Oh, Moses!

This gets such a bad rap, but it is actually an interesting and amusing flick. With a cast including Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor, Madeline Kahn, and Dom Delouise, it has ample star power to get your viewing eyes and ears through with minimal disappointment. It may not be extremely well acted or directed, but the obvious improvisation acting is superb and carries the film. This movie does something rare to stay afloat, it never takes itself too seriously, even as comedies go. Perhaps not a great, but definitely a good flick, watch it once, you'll be glad you did. It's Dudley Moore and Richard Pryor for chrissake!! How could it be as bad as this site says it is??? It can't, and it is not, check it out.

Nor is it Brooks History of the World Part 1. This came out in between the two and as historical spoofs, it's pretty weak except for Dudley Moore. Moore is pretty good and his performance reminds me of a Lenny Bruce skit. In the bit, Christ comes back but Moses refuses to return. Why? Because Charlton Heston was 6'3" and he was 5'1" and he's vain! Dudley Moore can't be much taller than Bruce describes in the bit and Moses had a funny line or two in the bit so seeing Moore almost bring that bit alive just by being cast and his usual funny self keeps this from being a complete waste of time. There's better historical spoofs. Python is a hard act to follow but Brooks manages it. This one mostly falls flat..

Probably inspired by Life of Brain this film gives an account of Mozes' brother-in-law. His life is somewhat similar to that of Mozes. He floats in an ark at exactly the same time as Mozes. He marries a sister of Mozes wife. He stands just around the corner when god speaks to Mozes and thinks he is addressing him. So he tries to do the same as Mozes without much success. In the end he is the writer of the commandments which are based on his own life experiences. The film plays fast and loose with the Bible to convey only one message: Don't take your religion more seriously than your particular god does. He may be more of a prankster than you are. The film feels like a couple of skits woven together. Which makes for a couple of jolting breaks between scenes. However, in this time of people taking religion much too serious again, this really is a breath of fresh air.

Just speaking personally, this viewer would agree with one other review here: the material in this star-packed parody is amusing if never terribly funny. Screenwriter Guy Thomas and director Gary Weis have their hearts in the right place, but too many of the jokes fell flat and the movie became somewhat boring as a result, which is compounded by the fact that it's slowly paced and goes on a little too long. Now, that's not to say that there aren't some great moments, because there are. They just happened to mostly occur in the second half, so there was a bit of a wait.

Dudley Moore and Laraine Newman star as Harvey and Zoey, two tourists taking in the sights of the Holy Land who go off on their own and explore a nearby cave, where they find an ancient scroll. Harvey is able to translate it, so he spends the balance of the movie relating it to Zoey: it's the story of Herschel (Moore again), son of a slave named Hyssop (James Coco), who has many travels and at one point becomes a brother in law to Moses! When God entrusts Moses with the mission of freeing the Jews in Egypt from bondage, Herschel spends most of the movie thinking the request was directed at him. He meets many characters on his journeys: an Angel of the Lord (Paul Sand), a tailor (Jack Gilford), Shadrach (Dom DeLuise), an Archangel (John Houseman), a witch (Madeline Kahn), a beggar (David L. Lander), a pharaoh (Richard Pryor), and the Devil (John Ritter).

It's the earnest efforts of this capable comedy cast that make "Wholly Moses!" worth sitting through. This viewer personally found the appearances by DeLuise, Houseman, Pryor, and Ritter particularly delicious. There are also some little gags worth noting, such as when a character is turned into a pillar of salt, and Hyssop scrapes some of the salt into his food. The scenery and widescreen photography are gorgeous, and the production design / art direction / set decoration team certainly do their jobs well; the movie has a good look. In addition to the famous faces (also including Andrea Martin as Zipporah), the cast features some top notch character actors: Richard B. Shull, William Watson, Sandy Ward, Brion James, and Michael Champion. Walker Edmiston, who'd provided the incredibly creepy vocalizations for the Zuni fetish doll in the final segment of 'Trilogy of Terror', does the voice of God.

With so much talent assembled here, it's too bad this couldn't have provided more laughs. It's watchable but is never as hilarious as one might wish.

Five out of 10.

The other reviewer obviously has no sense of humor. This is satire at it's funniest. Before her wedding, her sister told her that she and her Hershel would do what sheep do in the field. So, Zorelda went "baaaa" to her new husband. When Hershel found her in Sodomm, in her room were a pair of the giant's shorts hanging to dry...the size of a picture window. When Zorelda is turned into a pillar of salt, Hershel carries her around, then introduces her to his father, who immediately covers her with a cloth so his daughter-in-law won't get chipped. Richard Pryor as Pharroh is hilarious. And so is John Ritter as the Devil. And we even have a barbershop quartet clad in red and white striped togas. This is a fine cast of award-winning actors and actresses, and it's well worth your time to see it.