Club Fed

I saw this late at night on the tube and burst out laughing from the get go. In the tradfition of the off-the-wall-alls-out spoffiness, this movie scores without having to rely on a big budget or fancy special effects. I was able to get my mind off of the daily doldrums and have fun, the old fashioned way by laughing.

But not much. First off, this film is many things. It IS badly-acted, and Burt Young looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. It IS not funny. It IS not a satire or a Bergman-esque like examination of the treatment of white-collar criminals. You want to see a good satire? Go rent Dr. Strangelove or Network or even Starship Troopers. Club Fed is just a crappy comedy with a posse of washed-up TV stars and character actors, all of whom have a look on their face that says "Please don't let anyone see this movie" It's amazing that a film like this can even get financed when something like Memento can barely find a distributor.

Well, first of all, the premise is a bit much. But it is a broad comedy and it takes you for a a wild ride. Rich people in prison! Okay, I guess we can match the names with the characters. Whether you like to chuckle or laugh, you'll do both with this film. Burt Young is the warden of a prison for the wealthy. JosephCampanella is an FBI director who plants an agent in CLUB FED. Alan Garfield is a crooked investment broker. Karen Black is a rich hotel owner. Sherman Hemsley is a crooked preacher and Judy Landers is an innocent girlfriend who takes the rap for her dead mafia boyfriend. We watched it late at night and had a great time.

Caught this on cable. It's loaded with belly laughs, I enjoyed it for what it was. I also recently saw another one in the same genre, "Scary Movie"(which was also very funny). It seems that on a very low budget, the filmmakers were able to entertain us effortlessly. I highly recommend it.

I had a good time viewing this film. I liked its broad off the wall humor. It looked like everyone had a good time making this movie. Sherman Hemsley is hilarious as a preacher who gets thrown in a prison for rich people. Judy Landers is cute. There is also some fun performances by Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, Karen Black, and Allen Garfield. The direction was quick non pretentious and lively.