Donne amazzoni sulla luna

I guess it was perfect timing that I watch this late last night, because it goes hand-to-hand with its overall context and what it's trying to come across as. This star-studded production with the likes of John Landis and Joe Dante directing some of these gags and segments, come up with a compilation comedy that lampoons late-night American TV. The main focus is on a Z-grade 1950's Sci-fi film called 'Amazon woman on the moon', but it's the small comedy sketches of info-commercials that flooded proceedings. The majority of the film is filled with these comical ads and pointless interruptions and breaks, with the z-grade feature more so in the background. Which is quite sad as from what get out of this flick is a correct parody on late-night telly and some of it is mildly entertaining. It's just sometimes the one idea gimmick had me smiling while other times it had me rolling my eyes. Some skits worked with their ingenious side gags and self-referential humour, while others totally missed the point by overplaying its hand, or they were rather thin.

Some of my favourite segments would be the Video date, Don 'no soul' Simmons, Murray in videoland, critics corner and bullsh!t or not. Plus the z-grade mocking of 'Amazon woman on the moon' is neatly setup and done with great effect, with its dodgy sets, awful dialog, wooden acting, women in skimpy outfits (with Sybil Danning appearing), choppy editing and the many pointless interruptions that go through the flick. They just nailed it! The whole parody is interesting and it works in small slabs, but the whole execution was rather uneven and downright hectic. Maybe too many directors spoil the brew? As some segments and gags just don't fit in with others, that being the context or that of the humour. The narration is all over the place, but that was intended by mocking these type of productions and the clever script is done with enough panache and wit. You'll notice a lot of familiar faces popping up throughout, like Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Guttenberg, Dick Millar, Ralph Bellamy, Arsenio Hall, Phil Hartman and many more. But just don't think it's finish when the credits start rolling, as there's another send-up following involving Carrie Fisher called reckless youth. Pocking fun of the 30's when there was movie/TV propaganda about foolishness of teens and how your youth can destroy you by taking reckless temptations.

The feature did kinda remind me of Monty Python gags and definitely in the way the format was presented. These Python's films are 'And Now For Something Completely Different' and 'The Meaning of Life'. Although a friend of mine told me that this idea for this film is similar to 'The Kentucky Fried Movie' (1977), the same people who went on to create the spoof 'Airplane'. It supposedly was a catalyst for this type of picture.

Basically it's a fairly entertaining watch and true to its sources, but still rather forgettable when it came to shove.

I'm sure this is the last time we will see this kind of Cuisinart comedy collection directed by, at the time (1987), some of the cinema's top comedy directors. And that's a shame. Because "Amazon Women On The Moon", although not perfect by any cinematic measuring stick, represents a small victory for loopy, silly comedy anarchy. Look at this line up of comedy vets: John Landis ("The Blues Brothers", "Trading Places", "Animal House" among so many others), Joe Dante ("Gremlins", "Innerspace", "Matinee"), Robert Weiss (TV's "Police Squad!"), Carl Gottlieb (co-writer of "Jaws" AND "The Jerk") as well as newby Peter Horton (of "thirtysomething" fame).

This anthology features some real groaners to be sure, but surprisingly hits more times, and with more genuine laughs, than would be expected. Cobbled together as a de facto follow up to Landis's 1977's "Kentucky Fried Movie" (the picture that boasted the first unspooling of the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker genius that would soon launch "Airplane!" three years later) on a low-low indie budget way outside his usual 80's big-budget Universal stomping ground, "Amazon Women..." manages to both successfully surpass AND fail to reach the dizzy, laff-a-minute, rat-a-tat-tat of the 70's midnight circuit fave.

This picture has several clinkers of flat comedy (Landis's opener nearly stops the film dead with the always-unfunny Arsenio Hall), but hits with so many other vignettes that it's easy to get into the groove of this short-but-sweet skewer of 80's late-late-night TV. The standout segments in this comedic buffet are abundant, but the best of them belong to Dante, Weiss & Gottlieb: the Universal-International "Invisible Man" short with Ed Begley Jr.; his hilarious run at the Leonard Nimoy "In Search Of" chestnut as "Bullshit Or Not?" with pitch-perfect host Henry Silva; the stay-for-the-end-credits 1930's "Reefer Madness" health scare jewel starring the late, great Paul Bartel and Carrie Fisher; or the crossed-circuit tributes to BOTH the "Siskel & Ebert" show AND the old Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, featuring a dream cast of vaudeville and 50's Vegas comics that has to be seen to be believed.

Landis's standouts include a "no soul" infomercial featuring David Alan Grier and BB King, a funny hospital sketch featuring Landis players Griffin ("American Werewolf") Dunne and Michelle ("Into The Night") Pfeiffer (!) and a respectful nod to the earlier "Kentucky Fried Movie" wrap-up featuring an interactive video that stars Marc McClure, "UltraVixens" cult director Russ Meyer and Andrew Dice Clay. Highest marks, though, go to the running-gag "Amazon Women On The Moon", which lovingly - hilariously - mocks everything from "This Island Earth" to "Robot Monster" complete with film splices and gorgeous, over-saturated Eastmancolor.

If you have ever loved crappy TV, the Universal Studios backlot or any of the directors who have contributed to this dog's breakfast of SNL-inspired skits (written by two ex Carson-era "Tonight Show" writers), take a look at this one. Plus, it's only 85 minutes of your life that you'll never get back. Bullshit, or not.

It's really hard to give a score to this movie, as I have seen two or three different versions of the film. The original version appears to have been re-edited to remove some of the dirtier skits (and there were quite a few). Then, less funny skits that were apparently left on the editing room floor were substituted--with less than glowing results.

When the movie is funny, it is side-splittingly funny (especially the teenager buying condoms, the funeral, and Lou Jacobi re-appearing throughout the movie after he is sucked into the television set) but it also tends to fall flat from time to time. This unevenness is probably due to the fact that this movie had MANY different directors--each directing their own skits and then the movie was pieced back together. The end result is highly reminiscent of a better version of Kentucky Fried Movie.

My advice is, see the original un-edited version--but WITHOUT the kids! The edited version just isn't all that funny.

This is a supposed sequel to a John Landis movie I've never seen called "Kentucky Fried Movie". I will say that this movie is a heck of a lot better than the spoof of T.V. movies that I've seen such as Tunnelvision or The Groove Tube.

The film has some weaknesses. Due to the presence of 5 directors, who all came up with their own material, the film lurches through different types of situations. From hilarious commercials, to spoofing T.V. shows, to SNL style sketch comedy, to even making old black and white short films, as well as the title film, it changes without any rhyme or reason. There are some cruel sketches as well.

Still, the film is a classic because of the memorable characters created. In particular, David Alan Grier's Don "No Soul" Simmons, who appears in the "Blacks With No Soul" and a segment where you can buy his albums are hilarious. I'd love to get those "albums", especially "Don "No Soul" Simmons Gets Down And Funky". I feel that Alfonso Ribeiro's character of Carleton Banks from "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" was derived from him; they look, dress, talk, sing, dance, and have the same interests in music. Joey Travolta's attempt to ape his brother John's Barbarino character in the "Amazon Woman" segment is pretty hilarious, too. Of course "Mondo Condo" featuring Arsenio Hall in an apartment cursed with Murphy's Law is still hilarious, as is the two segments featuring Archie Hahn "Real Life Movie Review" and "Roasting A Loved One" (actually based on a show that existed, where comedians got roasted on T.V.). Some great lines from those segments:

"I'm sorry, but I have to give Harvey Pitnik a big thumbs down"

"We're here to put two things to rest: Harvey and the fact that Charlie Callas is funny!"

"We've got two pieces of bad news: Milton Berle couldn't be here and Rip Taylor is."

Even the two black-and-white featurettes are interesting. Ever wanted to see Ed Begley Jr. naked. Here you go. Ever wanted to see a glimpse of what a message film from the 30's about the evils of sexual diseases was like? It's here.

The commercials are alright. Other than the "No Soul" commercials, the Silly Pate (I'm eating Popeye.) comes close, the rest are weak, although the Irving Sidney novel commercial should have given Sidney Sheldon a good idea for a future novel.

The SNL skits are a mixed bag. "Mondo Condo" is a classic. The one with the then married couple of Michelle Pfeiffer and Peter Horton trying to get their delivered baby from a doctor played by Griffin Dunne is great for one line uttered by Horton:

"That's not our son! That's a Mister Potato Head!"

The cruel skit involves Matt Adler, Kelly Preston, Steve Cropper, Howard Hesseman, and Ralph Bellamy and it's about a teenager buying condoms for the first time and finding out that he was the billionth man to buy them and is paraded around in embarrassing fashion. The "Video Date" one is pretty good, until it gets a bit nasty in the end, but since it features Russ Meyer (and Andrew Dice Clay), it wouldn't surprise me if Meyer came up with the plot for this one, as a lot of his movies are like this. The "Two I.D.'s" skit with Steve Guttenberg and Rosanna Arquette is a frightening portent of today's fears of your private life being available for the public to know about. "Video Pirates" is weak, why this one was made is beyond me, as well as seeing Lou Jacobi in a running joke of being trapped on T.V.

The movie says it has a lot of actors in it's opening credits. You'll see old-movie stars, established actors, up and comers, bluesman B.B. King, comedians and cult movie directors such as Meyer and Paul Bartel. As well, one of the most beautiful array of female talent ever assembled. A female cast with Michelle Pfeiffer, Rosanna Arquette, Kelly Preston, Sybil Danning (in the "Amazon Women" segments), Lana Clarkson ("Amazon Women"), Angel Tompkins (Irving Sidney), Carrie Fisher (you Star Wars fans loved her outfit in "Return Of The Jedi"), former Playboy Playmate Monique Gabrielle (an honourable mention in my tops list for beauty) and former Penthouse Pet Corrinne Wahl (nee Alphen). You can't beat that.

Put it all together, and you have a film that must be seen once a year at least. An ambitious project, and even though it has a few flaws, it's great. I wish they'd make something like this today.

While most people will think this film is plain silly, which it is, it is really quite fun too.

With a few exceptions, the film is about your typical late night television and the crazy ads that used to permeate the airwaves before all the infomercials started taking over in the 90's. In this film, they make fun of those crazy ads and programming by doing outrageous spoof ads interspersed with an old 1950's B movie with a lot of projection problems.

Any couch potato with a good sense of humor and a memory of the 70's & 80's television programming should enjoy this one! This is why I call it a niche movie.