Hercules Recycled

Cleverly running the (apparently) public domain titles Hercules and Hercules Unchained through a Cuisinart and dubbing in all new dialogue and sound effects (belches and farts), Hercules Recycled's scrolling Star Wars-like text prologue informs us that the action takes place in a post-WWIII nuked future (which looks-here's a surprise-just like a cheesy Roman-era set). Steve Reeves stars as...well...Hercules, but here he's called Burt Galaxy, a former TV exercise show host. Searching for a lost energy formula which appears to be written on the back of a rather golden-looking fleece (which belonged in a different story altogether if my mythological memory serves), Burt embarks on his quest while taking time to trade scorching dialogue with the lusty Boom-Boom LaRush (Boom-Boom: "I'll have you know I'm a ten. Burt: "Divided by two.") In a hilarious subplot, the CEO of General Chariots is embroiled in a labor dispute that eventually leads to a showdown at the coliseum corral where the union rep's demands ("pop machine") are met by the chief executive's draconian retorts ("garden hoses"). Cheap--but in so many ways--Hercules Recycled is recommended. (R. Pitman)