¿Y dónde está el exorcista?

Linda Blair, Leslie Nielsen, Ned Beatty, and Anthony Starke star in this funny spoof of "The Exorcist" (which also starred Linda Blair). Linda Blair is Nancy Aglet who has been possessed by the devil. Leslie Nielsen is Father Mayii who has driven the devil out of Nancy before and is called upon once again to fight the devil. Ned Beatty is Ernest Weller, the evangelist who is trying to exploit the devil by making a television show out of her. If you like spoof movies then you should definitely see this one.

Leslie Nielsen stars in another spoof, this time parodying The Exorcist. Linda Blair returns and spoofs her own character, as Nancy Aglet, and is again possessed by the demon. As a result, Nielsen's character, Father Jebedaiah Mayii, is called upon to help vanquish the demon - all the while the exorcism is being broadcast on live TV by a sensationalist show.

As with any Nielson spoofs, there are lots of gags from start to finish, along with some slapstick humor and endless parodies of various movies, from The Wizard of Oz to Rambo III. It was nice seeing the return of Linda Blair and she does a good job in recreating her role as the possessed girl, inserting tastefully done humor when necessary. However, the plot did lose steam by the time the movie focused on the TV show broadcasting the exorcism, which I thought made the film become more like a game-show than a comedy spoof. Therefore, it's not the best of Nielson's spoofs, but still laughable nonetheless.

Grade C+

Linda Blair is certainly an example of how cruel Hollywood can be. Out of the blue as a young kid, she landed a part in one of the most shocking films of its time that really redefined the modern horror film. In 1973, hardly anyone had ever heard of exorcism and then it was on the cover of Newsweek. Maybe there have been more bloody and graphic horror films, but none that so grabbed people at the time. People fainting and getting sick in the theater was a common occurrence. The cruel fact is that this film was both a blessing and a curse for Linda Blair. Amazingly other then Airport 1975 and the TV films Born Innocent and Sarah T...Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic, Blair was never really offered another decent part in a film that would become someone who had been nominated for an Oscar in their first major role (for you trivia lovers she lost to another child actress Tatum O'Neil). Blair is a fine actress who can bring style and class to even the most mundane role. Wasn't it great when she was a hit on stage with Grease a few years back? Seventeen years later, she made this film with Leslie Nielsen spoofing The Exorcist (by the way Exorcist III was released the same year). Making this film must have been like therapy for Linda, she was able to spoof her most famous role that was a blessing and a curse for her. Besides, she must have had a ball working with Leslie Nielsen. This is one of those films that you really have to watch closely to catch all the gags. Nothing is sacred, everything from the Pope to Oliver North. They also spoof so many scenes from The Exorcist from the pea soup vomiting to her....well doing that thing with the cross. I also liked the way this film pokes fun at TV evangelists like the one Ned Beatty plays. I even noticed that Robert Fuller, Doctor Kelly Brackett from Emergency, has a part in this. Linda gets some really funny lines and have fun spoofing herself. She must be a great lady and a really good sport. Looking at the legacy of comedy, Leslie Nielsen has left us, it is hard to believe that for the first thirty years of his career he was exclusively a dramatic actor! Hard to believe isn't it?

Spoofmaster Leslie Neilsen appears in this outrageous, unofficial comedic sequel to 'The Exorcist' as Father Mayii, the exorcist pro who comes out of retirement when summoned by an idealistic priest, Father Brophy (Starke), to help out geeky suburban middle-age mom, Nancy Aglet (Blaire) who has recently been re-re-re-repossessed!

But, two tacky popular televangelists, Ernest and Fanny Ray, hosting a local religious wacko program, figure they can cash in on Nancy's dilemma and want to broadcast the exorcism.

If you love spoofs, give this one a shot. This is going to be one entertaining exorcism!

Like Spaceballs, Repossessed was released too long after the film it is spoofing. 17 years is a long time, especially for us in the UK, where The Exorcist has only recently (1999) been released on video for the first time since pre-video censorship (c. 1984). Aside from that, too many jokes miss their targets, and too many subjects are lampooned. Some sequences are genuinely funny, such as Ernest & Fanny's TV Show (a brilliant spoof of hypocritical TV evangelists). Most, however, are not - the hospital scene is just not funny. Nielsen, Blair and Beatty give it their best, whilst Anthony Starke spends the whole film looking like he's just trodden in something unsavoury. Watch it if you will, B for effort, C- for results.