News Movie

It was made in 2004 ... but apparently was released in 2008. Not sure what is up with that. What bothers me is I don't think it could be made today, and that is a worrisome commentary on the trajectory of our culture. In order to cater to extremists, we have basically outlawed comedy in the USA. But for one brief shining moment we could make movies like Blazing Saddles, Animal House and Tropic Thunder. Alas, we are now everything we used to correctly hate.

Very much like _Kentucky Fried Movie_ in construction, with most of the skits presented as news stories or commercials, in a plot about a news station that's been recently taken over by a giant corporation. Some bits are funnier than others, with a few running gags that recur throughout the movie.

Don't expect the most brilliant bits from the paper to be transformed into movie bits - it's closer to one of their good issues being written into a movie, with brilliant bits, so-so bits, and annoying bits.

Sure to offend almost anyone who's looking to be offended, it's just as sure to amuse anyone who's looking to be amused. I've seen far worse entertainment this year.

This film was a great deal of fun to watch, however the humor is not for everyone. I have been a fan of "The Onion" website for years and find the content (on the web) varies considerably in quality and is to some extent,a function of the mood you are in at the time. I would characterize this film as falling into the same category, i.e. gut busting humor that will leave you crying and other bits that fall flat. This shows the difficulty in translating a great website with really good satirical content to film. Some of the humor is very caustic and biting satire and requires you to be fairly open minded; there are some excellent pokes at politics, PC behavior, global conflicts and popular culture that are in the news today. I really enjoyed this film and would not recommend it for those under the age of 16.

I am a huge fan of satire sites such as onion.com, daily mash.co.UK and news biscuit.com etc, however the movie never quite succeeds in its level of humour as its website does, granted there are some great laugh out loud moments but there are a few too many sketches that run for a tad too long.

It is unfair to criticize some of the movies sketches as being dated as the movie was produced over 5 years ago then shelved, I'm pretty sure due to fan demand that they decided to release it.

If your a fan of the website be sure to check it out but don't get your hopes up, the viral videos on the website are much better and better paced.

i give this 6 out of 10

This movie possesses that rarest of combinations: utter brilliance and unbridled stupidity. Obviously, nothing can compare to Monty Python's Flying Circus, but The Onion Movie's creators were plainly big fans of that show, and succeeded in delivering "something completely different".

While this movie is chock full of current-societal satire (which Python never was), it uses the clever segues to new scenes, the reappearance of characters you'd just about forgotten, and the absolute Absurdity (it has to be capitalized!) that those wonderful Brits mastered decades ago.

The Onion Movie is not a regular movie. If you insist on plot, and/or are easily offended, this movie is not for you. But if you're in the mood for laughing about cultural stereotypes, or people with enough humor to parody themselves (you rock Steven Seagal!), or just enjoying the ride through countless ridiculously silly situations (God bless you, Armed Gunman), you might want to take a peek at The Onion Movie.

Do you have the balls?