The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

Best movie of this year hands down!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Two segments of this early Zucker Brothers comedy stand out for me; A very quick air freshener commercial and a spoof of grade school/junior high school science videos. Most of it, however, lays there, perhaps dated, perhaps overshadowed by classic moments from TV sketch shows, maybe even more overshadowed by what the Zucker Brothers went on to do. The air freshener commercial takes the actual actresses from a commercial that aired at the time, and inserts a tag line that really makes something hit the fan, and the Zink Oxide science video spoof will bring back memories to adults of a certain age who would get this sort of thing in school, or further back, as a movie short when going to the movies meant a lot of extras besides previews, and minus the tons of commercials they've added today. The other sketches are a mixed bag, mostly the type of bag you use for comfort on an airplane, with a mixture of childish farce, a bit of T&A and the most absurd for me, a Karate movie spoof that ends with the Bruce Lee like actor in drag as a cultural icon in one of her most famous characters is the low point, but I don't see the point of karate films to begin with. What really should get a lower rating from me gets middle of the ground, because it shows the growing genius behind what would go on to create "Airplane!", the "Police Squad" films (later "Naked Gun") and influence other comic writers to give you a "Hellzapoppin'" type pain from laughing so much.

I was one year old when this was made...but watched it when I was maybe three or four. OK...not a good decision by my parents :) but this has always been my favorite, having a stagnant sense of humor of a 10 year old boy. Dino is gentle as a lamb... :). Definitely a pinnacle of juvenile humor. Lots of boobs and uh, midget clown whipping catholic school girls???Watching tonight, I find it strangely applicable to today with the liberal media accusations and search for "alternative fuel" :). Airplane was the more mainstream success for obvious reasons but Kentucky Fried Movie set the bar for tasteless silly movies.Must see...if you are juvenile like I am :)

Before Zucker/Zucker/Abrahams' success with Airplane! (1980), Top Secret (1983), The Naked Gun (1988), and John Landis' short series of good comedies National Lampoons Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), and Trading Places (1983), they collaborated on this "sketch" movie. Consisting of oh-so- very contemporary 1970's cultural tropes, the films mixture of spoof exploitation movie trailers ("You will cream in your jeans when you see..." Catholic High School Girls In Trouble; That's Armageddon; Cleopatra Schwartz), humorous commercials (which includes one quite disturbing, United Appeal for the Dead, that has a family keeping their son after death, showing him involved in everyday family activities), public service announcements and many references to Deep Throat (1972).The stand out "Main Feature" is a parody of the 1973 breakthrough martial arts film, Enter the Dragon. As was exacerbated in the writers' next effort, the aforementioned Airplane!, the visual gags are sometimes quite brilliant. I first came across this film when I was quite young. I'm not really sure how this would be viewed today. As I mentioned, this is very much a part of the 1970's. But if you love the blaxploitation, sexploitation et al trailers and movies, then there is certainly some fun to be had with these. There's a splattering of double entendre, and a more exponentially greater visual helping of T&A. It is a good comedy sketch film, with the usual quality problems with the format (i.e. not all the parts will be as good as others). And for those who suffer from premature ejaculation, this film comes with... Big Jim Slade.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Before there was Airplane!, there was Kentucky Fried Movie, featuring a host of talent that would go on to become major comedy gods..director John Landis, and writers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker.The film is essentially a series of skits, ranging from very funny to dated, spoofing commercials, porno, disaster movies, blaxploitation, local news, courtroom and classic television, and Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. Plenty of tasteless skits, particularly the "Scot Free" board game commercial commenting on the JFK assassination, "United Appeal for the Dead" featuring a very serious Henry Gibson(..I mean perfect cold delivery adds so much to the audacious material)informing us on dealing with death(..how parents keep their dead son around for daily activities must be seen to be believed!), "Classic High School Girls in Trouble" showcasing the attributes offered in porno of the time, and "Eyewitness News" featuring a couple slowly disrobing and engaging in sexual relations while newscasters look on from a television set as they were reporting news for the day."A Fistful of Yen" features the superb casting of Evan C Kim as a Bruce Lee lookalike with a very animated face, physical presence to associate himself into that likeness, and a martial arts ability well mimicking the master's style of fighting. There are a plethora of sight gags and references that should be a delight for fans of "movie spoofs"..this is really the spoof that resembles the design the Zuckers and Abrahams are known for. I love the raunchiness and politically incorrect nature of it all, particularly the unabashed presence of nudity, which kind of shocked me to tell you the truth. The Pam Grier / blaxploitation gag, "Cleopatra Schwartz" featuring Marilyn Joi as the titular bad ass and her partner / lover a Hasidic Jew(!) had me in ribbons. The spoof on classic B&W television, "Courtroom" was another wonderfully perverse highlight containing the use of a dildo, while also poking delightful fun at Leave it to Beaver and Perry Mason..this one is layered with numerous sexual jokes and sight gags. And, how could I leave off Rick Baker and his gorilla tearing apart a public broadcasting station! Actors such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, George Lazenby, and the writers themselves all turn up in various skits. And, as expected, there's a commercial spoofing the Hari Krishna, titled "Willer Bear"!