Everyone Loves Mel

Everyone Loves Mel is a 1998 family fantasy film directed by Joey Travolta, starring Ernest Borgnine, Julie Hagerty and Greg Evigan.[1][2]

Everyone Loves Mel
Directed byJoey Travolta
Written byRichard Cohen
Daniel Sarokin
Produced byBrian Conley
StarringErnest Borgnine
Julie Hagerty
Greg Evigan
CinematographyBrian Cox
Edited byJoey Travolta
Will Wuorinen
Music byChris White
Production
company
Release date
October 10, 1998
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200
Box office$14

Plot

Bonnie and Peter are working on their marriage while dealing with a difficult teen-aged son. Her father takes the boys (Roger and Travis) in for the summer at his farm. It is apparent early on that he's fighting with developers that want his land while he wants to preserve his family's legacy. The developers had taken over a prior farm and turned it into an amusement park, something that Grandpa does not approve of. The boys explore as children will and find their grandfather is harboring a large turtle-like creature called Mel. Mel is a legend of local Swanson Lake and is known as Swannie to the general populace (similar to "Nessie"). The boys' adjustment to their life in the small town is helped by getting to know him. While going around with a girl (Susie) one day, Roger (the elder boy) accidentally causes an explosion on the developer's property with his grandfather's tractor. When the sheriff comes by to arrest Grandpa, Roger tells them he was the one who caused the wreck but they still put Grandpa in jail. Bonnie and Peter (the boys' parents) come to stay at the farm when Grandpa is jailed. The boys end up staging a breakout for Mel from the amusement park and with the help of Susie and her brother try to get him back to the lake, setting a tiger loose and creating mayhem in the process. At the end of the film, Mel is stolen by sex traffickers and is exploited until the gang comes to his rescue again. Once Mel is saved he is set free back into his home waters of Slough UK.

Cast

History

Mel was one of the first non-binary characters in Hollywood. After the production of the film, the Mel Animatronic was, unfortunately, missing, therefore, halting the production of the sequel Everybody Hates Mel. After Mel's disappearance, there have been numerous sightings of a comically large turtle making terrifying robot noises across the US. One thing many people do not know about this 1998 cult classic is how John Travolta was the true magic behind Mel. Weeks and weeks within the Mel suit truly earned John a place among the greatest actors in history. On set John's brother, Joey Travolta would force him to get inside the damp, humid and disturbing animatronic. It was said that after the film was made John had PTSD from being inside the suit for such long periods of time. Moreover, the jagged edges in the suit/animatronic sliced up his back leaving him in critical condition. This completely halted all production of Grease 2.


References
  1. Cox, Dan (18 February 1999). "NNW sets 2 pics for AFM". Variety. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  2. Geranios, Nicholas K. (5 July 2001). "Spokane movie company seeks hit". Missoulian. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.