Main cast: Sandra Bernhard (Rat), Michael Des Barres (The Wise Man), Dennis Burkley (The Fool), Joe Flaherty (The Chemist), Lisa Dunsheath (Orchid), Leon Isaac Kennedy (The Duke), Gene Simmons (Mr Big), and Page Fletcher (The Hitchhiker)
Director: Richard Rothstein
Someone told me that they did an image search of Page Fletcher and found him rather underwhelming in the cake department. Well, that’s their mistake right there: looking for a static image. Go watch the opening credits, which is on YouTube the last I checked, and watch the buns in motion. Encased in those tight jeans, even jiggling a bit as Mr Fletcher walks, as the camera zooms in close on those buns… the sight always keeps my spirits up and help me stay strong when the rest of the episode is awful.
Fortunately, O.D. Feelin’ is not one of those awful episodes. Indeed, it looks like The Hitchhiker has found its stride at last, as the last few episodes and this one have been unexpectedly enjoyable.
This is also one of the most 1980s episode ever in terms of aesthetics, as every character dresses up like they are in a street convention where only Rick James, Prince, David Bowie, and Lisa Lisa lookalikes are allowed entry. Oh, and there’s Gene Simmons as well as Sandra Bernhard playing a guy with some uncredited bloke’s voice being dubbed over hers. Very big hair, bigger shoulder pads, chains and drip galore… I can smell the hair gel and hairspray along with unwashed leather and boot polish just from watching this thing. This is easily the most visually arresting episode to date in this series, and I just love the whole campy appearance of this thing.
Taking place over the space of a single night, this one follows a bag of cocaine as various people stumble upon it, steal it, or kill one another over it. It all begins when a drug dealer and some mobsters kill one another in a shootout, and an enterprising street rat named, well, Rat witnesses the whole thing and takes the bag from the dead drug dealer. After all, dead men have no use for happy powder. Unfortunately, various other shady characters will want to get their hands on that bag of happy powder too, so the fun begins.
There’s not much depth to the story, but this is a fun kind of style over substance, as the episode is short enough to end before the amusing betrayal and counter-betrayal wear out their welcome. The whole thing is reminiscent of gaudy over the top flicks of the 1980s like Streets of Fire, in which everything is over the top like only something from that era could be. Even the absurd ending feels right at home with the farcical nature of this episode.
There’s no nudity or sleaze here, but who cares. This is easily the most entertaining episode in all the seasons to date. Four oogies, baby!
