Full Moon High

This horror spoof contains enough corny jokes to last you a lifetime, but is generally harmless and even has a certain schlocky charm. Produced on an obviously low budget and sloppily directed by Larry Cohen, it tries to do for werewolf flicks what "Airplane!" had done for disaster epics the previous year, but it's just too "unpolished" to succeed. (**)

Larry Cohen's movie "Full Moon High" is one of the more obscure entries on the prolific filmmaker's resume, seldom shown on cable and taking forever to be released on videotape (and to this date has not gotten a DVD release.) It does not take long upon watching it to figure out why it doesn't have a cult following. Now, unlike some of the other IMDb users who have commented on this movie, I *did* find some of the gags in the movie to be amusing, and I thought that Adam Arkin was pretty good in the lead role - you can really see his father Alan in him from his looks to his comic timing. (Alan himself does also appear in the movie, and he's amusing as well.) However, the movie as a whole does not work. While there are some funny moments, most of the gags die upon arrival. The real problem with the movie is that it is really sloppily made. A number of scenes feel unfinished, missing punchlines or simple conclusions. A bigger problem with the script is that there isn't much plot here, with scene after scene with little to nothing advancing things. It does not take long for the movie to become tiring, even though Cohen jam- packs the movie with energy. I think a documentary on what went wrong with this movie would be a lot more entertaining than the movie itself.

Aiming at a blend of Airplane! style wackiness and Mel Brooks-a-like angsty spoof, this is almost good - the occasional inspired moment (Werewolf Annoys Community) keeps you watching through the massive swathes of so-so gags, occasional clunkers and habitual dragging out of jokes way beyond their peak. Part so-bad-it's-good, part nearly quite good, and with a typically intense, shouty performance from ace Alan Arkin, this just about scrapes into the Watchable category. Probably a gem to obscure B-horror fans.

Silly movie is really, really funny. Yes, it's got its dead moments, it can be a bit too obvious, it declines a bit in the second half and the story is an incoherent mess, but it's laugh out loud funny all the way. And it's worth seeing just for Ed McMahon as a right wing kook. This movie is in the same class as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, another incredibly funny, underappreciated film.

A surprising misfire from the usually reliable Larry Cohen (God Told Me Too, Q, etc.), Full Moon High tries so hard to be funny and fails miserably, even with decent turns by Ed McMahon(!) and Kenneth Mars. Alan Arkin looks embarrassed throughout his performance and son Adam simply looks numb. This makes Teen Wolf look like a comedy classic.