The Making of '...And God Spoke'

I really like this movie, I'll throw it in the VCR whenever I need some background noise I can enjoy. I am upset by the number of people who are wasting their time comparing this movie to This Is... Spinal Tap. Spinal Tap HAD money behind it, had very good writers, established talent and a great source of material to draw from: the music/entertainment industry and its history. And God Spoke is NOT hilarious but it does require some knowledge of the movie making process. If you have never made a movie, even a 30 second short, then you may not find most of this movie funny. It isn't anything really revealing, just a bunch of exaggerated in-jokes. If anything, this movie is a poke at movie making and itself.

Today I tried watching a mockumentary about a cheesy production of a fake film. However, "Guns of the Clackamas" simply wasn't funny though I was hoping it was an other "...And God Spoke". In fact, in my review, I complained about this--and strongly recommended people see the earlier film, "...And God Spoke". Imagine my surprise, then, when I checked and saw that I had never reviewed this 1993 film! This is surprising, as I loved the film and strongly recommend it to anyone who loves Christopher Guest's mockumentaries. Now "...And God Spoke" is not as sophisticated and hip as the Guest films (especially "Best in Show"), but there is a wonderful cheesiness that is quite endearing.

This film is a fake documentary in which a porno production company wants to make a 'quality film'. So, they naturally picked the most prestigious sort of film--a Biblical epic!! The resulting film is in terrible taste and looks a lot like a porno-Biblical film! But what makes it even funnier are all the behind the scenes bits--such as the appearance of Eve Plumb in the film and her resulting lawsuit as well as seeing Soupy Sales as Moses! It's all real and goofy--and strikes a wonderful balance between looking crappy yet being entertaining and insightful.

By the way, because of the subject matter, this film might offend the easily offended. Think twice about showing this film to young kids or your mother-in-law!

This movie came out about the same time that "Ace Ventura" did. I was one of the very few ace-haters. After seeing Ace, I had totally lost hope for finding a good, decent comedy until I saw "and god spoke". Unlike ace, "and god spoke" didn't force the jokes down your throat. It was subtle, quietly clever, had a few things to say about the nature of film-making and hilariously funny. Unfortunately, with no famous faces it was totally overlooked and still seems to be that way. No, it's not quite as good as it's mockumentary predecessor "Spinal Tap", but it's definitely worth anyone's time.

It's a good enough flick to watch, especially if you're into making movies for film class. It's not one of those movies you rush out and see; but one of those movies you pick up when you've lapped the video store twice and say "why the hell not".

This movie is hard to come by, but in the event that it should air on a TV station near you, or play at some cult flick cinema club, don't hesitate to see it. It'll be the best 90 minutes you'll have all year.

Myself, I don't remember just when I caught on to the fact that this was no 'true' documentary. It might have been as long as 15 minutes into the film. My girlfriend at the time didn't catch on until the 'product placement' scene. Believe it or not! Which goes to show, these guys know how to make a mockumentary. The string of ridiculous snafus which haunt the production team were pulled off with such skill and sensibility that you couldn't help but believe it. And no, it's not just a film for movie makers. It's for anybody who enjoys rolling on the floor laughing their hind ends off.

No, Spinal Tap it ain't. I've only seen ST twice, and I could watch this movie over and over again. It's most awesomely hilarious, and I can't wait until it comes my way again.

"Does anybody have a bible?". Indeed.