight days.’” So they offered me—kind of, to be honest—they offered me a little ridiculous kind of amount of money. And I went, “Okay. <laugh> Let’s do it.”
And I locked myself in a hotel, and I wrote it in eight days.
So anyway, so everything you saw in that film—all the characters, the story, the—the—the whole thing, the—the entire screenplay—I wrote in eight days. And so I wrote everything in it.
Rozsa:
You made the right decision. I mean, if they offered you a ridiculous amount of money to make a silly summer camp comedy, you should take that money, and you should make the silly summer camp comedy. I see no reason not to.
Logan:
Bought me—bought me another house. Mm-hmm.
Rozsa:
I mean, the movie in my mind is best known today for being the “Meatballs” movie with Corey Feldman. I’d say that’s its big claim to fame. And that dance scene was something else, to put it mildly.
I think he’s trying to channel Michael Jackson. He’s trying to channel Michael Jackson, yeah—but he doesn’t have the rhythm, and he needs to be honest with himself.
Logan:
Michael and he were very close friends, by the way, just as a matter of fact. Michael released—now, which album was that? I think it was “HIStory”, the one that has “Black or White” on it. [Author’s Note: The album was “Dangerous.”] Michael had released it while we were on location shooting the film. He had a copy sent by an assistant up to the location at Bass Lake in Northern California, where we shot the film.
So Corey had a party—no, it was a wrap party, an end-of-the-week party—in his cabin. All the cast and crew came, and he played us the album. That was it. He and Michael were very close. Corey used to spend many, many nights at Neverland Ranch with him.
Back Seat Socialism Podcast Episode 11
Back Seat Socialism
Back Seat Socialism is a column by Matthew Rozsa, who has been a professional journalist for more than 13 years. Currently, he is writing a book for Beacon Press, “Neurosocialism,” which argues that autistic people like the author struggle under capitalism, and explains how neurosocialism - the distinct anticapitalist perspective one develops by living as a neurodiverse individual - can be an important organizing principle for the left.