Futurama

My wife and I saw this movie on cable TV shortly after it came out and shortly before it disappeared into oblivion, and since we both were little kids in the 70s we both found the movie to be pretty funny. It has its share of really bad jokes (like people slipping on a picture of bananas), but it's not supposed to be intellectual humor. It's supposed to be a campy, cheesy movie that (fondly) makes fun of a decade that contains a lot to make fun of. And it certainly succeeds on that level.

The movie was clearly a very low budget affair, yet the film makers managed to nail little details like the red, white and blue-painted fire hydrant outside the main character's home (there was one of those across the street from the house I grew up in). Everyone involved in the movie seems to have done their homework, but are having fun with it and not taking it too seriously.

I recently discovered that this movie has finally come out on DVD, and at a bargain basement price, so I ordered a copy. My 14 year old daughter watched it with me and loved it - she described it as "stupidly beautiful" and immediately put the soundtrack on her iPod.

So if you're feeling nostalgic for the 70s and think you'd like a low-budget comedy that doesn't pretend to be masterpiece theater, look no further. On the other hand, if 80 minutes of disco music, cameo roles and jokes about bongs and pop rocks doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then avoid.

In the future, civilization has really declined. The fashions are U.S.S.R. retro, don't you know. Not only that, no one is flourishing. Therefore, when a man named Adam 11 (David Cassidy) insists he has made a time machine, the U.S. government asks him to go back to 1776 and study the founding fathers and the making of the constitution. It is hoped that he and his co-horts, Chanel 6 (Olivia D'Abo) and Heinz 57 will learn how to make society worth living again. The time machine takes off but lands in 1976 instead. Not realizing their mistake, the three interlopers try their best to find out how to revitalize their country with the lessons from the seventies. Amid Pacers and learning the hustle, can they succeed? This movie is a fast and fun look at the much maligned seventies. Things were more colorful then, that's for sure, and people did seem to be having a great time, despite the tight pants and floral shirts. Cassidy, D'Abo and company do a nice job of keeping the spirit of discovery alive. If you lived through the seventies, this movie is made for you. It has so many seventies icons that will make you laugh and remember. The younger crowd, too, would be entertained in seeing what they only know from history books. Don't hesitate to pop this movie in the VCR some evening in the near future. It was made, as the Bay City Rollers croon, for a fun, fun "Saturday Night".

I saw this one evening with my boss who had done a lot of feature work. His one comment was this; "This just shows that you can make any kind of film you want if you have the right connections." The gist here being that he didn't like it, and thought the film was sorely lacking on a number of levels.

I agreed with him.

Having lived through the 70s, as had my former manager, we were hoping for a bit of a send-up and otherwise a humorous tribute to what one stand-up comic described as a "cultural depression". Tassles on banana seat bikes, flared out bell bottom genes and slacks, paisley print shirts, apple caps, gas lines, disco, and, of course, exploding Pintos. But it was not to be.

Instead of commentary on why the nation (and the then "Western Free World") veered in that direction, we were given superficial exposition to the cultural tidbits of 1976. They're like minor vignettes for a variety show done during the post-sexual revolution.

The promised exploration and exposition of 1976 America (as it loosely related to the nations founding in 1776 ... part of the gag) is lost. There's no emotional connection whatsoever, just a loose and feebly scripted "homage" to the peculiarities and trends of the time. It's as if the script was written by a first or second year film student. The story lacks a larger theme and deeper emotional focus.

Still, it's worth a smirk to look at one time. My boss wasn't too pleased that I had dragged him to see a midnight showing after work (especially since we had a 7AM call time the next morning ... but I digress), but I have to admit that my curiosity of seeing the film had been satisfied. And although I agree with my former employer's comment, and have ripped the film apart in this review, I did, in a very not-so-serious way, enjoy it for what it was. Still, it's not a film I'd add to my DVD collection.

Watch at your own risk.

I was quite surprised that I liked this B film, as the start is pretty corny. Once you get over that fact, you see a pretty fun film, one which anyone who lived through the 70s will appreciate.

Apparently, this film is a 2nd generation's project. The executive producers are Copalla and Riener, the sons of Francis Ford Copalla and Rob Riener. I think that accounts for the relatively large cast of 70s stars. The music was great as there were snippits from many 70s tunes. I went looking for the soundtrack, but, unfortunately, it doesn't exist.

The main star, David Cassidy, was the lead singer for the Partridge Family, among other things. It would have been very easy for the producers to harp on that topic, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the film didn't turn into an inside-joke factory.

This is a fun film to coast back to the 70s on. If you can get over the campiness of the beginning, you're in for a treat. Have a nice day!

As someone who grew up in the seventies, it was refreshing to see the 70s depicted as strangely as it really was. Some anachronisms exist, such as the exploding Pinto. thjat didn't come to light til the early 80s, but the movies hearts in the right place. Any one who was growing up then, or has even heard of the 70s will love it. Great Music, Great Clothes, and of course the hair brings back frighting nightmares.