Rabbit Test

Similar to "Airplane," "Naked Gun," etc...jokes, jokes, jokes, no story. I hated all those films but if you like them this should be of interest because it pre-dated "Airplane" and really deserves the credit for the genre, not "Airplane." Main draw back is the pregnant man story (Arnold couldn't make it work either). TV comedy stars make this seem more like an R-rated Love Boat. Best part: The opening animation. Unfunniest part: Director Joan Rivers' cameo. Funniest part: That "Airplane" was not much better but made the creators of that film famous.

I saw this movie three times when it first came out. I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I laughed at the antics and thought "the guy from 'Hollywood Squares'" was hilarious. I was ten years old at the time. I had no idea what the story or the humor was all about--I just loved watching adults act stupid (what kid wouldn't?) I watched it again a few years ago and, although there is plenty of slapstick, most of the humor is really desperate and unfunny. And the premise is completely bizarre, and not very funny. I guess Joan Rivers was going for the "all bets are off" humor of a Mel Brooks film. The movie pokes fun at all races and religions. The humor borders offensive, and is not successful because it's simply not funny (the image of God at the end saying "Oh my God..it's a girl!"--what is funny about this?) Irreverence is not always funny, as many comedy filmmakers in the '90s would discover. Why my parents took me to see this remains a mystery that is still discussed on occasion.

Last summer I went to a local dirt-mall to browse through used VHS tapes. I came across this and went "Oh wow! Billy Crystal in a Joan Rivers movie! And Billy's pregnant!". So I got it. Now, I have never seen any movie written by Joan Rivers, but I knew she was funny. Oh boy......what a queen of comedy she is.......

I love slapstick and stupid humor; I love "The Jerk" with Steve Martin, so you can't accuse me of being high-brow. This movie is non-stop stupidity ranging from "what in the Hell?" to "Oh, Joan (shake head)". Now, it's been a while since I've watched it (and I've tried my best to erase this movie from my mind) but the scene that sticks out to me was Billy Barty in blackface. That was the reaching point for me. I was anticipating Billy Barty's cameo....and then that happens. So Joan Rivers' idea of comedy is a pregnant man and a racist midget. This movie made me question why Rivers got as famous as she did - because she truly lacks any comedic talent.

So, for the love of all that is holy, stay away from this movie. Billy Crystal didn't even save it; the whole time I felt sorry for him. And for his first staring role in a film, too! I should also mention that this is also Michael Keaton's first screen role - though his character doesn't talk and is only in it for a blink of an eye. Though fairly short for the average movie, this certainly felt more than two hours - all of which I sat through, hoping that it would get better. On top of that the quality of the video is extremely poor and it doesn't sound like they used any boom mics - which makes it harder to hear in places. Fortunately, you don't NEED to hear it - because you shouldn't be watching this in the first place.

....and is stretched out to feature length via an overabundance of terrible, scenerey-chewing performances and witless ethnic humor. Worth a look, I suppose, as Billy Crystal's first film; we all got to start somewhere (he looks like Steve Guttenberg here). * out of 4.

I cannot say enough bad things about this train wreck. It is one of the few movies I've ever been tempted to walk out of. It was a bad premise to begin with, first pregnant male, but then they tried to make it a spoof. What were they spoofing all those real pregnant males??? This was the worst movie I have ever seen. If it had enough votes it would be on the IMDB bottom 100. If it was possible to give it a zero I would, and I would still feel I had given it too much credit.