Let’s face it: Hollywood thinks the movie-going public’s collective IQ is comparable to the Olsen twins’ combined—and that’s not saying much.

It’s a depressing fact that every summer the most bloated and downright awful movies gross a couple hundred million dollars, then fade into obscurity in a culture plagued by short-term memory that rivals Guy Pearce’s in “Memento.”

So by the bones of Japanese filmmaking genius Akira Kurosawa, we should be eternally thankful for Austin’s own Master Pancake Theatre.

The concept is simple: Four comedians wisecrack their way through various cinematic atrocities, whether big-budget or shoestring. Master Pancake Theatre, formerly Mystery Sinus Theatre, borrowed its concept from cult television show “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” which featured a man and his two robots making fun of bad movies.

The catch with Master Pancake is that they do it live at the Alamo Drafthouse, Austin’s Mecca of all things cinema.

This month, the comedic foursome is taking on Michael Bay’s adaptation of cult cartoon “Transformers.” “Transformers” may have been one of the highest grossing films of 2007, but the Pancakes riffed without mercy at a recent performance.

Before the film started, the audience picked a phrase—too lewd to reprint here—to shout whenever anything transformed. From then on, Master Pancake had the audience in hysterics with sidesplitting, cutting observations about the film’s failings.

The jokes targeted confusing action scenes with remarks like, “These would be really cool if we knew what was going on,” blatant product placement, Shia LeBeouf’s unrealistically attractive girlfriend (Megan Fox) and more. The jokes were fast and furious, and some members of the audience found little time to breathe between raucous bursts of laughter.

Halfway through the film, the projector stopped and the lights came up as the comedians took to the stage to perform a 15-minute sketch about Transformer boot camp, where Transformers attempted to dissect pop culture to blend in better with humans. Despite some roughness, the comics never missed a beat and seemed to have fun even through the under-rehearsed bits.

Master Pancake Theatre absolutely slaughtered “Transformers.” If you’re looking for a bawdy and hilarious time out at the movies, don’t see a new release. Stop by the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz or South Lamar for Master Pancake Theatre and enjoy Hollywood movies the way they never wanted you to.

 

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