Kentucky Fried Movie

Unlike many similar movies in this genre from the 70s, Kentucky Fried Movie is generally comprised of vignettes that do not simply resort to mean-spirited and base jokes, such as those about bodily emanations and racial or ethnic stereotyping. Rather, the skits tend to have an almost "sweet" tone about them. They employ humor and gags not intended to offend, though they might, if handled by other writers, as the content can be pretty darned provocative.

Coming from me, this should mean a lot. My very own mother is depicted in the most-memorable "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble" segment: "Mrs. Burke" -- from the 1968 POST Grape-Nuts commercial -- played here by Gwen Van Dam. (You can see the real "Mrs. Burke" at the Burke Family Grape-Nuts Archives)

As the son of a most virtuous Catholic mother, herself quite unlike the character in this film, I might easily be offended. Yet, in this case, I feel honored to see my mom's name roll in the credits of this clever flick.

Many of the skits are excellent. The much praised piece, "A Fistful of Yen" (the spoof on Bruce Lee's classic "Enter the Dragon"), is so well done, it truly merits the distinction, "a must see."

I would certainly recommend this film to any adult who is not likely to be offended by nudity and sexual themes. It's a lot of fun!

Adam Burke

"Kentucky Fried Movie" is tasteless, unsophisticated, and decidedly sophomoric... and one of the most hilarious films ever made! A string of politically incorrect segments made by the creators of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun", "KFM" is an "R"-rated romp that today, nearly 30 years after its release, would be too shocking to even warrant the dreaded "NC-17" rating. Forget those unfunny amateurs Broken Lizard or the overrated Farrelly Brothers. We're talking naked breasts, oral sex, racial slurs, violence... and yet each segment leaves you delirious from not only laughter but disbelief at the fact that the Zuckers actually go away with all this. I've discovered that it really takes a certain kind of innocence to make a movie like "KFM", a naive belief that people will simply laugh at the crude spectacle of it all. Segments include a wholesome couple listening to a 1950s style "how-to" record on foreplay (wait till you see what the record comes equipped with), a thrill seeker whose trademark stunt is going to a crowd of black men and yelling out the N-word (how bold is this scene? No one has dared imitate it since), and a political debate between two analysts that ends with one of them cheerfully telling the other to "blow it out your a**" and giving them the finger. The highlight is the mini-movie within the movie, "A Fistful of Yen". A parody of all the Bruce Lee films, its hero, Loo, fights the evil Klahn, a one-armed criminal mastermind with a fondness for the phrase "extraordinary magnitude". It also pokes fun at the endless fights from the Lee films, as well as the characters' fractured English (little trivia, the actors really were Asian and spoke poor English in real life, so it wasn't intentional on their parts) The twist ending of "Yen" is one of the goofiest things you ever saw in your life. Despite the often offensive humor of "KFM", it's not a mean film by any means. No one is really safe from the wacky chaos it inflicts, and it's just hilarious. In our time of hand-wringing political correctness, "KFM" offers a cathartic experience of laughing out loud at our fears, prejudices, and, yes, stupidity. This is indeed a finger-lickin' good comedy.

If you think AIRPLANE is the funniest film ever (which it is) you've got a watch this. It feels more like Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker were just trying out some ideas rather than an actual film but it's got moments of brilliance.

This contains the funniest joke in any film ever! In the courthouse sketch a lawyer, presenting evidence invites the jury to hear a tape. And if you're familiar with AIRPLANE humour you'll know what's coming next..... he unwinds a roll of sellotape..... well I thought it was funny.

About half of this is pretty awful but that's all encased within the tedious Kung Fu section so you fast forward over that. The rest is just silly stupid tasteless raw fun. It's completely amateurish but so what.

This inspired me to watch Jim Abraham's AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON he made a decade later - wish I hadn't bothered - that was utterly, utterly awful.

Kentucky Fried Movie is one of those movies that throws so much at you that it doesn't matter if every joke sticks or not due to the sheer number of them. Personal favourites within the movie are the extended sequence that mimics Japanese chop socky films titled A Fistful Of Yen. It is so dead on that I couldn't stop laughing. The previews for the blaxploitation flick Cleopatra Schwartz and Catholic High School Girls in Trouble are also very high up on my list of funny moments from the film. As I said, not every joke works but there are so many of them that you can forgive the ones that don't. Not all the humour is for everyone. You have to keep in mind that this film was made in a time when political correctness just didn't exist. And good on it. Its meant to be funny at all costs and it is. We need more movies like this and less like Scary Movie. What happened to the days when a spoof was funny and not wink wink aren't we clever about it?

Some of this is still jaw droopingly funny even if some isn't, but overall it's always trying something wacky so even if a sketch doesn't work it's not on screen for too long. Loads of nudity and tastelessness, this is a chance to see the Zucker's early work and still worth seeing.