Coneheads

Other than WAYNE'S WORLD, this is the only film adaptation of an SNL skit that really worked for me. CONEHEADS was an inventive and smartly written 1993 comedy that expanded upon the original Saturday Night Live skits starring Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Lorraine Newman as Beldar, Prymatt, and Connie Conehead, the aliens who are trying to live as earthlings and tell the world that they are from France. The movie starts before Connie is even born, showing why Beldar and Prymatt were sent to earth and how they ended up smack in the middle of suburbia. There are some moments of genuine warmth that you feel for the Coneheads as they have to stay on the run, as they are being pursued by a slimy Immigration agent (Michael McKean, in an on target performance) and his ass-kissing assistant (a hysterical David Spade). The film has one hilarious moment after another. Jan Hooks appears as a student of Beldar (who is seen working briefly as a driving instructor)who lusts after Beldar and her silent encounter with Prymatt in a supermarket is hysterical. Chris Farley is very funny as Ronnie, Connie's boyfriend. The role of Connie has been inherited by Michelle Burke for some reason, though Lorraine Newman can be spotted in a cameo near the end of the film. Jason Alexander and Lisa Jane Persky are very funny as Beldar and Prymatt's suburban neighbors. Sinbad has some funny moments as Beldar's first boss and Adam Sandler is funny in a brief scene as a guy who provides Beldar with a phony Social Security card and whole new identity. There is so much to take in here and a lot of talented comedians are seen to good advantage, whether in starring or cameo roles. CONEHEADS is one of the most underrated comedies of the 90's which I don't think ever got the credit it deserved. If you've never seen it, definitely worth the rental.

Beldar (Aykroyd) & Prymaat (Curtin) Conehead are two aliens who come from the planet Remulak their ship has crash landed on earth and have no way to return home. Forced to enjoy human society they try to get used to their new surroundings but are soon on the run from immigration officers Seedling (Mckean) & Turnbull (Spade), months later Prymaat gives birth to a beautiful baby girl whom they name Connie . 18 years later Connie (Burke) is pretty young woman who is always at ends with her parental units she falls head over heels in love with Ronnie (Farley) a local mechanic and neighborhood boy who admits to never have dated a girl taller than him before. Coneheads is a great family comedy with tons of laughs from start to finish , Chris Farley 29, & Michelle Burke 23, play the star crossed teenage couple with humor and warmth 8/10 Stars

Coneheads is one of the best conversions of an SNL skit to the big screen. Granted, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin were funny on SNL as Beldar and Prymat, but the movie has given them the chance to show how funny they can be as these two aliens from "France"! All the SNL cameos are great too! If you don't like this film, you should be sent to "Narfal the Garthok!!" :)

I saw Coneheads for the first time on TV last week. So, not having paid for it, and not expecting too much, its reasonable to think that I might not be as critical as I could be. (Drum roll...) I was VERY surprised how damn good it is. When I saw the title come on screen I thought, Jeeze, in 20 minutes I'll be clicking away, but no. Dan and Jane do amazing things to keep their limited characters extremely entertaining. Just about every other bit part, and there's a load of 'em, measures up. Even Sinbad does a nice job as Beldar's first boss. Adam Sandler is on screen for 2 minutes and I am still chuckling at his quirky sleaze-ball office geek. Its a good satire about the hypocrisy and prejudice in our so called Democracy, and on balance, a ridiculously accurate reflection of the diversity and opportunity in modern America. It came on again two days later and I watched it again. I would have rented it. No, seriously....

I've never watched a microsecond of SNL so I watched this as just another film. It's not Gone with the Wind, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's a small scale comedy. It isn't 90 minutes of side splitting belly laughs, but it's mildly amusing throughout and there are a number of pretty good jokes. Flicking through the twenty or so movies my cable channel is offering me this evening, I'd prefer Coneheads to any of them. That doesn't make it a masterpiece, it just makes it a solid little comedy that will leave you more cheerful at the end than you were at the beginning. For those who like their comedy to be cutting edge with constant sarcastic political barbs, you should look elsewhere. (Is this why some reviewers don't like it - maybe they were expecting political satire ?) This isn't satire, it's mild smiley humour a la Ghostbusters, and none the worse for that.