RiffTrax

Pearl of the Orient (3x90)

: 18, 2010

Join the middle-aged drummer as this thrilling documentary follows his exploits during Rush’s 2009 Asian tour. Leaving in his wake several bottles of FiberCon, completely unnecessary drum kit pieces, and pulp 1950s Sci-Fi novels with highlighted passages marked “use for lyrics”, the man....what’s that? Oh, this isn’t Neil Peart of the Orient? My mistake. The makers of Pearl of the Orient set out to make a positive, uplifting piece about life in the heavily-bombed Philippine islands during the aftermath of World War II. And, if you consider third world poverty, rat-smashing, and utterly joyless wedding ceremonies “uplifting”, the filmmakers succeeded admirably! The tourism dollars surely flowed like a debris-tainted waterfall into the island nation after the world saw delightful images of villagers breaking their backs all day to harvest a half-cup of rice. Think about that next time you feel the urge to post on facebook “Stupid supermarket out of whole wheat linguini so had to settle for regular. FML!!!” Yes, it’s a nice reminder of how much we suck. There’s also a cockfight. You should buy this. Tag along with Mike, Kevin, Bill, and their newly-acquired Filipino wives for a trip to the Pearl of the Orient!