Tunnelvision

Tunnel Vision is a unique sort of grindhouse film. It is a feature-length collage of comedy sketches, loosely tied together by a simple (and not terribly important) framing mechanism. The production values are rather low, very rough around the edges in the same way the Python TV show was, but the humor here comes across nonetheless. Those of you with delicate taste, beware. The comedy in this film is extremely dark, savage, and mercilessly satirical. It takes on the the TV-junkie generation, ripping into network television with energy and vehemence. If you like dark humor and satire, like Terry Southern or Robert Downey, Sr., you will probably like this film. Just don't expect glossy visuals or a strong central narrative.

This movie is a prime example of squandering great resources in a film. You've got future SNL and SCTV stars in their prime, such as John Candy, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Al Franken,Tom Davis and Joe Flaherty essentially making 70 minutes of coarse, uninspired fart and racist jokes. The concept of a network from the future subverting society could have really been taken to some interesting extremes, but instead right out the gate, makes a lame, juvenile proctology joke and stays in that vein of humor the whole way.Seek out the earlier and much more subversive and witty Groove Tube or the later, hilarious Kentucky Fried Movie. This movie is only for those who want to see a time capsule of bad 70's sketch comedy movies.

It's extremely dated, dopey and wildly uneven, but there are still some pretty good laughs to be had in this short collection of skits that take a look at what "television of the future" will be like (?) Even if the humor isn't your cup of tea, it's worth a look just to spot the large cast of then-unknown and up-and-coming comedy talent. Rent it with the similarly-themed "The Groove Tube" for an evening of mindless juvenile fun.

Stephen Feinberg, who Played the Proctologist and was one of the writers of the movie, passed away in early 2006. I met Steve in Portland in 1993, it was a year latter when he told me that he had been a writer in Hollywood years earlier, working mostly on TV promos. He asked me not to see 'Tunnel Vision', but it was too late, I had seen it already! Actually I had seen it years before, when it was released. At that time I didn't think it was that bad a movie. However seeing it as an adult my opinion was somewhat different. Yes is is a bit puerile as well as dated. Steve admitted it was not a very good movie. That said he was just a little proud of 'The Proctologist' sketch.

1976 saw the release of this movie and the Oscar-winning classic Network. There really is no argument as to which is the better film, but the idea of American viewers becoming glued to their TV sets because of an "anything goes" TV station doesn't seem too far-fetched today. Of the skit comedies of the '70s (Kentucky Fried Movie and Groove Tube being the others), this is the weakest. But it has some moments. The competing California candidates is a funny running gag, but the French chef is definitely not and unfortunately shows up throughout the movie. If you want to compare the success of these three films, you can use the filmmakers' later work as a gauge: The makers of Kentucky Fried Movie went on to Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Airplane, Police Squad and Top Secret. The makers of The Groove Tube went on to Modern Problems (and Richard Belzer went on to radio). The makers of Tunnel Vision went on to Bachelor Party and Moving Violations. You do the math.