A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" has been the No. 1 film in the United States for three straight weeks. Now a song from the movie is on the pop charts.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEACHES")
JACK BLACK: (As Bowser, singing) Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches. Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, oh, yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: "Peaches" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 83.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
(Impersonating Casey Kasem) Whenever you say something like that, I want to talk like Casey Kasem. Anyways, actor and comedian Jack Black moving up the chart - his first solo entry on that chart. Black plays a villainous turtle named Bowser in the animated film.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: And the plot, such as it is, has Bowser attempting to win the hand and heart of Princess Peach.
INSKEEP: Stephen Thompson of NPR Music saw this movie.
THOMPSON: And at one point the filmmakers just kind of turn the spotlight over to Jack Black, and they had him perform this song where you've basically just got Bowser sitting at a piano and wailing about his love of Princess Peach.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEACHES")
BLACK: (As Bowser, singing) Princess Peach, at the end of the line, I'll make you mine.
THOMPSON: Jack Black is committed. He is coming at you full blast this entire song. And I think that's a huge part of the fun. I'm not sure it's necessarily, like, a great song so much as it is a really winning performance.
MARTÍNEZ: The entertainment news website Consequence asked, could this be the song of the summer? Thompson says stranger things have happened.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEACHES")
BLACK: (As Bowser, singing) Peach, you're so cool. And with my...
INSKEEP: (Laughter) That's great. You know, my kids, A, have all been to see this at separate times, and they come home, and they try to tell me the whole plot. I can't follow it at all.
MARTÍNEZ: I'm just glad it's not Princess Jackfruit. That'd be harder to sing.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) OK, that's fine. Let's listen to a bit more.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEACHES")
BLACK: (As Bowser, singing) Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches. Peaches, Peaches... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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