Le bus en folie

I probably shouldn't like this film, but sweet damn, I do. Very much.

By way of synopsis: this is the story of the inaugural non-stop atomic bus service from New York to Denver. Cyclops, an articulated twin deck bus (with a swimming pool and a bowling alley on board of course), is beset by various unlikely perils en route.

This venerable spoof predates "Airplane!" by four years, and is at least its equal in cheesy quality. This film is cheese, and it's matured for 28 years. With no word of a lie, it is THE cheesiest film I have ever seen, and I've witnessed some fine acts of cheese.

And there are some pretty bad moments to be sure, the sort of moments where you cringe so violently that ligaments tear, but there's comedy of fine calibre in this too: both by way of deadpan "throwaway" lines, and the overall situation (sublimely funny).

The grandfather of a genre (and I'd argue, an exemplar), The Big Bus deserves far more recognition than it presently receives. A fine spoof with no high ideas of itself, which doesn't need to stoop low... by virtue of starting low. Perhaps that's my favourite thing about this film: it was written, acted, and produced without shame. And for that, it's the best quality low quality you'll ever see.

Saw this when first released, and it was a howler...but only to a genuine movie and TV fan.

In addition to the various disaster films of the 1970s, it also harkens back to some classic WWII films, the smarmy romances of the 60s and 70s, and not a small number of tidbits from television.

Our circle of friends who saw it together are all film nuts, and we spent days picking the film apart and identifying all of the references and parodies, and still find ones we missed whenever we catch it again.

It's not a spectacular film...hell, it's not even that great of a comedy if you don't get the parody references...but it _is_ one of those films that "hangs together" into a working product.

If you aren't a film buff, then simply sit down on the couch with your favorite nosh, and empty your mind to accept the totality...

And don't cut yourself on the broken milk carton.

"The Big Bus" is beyond absurd, rekindling the same sense of humor in "Airplane!" and flooring it into complete childishness. Both movies are so close, you'd call this a template; and while it doesn't achieve the same classic status, it kept that silly smile on my face for damn near the entire movie.

But it's not fair to make this a strict comparison between the two. Suffice it to say, it feels appropriate that it shares the same director with "The Muppet Movie". It's got a cast that's willing to sell the material - hard - and standouts include Rene Auberjonois as an unruly priest and Joseph Bologna (seriously, with a name like that) as the tormented captain at the wheel. And then there's the actual bus, comically oversized and always a visual gag.

It's a fun ride.

7/10

"The Big Bus" was released in 1976, four years before the landmark disaster flick-spoof, "Airplane!". Why "The Big Bus" was not as popular a film is a mystery, because it is every bit as funny as "Airplane!". The dialogue is witty, the sight gags are hilarious and plentiful, and the acting is just dead-pan enough to make it all work. Joseph Bologna and Stockard Channing head up an all-star cast heading from New York to Denver on a nuclear-powered bus, which is supposed to make the trip with no stops, but of course, disasters ensue. The bus is a luxury vehicle, complete with a piano bar, swimming pool, bowling alley and dining room. If you haven't seen "The Big Bus" check it out. It will make you laugh out loud.

Obviously, with all the disaster films of the early '70s, someone had to make a spoof. And they did just that with "The Big Bus". It portrays the world's first nuclear-powered bus driving nonstop from New York to Denver. Naturally, the oil industry is worried that this novelty will ruin their business, and they seek to destroy it. That's the main plot, but the movie is mostly an excuse to have a bunch of silly things happen, as the more famous disaster spoof ("Airplane!") would do four years later.

Another aspect is of course the cast. Joseph Bologna and Stockard Channing get top billing as driver Dan Torrance and inventor Kitty Baxter, but there's even more. John Beck plays narcoleptic co-driver Shoulders O'Brien; Harold Gould plays Kitty's father who gets injured in an explosion; Jose Ferrer plays the diabolical Ironman, who seeks to blow up the bus; Ned Beatty plays Shorty Scotty, guiding the bus along its journey; Rene Auberjonois plays an awkward priest; Ruth Gordon plays an old woman; Sally Kellerman and Richard Mulligan play a couple who may or may not be getting a divorce; Lynn Redgrave plays a woman who has nothing to do but come onto men; and Larry Hagman plays the parking lot doctor.

Like I said, the whole thing was meant to be goofy, and it does not disappoint. Whether it's Shoulders falling asleep at inconvenient times, a truck full of hicks crashing into the bus and getting stuck, or some of the one-liners, the whole thing is a laugh riot.

By the way, although Richard Mulligan and Larry Hagman didn't share any scenes in this movie, this was the second time that they co-starred: Richard Mulligan once guest-starred on "I Dream of Jeannie". This was also the second time that Ruth Gordon co-starred with an "I Dream of Jeannie" cast member: Emmaline Henry (who played Amanda Bellows on "IDOJ") appeared in "Rosemary's Baby".

Well...