Die Coneheads

Remember the "Coneheads" on SNL(Saturday Night Live)? Well, they are back! This time on the big screen. Beldar(Dan Ackroyd) and Prymatt(Jane Curtain) are on Earth planning to commit world conquest. But, when they settle on the planet they decided to live their lives there instead. They have such strange diets, and they claim themselves they are from "France". The government however don't think so. They later give birth to a daughter named Connie(Michelle Burke). She has a little trouble fitting in, until she meets Ronnie(Chris Farley, 1964-97). I liked the Subway scene where Connie puts away a sub which made Ronnie's mother look like an amateur. Looks like he found his dream girl there. When they go back to there planet, Beldar used his talents from Earth to stop a monster, while singing Soft Cell's "Tained Love". Great cast, silly plot, this movie is good for all SNL fans. Some say it was rather late, I would say, "Who Cares?" 2.5 out of 5 Stars!

Coneheads is one of the best conversions of an SNL skit to the big screen. Granted, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin were funny on SNL as Beldar and Prymat, but the movie has given them the chance to show how funny they can be as these two aliens from "France"! All the SNL cameos are great too! If you don't like this film, you should be sent to "Narfal the Garthok!!" :)

I could say, you had to be there. Or you just aren't old enough to understand. The bottom line? Sometimes it is nice to just sit back, suspend your disbelief and enjoy without having to analyze why it works or doesn't work. This falls back to a time when crude and rude was still in its infancy. Light for the day, it is still lots of fun. The punch lines are subtle and innuendo a bit advance for the punch and Judy crowd that is looking for the "Down with society" commentary that seems to fill the comedy of today. The Coneheads are classic Old School SNL. I like a story where the good guy wins, albeit the good guys in this case are Aliens. If you like Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, or Danny Kay. Then you will probably like this movie. If you are the Dumb and Dumber crowd this will probably be a disappointment. So, suspend your disbeliefe and just enjoy it for what it is. A funny movie with a lot of "good" laughs.

I've never watched a microsecond of SNL so I watched this as just another film. It's not Gone with the Wind, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's a small scale comedy. It isn't 90 minutes of side splitting belly laughs, but it's mildly amusing throughout and there are a number of pretty good jokes. Flicking through the twenty or so movies my cable channel is offering me this evening, I'd prefer Coneheads to any of them. That doesn't make it a masterpiece, it just makes it a solid little comedy that will leave you more cheerful at the end than you were at the beginning. For those who like their comedy to be cutting edge with constant sarcastic political barbs, you should look elsewhere. (Is this why some reviewers don't like it - maybe they were expecting political satire ?) This isn't satire, it's mild smiley humour a la Ghostbusters, and none the worse for that.

The fact that this is a good film AND it was done by ex-SNL actors help this movie to really stand out for me. Dan Aykroyd is terrific as Beldar and it shows that he CAN do a decent film (and he's done some stinkers--Neighbors, 1941, Nothing But Trouble, Dr. Detroit).

As I said above, I haven't been that impressed by many of the films by ex-SNL cast members--especially when they are movie-length versions of SNL skits. However, this movie expands on the characters and has great heart. In other words, despite the humor, the lead characters come off as sympathetic and decent. If the characters had been just like they were in the skits, the movie would have fallen flat on its face. Instead, we are treated to many instances when the Coneheads try so hard to fit in and be the average American family. It's also quite amusing that almost no one seems to notice that they AREN'T! There are many SNL-related cameos and supporting players throughout the movie and they are pretty well integrated (i.e., they usually don't seem like tacked on cameos but fit within the plot). Also, although I generally hate David Spade, his annoying personality fits in perfectly with the character he plays.

This is a good film for the whole family. It's cute, funny and actually has amazingly good family values!