derek-53

Incredibly insipid movie. The acting is intolerably pathetic, the script even more so (both of them a few notches below a sub-par "Gilligan's Island" episode), and the plot unintelligible. There are two things that save this movie from the absolute bottom of the barrel: the Mancini soundtrack (with the exception of the "ditty" for the final chase scene), and the animal tracking scenes. The filming for the actual animal captures is truly magnificent, even more so with the knowledge that the actors themselves were responsible for all the action. Essentially, if one dumps all that tepid "plot," erases all the actor's lines, and edits out all but the animal chase sequences, Howard Hawks would have had a damn fine movie on his hands.

The plot's pretty lame, George and Gracie are okay (a few shining moments, but nothing spectacular), and the jokes aren't all that outstanding, but there is a five minute sequence with W.C. Fields attempting to shoot pool that is one of the funniest five minutes ever put to celluloid. I howled at this scene as I have rarely howled at anything in my life. The entire movie is worth a watch for this scene alone.

If there is anything that has been commited to video that will scare the bejeezus out of God-fearin' christians (muslims, jews, satanists, agnostics, atheists, solipsists, etc., etc.), this is that moving picture. This documentary, far and away, takes the cake for the most bizarre, horrifying and jaw-splintering bit of "reality" that anyone, anywhere, has ever seen. I can't recommend this video enough -- there is no other video I've ever seen ("Vernon, Florida," "Atomic Cafe," "Sherman's March," and "Hated") that has scared the pants off me. Enter the world of Jesco White (alias, Jessie; alias, "Elvis"), and rest assured, your world will never again feel quite so innocent, nor quite so warped.