| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Joe Blevins |
Posted - 06/22/2008 : 06:21:19
Hello.
I need some assistance. I'm trying to think of as many sketch comedy films as I can -- plotless films that consist entirely of skits. I'm particularly interested in ones from the 1970s and 1980s. I saw a great many of these in my youth, and now I'd like to revisit some of them. I'm not talking about the Monty Python films. I mean low-budget American ones. Films like:
The Kentucky Fried Movie
The Groove Tube
Tunnel Vision
Amazon Women on the Moon
Loose Shoes
I'm aware of something called American Raspberry but I've never seen it. I remember Loose Shoes because I rented it under at least three different titles. (Once under that title, once as Quackers and once as Coming Attractions.)
But I'm pretty sure there are more films like this. I can remember scanning through shelves at video stores trying to find them and being especially pleased when I found a new obscure one. Can anyone here name some more of these?
(I'm well aware that most of these films are awful, terribly dated, unfunny, and often embarrassingly racist/sexist. I'm interested in them more as curiosities. I maintain that Kentucky Fried and Amazon Women still hold up very nicely, however.) |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mr Savoir Faire |
Posted - 07/03/2008 : 19:59:59
And now for something completely different |
| randall |
Posted - 07/03/2008 : 13:41:23
I thought AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON was the funniest thing ever when it first came out. The embedded FORBIDDEN PLANET/QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE parody is still hilarious. |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 16:22:37
quote:
By the way, of the American sketch comedy films I've seen, Kentucky Fried is wayyyy ahead of the rest of the pack, leaving stuff like The Groove Tube in the dust. I attribute that to the writing of the ZAZ team and the spirited direction of John Landis.
For some reason, the image of a woman's bare ass getting hit with a cream pie never fails to make me laugh. |
| RockGolf |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 15:41:30
Watching the rerun of the first Saturday Night Live ep with George Carlin, I theorized that this TV series effectively killed the American sketch comedy film. You had to be funnier than the first few years of that series, and that was hard to do. |
| Joe Blevins |
Posted - 06/29/2008 : 01:43:59
quote:
Originally posted by silly
I loved Kentucky Fried Movie. Of course, I think I was 12 when I saw it (the one and only time).
Fistful of Yen, indeed.
I'm proud to own Kentucky Fried Movie on DVD. It appeals to the 12-year-old mentality, no doubt, but I still find myself laughing at it. I think it holds up very nicely. A Fistful of Yen is the definite highlight, but there are good scenes throughout. I'm very fond of "Zinc Oxide and You" and the courtroom sketch, too. Oh, and "That's Armageddon!" featuring Donald Sutherland as the clumsy waiter.
By the way, of the American sketch comedy films I've seen, Kentucky Fried is wayyyy ahead of the rest of the pack, leaving stuff like The Groove Tube in the dust. I attribute that to the writing of the ZAZ team and the spirited direction of John Landis. |
| silly |
Posted - 06/27/2008 : 02:52:09
I loved Kentucky Fried Movie. Of course, I think I was 12 when I saw it (the one and only time).
Fistful of Yen, indeed. |
| Joe Blevins |
Posted - 06/27/2008 : 02:24:29
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
Why did it go away?
Because it was rubbish?
Most of it was rubbish. That's true. But these sketchcom films are a great place to spot up-and-coming talent. Lots of soon-to-be-famous stars appeared in these things. Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Richard Belzer, John Candy, and many others. And even the worst of these films have some redeeming qualities. Even the dreadful Tunnel Vision has maybe 15 minutes of funny material, particularly a sketch about Richard Nixon's life after leaving the White House. The Groove Tube has one dynamite bit which parodies Barbie doll ads. You can see that bit here. It also has a lot of filler, so viewer beware.
It's just the strangest sub-genre of American low-budget films, these cheap sketch comedy films that were basically made obsolete by Saturday Night Live and dozens of other shows. |
| lemmycaution |
Posted - 06/26/2008 : 02:07:08
If You Don't Stop It You'll Go Blind.(1975)
Can I Do it 'Till I need glasses? (1977)
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| Salopian |
Posted - 06/26/2008 : 01:17:20
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
Why did it go away?
Because it was rubbish? |
| Joe Blevins |
Posted - 06/26/2008 : 01:12:35
Thanks for the links. What intrigued me was, why in the 1970s did low-budget filmmakers all of a sudden start making sketch comedy movies? Why did this genre start up? Why did it go away? What happened here? By the time Amazon Women came out, that genre was pretty much dead.
Funny, by the way, that you should mention Hellzapoppin because a few days ago I was online seeing (1) if that movie is on DVD and (2) if there are clips on YouTube. Here's what I found out:
(1) It's sort of on DVD from a few grey-market sources.
(2) Yes, there are clips on YouTube, but of dance sequences not comedy sequences. |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 06/22/2008 : 07:25:07
Hi Joe
Britain's 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches
Don't Mess with Sketches
Skits 'n' Sketches
Arnold's Closet Revue
OK - this one isn't strictly what you want, but I'd say any film based on sketches would have to include Hellzapoppin' which was essentially Olson and Johnson's vaudeville act loosely sewn together with the flimsy plot of them trying to make a movie of their sketches. It's classic!
Hope this helps
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