All My Heroes Have Been Japanese Cowboys

The folks over at DoubleViking.com, a sort of on-line variation of magazines like Maxim, have published an article announcing something that I’ve known for the past 23 years-

Real Men Love The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension!

To be sure, some of the reasons the writer gives are a bit tongue in cheek. But he is correct in stating “If you haven’t watched it, then you are seriously missing out on a cinematic gem.”

I first saw Buckaroo Banzai during its incredibly short theatrical release in the fall of 1984. It was on my first date ever and though my love affair with Sheri P. went the way of most high school romances, my love affair with the movie has continued to this date. As a high school sophmore with no idea of what he wanted to do with his future, it was a revelation to see a character, as personified by Peter Weller, who didn’t choose one path in life, but walked many- musician, scientist, surgeon, adventurer. Definitely a reassuring message to a kid stuck in the middle of taking all sorts of college and career apptitude tests and being told by guidence counsellors, teachers and the like that everything you do now is going to HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!

It was also one of the first movies that inspired me to pick up a pen and try my hand at writing. I wound up getting a couple of Buckaroo fan fiction short stories published, one of which netted me a letter from Peter Weller himself!

If you haven’t checked out Buckaroo Banzai, drop it into your NetFlix/Blockbuster rental queue or head out to your local DVD rental establishment and pick it up. It’s a film that, despite being firmly cemented in the mid-80s New Wave esthetic, holds up well today.

And remember, “No matter where you go… there you are.”