Posted: 03/24/2003

Bug Off!

(2001)

by Yasmin Hunt

MTI Home Video releases a fun film that’s perfect for your kids. Yes, you can watch it, too.

Ever wished your annoying sibling, co-worker, or boss was a bug? Well, in Bug Off!, Krista makes her wish and it’s granted! MTI Home Video has released Artist View Family’s feature film Bug Off! on VHS and DVD and is available for purchase. Now about the movie…

Krista played by Briana Shipley (Right on Track) and her little brother Tyler played by Andrew Fugate (Absence of the Good) can’t stand each other. Tyler is constantly working his sister’s last nerve, getting her in trouble with his manipulative antics. It is the typical brother /sister drama, Krista having little patience with Tyler’s uncontrollable gas. When both their parents leave on impromptu business trips, Krista and Tyler are left with an odd old babysitter by the name of Mrs. Pickle Nickle played by Gabrielle Woodsk. Now Mrs. Pickle Nickle is really an alien in disguise who has been sent to Earth to study human behavior.

The plot thickens…Krista and Tyler continue their immense dislike for each other and during a particularly nasty spat, Krista wishes her brother would turn into a bug. Mrs. Pickle Nickle grants Krista’s wish turning Tyler into a beetle. Another alien named Yender (played by Steve Anderson) has also journeyed to Earth, but he has come to prove Mrs. Pickle Nickle’s incompetence. When he finds out that Tyler has been turned into a bug, Yender sets out to kidnap Tyler and take him to their planet as proof.

Now not only does Krista have to deal with her fear of bugs, but she also has to contend with an ambitious alien, their parents are coming home soon and a MIA Mrs. Pickle Nickle (who by the way is the only one who can turn Tyler back into a human). Can Krista and Tyler team up long enough to get him back to normal in time? Guess you’ll have to watch Bug Off! to find out.

Also starring in Bug Off! are Johnny Biscuit (The Singles Ward, The Stand) and Mycole Metcalf (The Andy Dick Show, The Darkling). Bug Off! was written by Rod Miller and T.C. Christensen (A Pioneer Miracle, The Penny Promise). Christensen also produced and directed the family feature.

Special DVD features include a behind-the-scenes movie: “The Making of Bug Off!,” a trivia game sure to delight the children, interactive menus, scene selection, movie trailers, and optional Spanish titles. At the end of the movie were bloopers which I truly enjoyed the best as I do with all movies.

Bug Off! is, without doubt, a family movie, geared more toward the kids than anyone else. Christmas is coming, ya’ll! Don’t expect much more then the light comedy you might see on the Family Channel with a message at the end. When push comes to shove, siblings do come together. For more information on Bug Off! and other MTI feature films check out www.mtivideo.com.

Yasmin Hunt currently lives in Virginia, watching movies, and wondering how some of those screenwriters got their film deals.

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