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7.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Mickey's Ape Man remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you are looking for a cinematic masterpiece, please walk away right now. But if you want to see a very young, incredibly loud Mickey Rooney run around in the dirt, this might be your thing.
Most modern viewers will probably find this painful, honestly. Especially with how some of the comedy has aged like warm milk left in the sun.
The plot is basically about Mickey and his neighborhood gang trying to put on a wild jungle show. Naturally, this involves a terrible ape costume and a lot of screaming.
The whole thing feels like it was filmed over a single afternoon in someone's dusty backyard. You can practically smell the dry California dirt flying into the camera lens.
Mickey Rooney has this energy that is almost exhausting to watch. He does not just act; he vibrates at a frequency that makes you want to hand him a glass of water.
And then there is Billy Barty. He is tiny, chaotic, and basically gets thrown around like a ragdoll in several scenes. 🐒
"The kid in the ape suit looks less like a gorilla and more like a carpet that fell into some mud."
There is a gag where they try to trick some adults that goes on for way too long. I think I counted three times where the camera just stays on a dog looking confused.
It reminded me a bit of Movie Mad, where the kids also have way too much time on their hands. But this one has more monkeys, or people pretending to be monkeys, which was apparently a big theme back then, much like in Darwin Was Right.
It is not a good movie by any stretch. But it has this weird, frantic energy that keeps you watching just to see what dumb stunt they try next.
If you have twenty minutes to waste and like old, dusty slapstick, give it a go. Just do not expect anything polite.
