Creating Rem Lezar
Creating Rem Lezar /ˈrɛm ləˈzɑːr/ is a 1989 American children's musical film directed, written, and produced by Scott Zakarin and released direct-to-video.[1][2][3]
Creating Rem Lezar | |
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Directed by | Scott Zakarin |
Written by | Scott Zakarin |
Produced by | Scott Zakarin Phil Meyerowitz |
Starring | Jack Mulcahy Courtney Kernaghan Jonathan Goch |
Cinematography | Richard E. Brooks |
Music by | James E. Graseck Bernie Maloney Mark Mulé Peter Spirer |
Production company | Rem Lezar Corporation |
Distributed by | Valley Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 48 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Production
Creating Rem Lezar was filmed in a variety of locations in New York state: The Bellmores, New York City, Roslyn and Spring Glen.[4]
Plot
Two children have the same dream about the same imaginary friend, a superhero named Rem Lezar. They paint a mannequin like their dream hero, which comes to life. The children try and find a Quixotic Medallion that will allow him to live longer than a day. Together they traverse New York, finding various characters along the way, such as a dancing quartet who sing to themselves ("Day and Night"). Eventually, they meet the seemingly evil Vorock, a floating entity who threatens them from the sky. However, the character is turned good when the children say that they love Vorock. The children go back home and find that their imaginary Rem Lezar has returned to the form of a mannequin, but Zack still has the Quixotic Medallion. The children go back to sleep with Rem Lezar still on the mind.
Cast
- Jack Mulcahy as Rem Lezar, policeman
- Courtney Kernaghan as Ashlee
- Allegra Forste as Ashlee (singing double)
- Jonathan Goch as Zack
- Kathleen Gati as Ashlee's mother
- Scott Zakarin as Vorock
- Stewart H. Bruck as Principal
- Evan Abbey, Ed Luparello, Billy Manning, and Johnny O'Hanlon as park quartet
- Devery Gladney as park rapper
- James E. Graseck as park violinist
- Teresa Simpson as school teacher
- Stuart Grodin as Ashlee's father
- Karin Kernaghan as Zack's mother
- Thomas Ritchie as Zack's father
- Jason Erdman as Ashlee's brother
Reception
In 2007, the film came to prominence on the website eBaum's World, with the musical number "Day and Night" (featuring a late-1980s doo-wop group, hip-hop MC and violinist) becoming a viral hit.[5]
Creating Rem Lezar (described as "creepy/fascinating" and "very strange") appeared in a 2014 BuzzFeed listicle of 26 films that Scarecrow Video were trying to keep available to the public, as a reminder of "how many rare titles are still only available as physical media thanks to market forces, rights issues, corporate wrangling, and other reasons."[6]
Creating Rem Lezar was featured on a 2019 episode of RedLetterMedia's "Best of the Worst" series.[7] The crew voted the film the best video they had watched that night, and have since made it part of their Best of the Worst Hall of Fame.
Scott Zakarin, the film's director, has himself described the film as "a critical success but a commercial failure."[8]
References
- "Creating Rem Lezar (1989)" – via letterboxd.com.
- Scumbalina (1 April 2012). "Atomic Caravan: Creating Rem Lezar (1989)".
- ""Creating Rem Lezar" review". 9 November 2010.
- "Creating Rem Lezar (Video 1989) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- mondo270. "Rem Lezar sings... poorly". www.ebaumsworld.com.
- Willmore, Alison. "26 Hard-To-Find Movies That Remind Us Why VHS, DVD, And LaserDisc Still Matter". BuzzFeed.
- RedLetterMedia (21 February 2019). "Best of the Worst: Wheel of the Worst #18" – via YouTube.
- Geirland, John; Kedar, Eva Sonesh (25 March 1999). Digital Babylon: How the Geeks, the Suits, and the Ponytails Fought to Bring Hollywood to the Internet. Arcade Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 9781559704830 – via Internet Archive.
Creating Rem Lezar.