Sometimes I sit around and I think, whatever happened to those awesome mall rat pop stars of the ’80s, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson? Wouldn’t it be awesome if they got together and did, like, a monster movie? With skimpy outfits, and mutant animals?
And then SyFy goes and reads my mind and announces Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid, a made for TV movie in which Tiffany and Debbie Gibson play two babes who have to fight giant pythons and alligators to save all of Florida, and the world.
You might need to read that one or two times before it really sinks in (I think we’re alone now! Fighting snakes!), but yeah. The New York Times last week dished on this new project, which will premiere Jan. 29 on SyFy.
SyFy has been producing its own line of Saturday night movies for their channel since 2002, but as the article notes, in a television climate that is getting harder and harder to top, throwing the likes of a few pop stars into your movie never hurt. And there’s something extra ridiculous about not one but two formerly big-haired ’80s divas starring in a monster flick. If it was just Debbie Gibson, I might raise an eyebrow. But Debbie and Tiffany? Now you’ve got my attention. What could have been another B movie just got awesome.
Plus: Mary Lambert of Pet Sematary fame? She’s directing. Kathryn Joosten of Desperate Housewives? Totally has a cameo. They even threw in the drummer from The Monkees!
Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid will actually be the first of these SyFy made for TV movies to receive its own red carpet reception on Jan. 24 in New York. Press releases for the film promise not only steroid pumped mutant alligators and killer snakes, but major catfight action between the two heroines. Gibson told the Times: “We settle our old ’80s music rivalry by putting on short skirts and throwing snakes and gators at each other.”
If you’re wondering if this film will have a plot, fear not, it does! Apparently Gibson plays an over the top animal rights activist who’s starting to steal animals and release them into the wild (uh-oh), and Tiffany portrays a park ranger who’s in charge of keeping the local gators safe when giant pythons begin noshing on the gator population. But when Tiffany tries to use steroids to battle the pythons, trouble quickly brews, or, more accurately, mutates into really huge monsters that need dynamite and lots of screaming to be defeated.
Both women reportedly brought serious attention to their roles: Gibson visited a nature preserve to learn how to handle pythons, and Tiffany worked with an animal trainer to learn more about the alligators she’d be co-starring with.
The best news, though, may be that the actresses haven’t completely shed (pun intended) their musical pasts for this film. Tiffany has recorded a new song, “Sereptine,” for the occasion. Excuse me, I have to find my hair crimper and make some popcorn, stat.
