It Came from Hollywood (1982)

As Good As It Gets

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Leave it to "Hollywood".When they finally have a chance to make a movie that pays homage to the worst films ever made (and they have some doozies here), they go and screw up "It Came from Hollywood" by thinking they need endless comic asides by Aykroyd, Radner, Candy, and Cheech and Chong. Don't get me wrong, it's always nice to see them, but why here?And how did good films make it in here? "The Incredible Shrinking Man" and "War of the Worlds" are shown and they were actually good films! Everyone agrees, right? It's not like there's a shortage of bad films in Hollywood's archives.But they do get it right when they profile "classics" like "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "Mars Needs Women", "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" and such. And Ed Wood was always a ripe target for such a film. Just ask Tim Burton.In the end, though, it's more like a partial coming attractions trailer than a film. The movie seems to end before it began, and look at how many more bad movies they've made since then! It's staggering! Hey, "Hollywood", if there's ever a sequel made to this one, just focus on the bad films by themselves, and a little less of Aykroyd. Okay, please?Three stars, mostly for what films are shown. And for the sight of Aykroyd and Candy in pink angora sweaters while riding a Harley. Now THERE'S an idea for a bad movie.

I've read a lot of negative reviews of IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD since it was first released, but I have to admit, I think it's hilarious. The film is broken into several sections, each introduced by one or more of the comedians. for example, John Candy pays tribute to Ed Wood (Including a remake of the "coming out" scene from GLEN OR GLENDA with Dan Aykroyd), Cheech and Chong introducing clips from the likes of THE COCAINE FIENDS, etc. Some of the clips drag, some clips have been "doctored" to seem even sillier then they really are, but with the likes of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and MARS NEEDS WOMEN on display, there are some great moments.

Tiresome documentary with snippets from films' like "Attack of the 50 FT. Woman." Candy, Aykroyd and Radner add nothing to the piece. What's the point? A homage? If so, why?

One of the reasons I liked this film so much was because it actually featured Guilala. Dan Aykroyd and John Candy make comments about the best and worst Sci-Fi movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space and other films by Ed Wood. It also features Attack of the Mushroom People and X from Outer Space. I loved it. Recommended to everybody.