A Fistful of Catholic High School Rex Kramer's! (Kentucky Fried Movie (DVD))

Member Name: clownfoot

Product:	Kentucky Fried Movie (DVD)
Date:	12/08/06 (637 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Side-splittingly funny!

Disadvantages: Not really a film in the true sense and perhaps a little too silly for some.

THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE

There’s little doubt that Airplane! is probably the funniest film ever made. Whilst The Big Lebowski has come close to topping this distinction with it’s more zany and articulated brand of humour, the 600-odd gags in Airplane’s short running time, including the best visual gag ever in Ted Striker’s drinking problem, will likely never be bettered. Likewise, television’s Police Squad, despite running for only six episodes and pre-cursor to the Frank Drebin Naked Gun trilogy, is perhaps the funniest thing ever created for television – if only for the mock freeze frames at the end of each episode. And for all this we have to thank three men. The brothers Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams (or ZAZ as they’re often recognised), whose ability to craft and fuel films with an insurmountable number of gags in a short shrift of time, bares an uncanny resemblance to genius. The Kentucky Fried Movie was ZAZ’s first foray into the world of inspired scripted lunacy and whilst never reaching the delights of either Airplane or Police Squad, it’s an interesting and often hilarious watch that highlights the burgeoning talents and deft-handling of comedy by the gag writer’s on show.

The Kentucky Fried Movie is actually a rather strange film, probably because it's not really a film in the general sense at all. Structured more like a concoction of short, highly irrelevant and non-linear skits and sketches, it plays out like a parody of a television channel spoofing commercials, news and documentary programmes, channel 5 styled erotica/soft porn flicks, kung fu films, disaster movies, blax-ploitation films, charity funding and science programs. Unsurprisingly, the backdrop for this structure was based on material gathered by ZAZ from leaving a VCR running into the late hours of the night and early morning, recording the content of the channel it happened to be on. Finding the programmes recorded to be fairly odd, often random and mind-numbingly bad, they decided the medium was ripe for spoofing on the big screen. Hence, The Kentucky Fried Movie plays with no discerning plot or identifiable characters as it moves from one sketch to the next, each as invariably different to the one preceding. Structurally, The Kentucky Fried Movie is much like Monty Python’s first big screen outing with And Now For Something Completely Different, whereby the silly six simply updated some of their best-known sketches.

It certainly takes a while to settle into the movie because of the lack of a linear plot and differing characters/actors for each section, but taken as it is The Kentucky Fried Movie is, at times, a rather hilarious film. John Landis' (who went on to develop his skills with Animal House and The Blues Brothers) assured direction enhances the timing and delivery of some of the best verbal, visual, sardonic, sly, and ironic gags ever written, setting a precedent for what ZAZ would eventually follow up with in the superior Airplane.

Whilst an insignificant few sketches do fail to engage with the viewer, being about as funny as a swift kick in the balls, such as the San Hedrin headache advert featuring Bill Bixby (the original Dr Bruce Banner), the majority are an absolute delight! The preview of coming attractions featuring Catholic High School Girls in Trouble is just silliness taken to the extreme but will have you crying with laughter. Sure, this particular sketch is a little gratuitous in places (as is the final sketch highlighting the dangers of news readers seeing into your living room) but you’re unlikely to see a midget dressed as a clown whipping naked Catholic Girls anywhere else, and with the promise of finding out what’s behind the green door and the truth behind masturbation (two quality visual gags, especially the latter) you’ll certainly be creaming your jeans with laughter. Rex Kramer, Danger Seeker is an equally inspired one-minute sketch that verges close to genius whilst also teetering on the edge of the acceptable of modern day political incorrectness. The science feature on zinc oxide is sublime as a house falls apart as household objects containing the chemical are removed to highlight it’s importance in everyday life, leaving a mother’s kitchen destroyed, her child shot and her husband’s car destroyed.

And that’s just three short sequences of Kentucky Fried Movies ninety minute running time, without even mentioning the wonderful advert highlighting a board game based on the JFK assassination, Big Jim Slade, Cleopatra Schwartz (the Jewish Foxy Brown – brilliant), the feel around cinema about to show Deep Throat or the charity United Appeal for the Dead, where we learn that death is America’s number one killer from Henry Gibson. Yes, thanks for that observation Henry.

The majority of the running time, however, is taken up the superbly titled A Fistful of Yen, the film within the film. An obvious spoof of Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, this is a twenty-minute diversion where an actual plot and characterisation is sustained, whilst still ensuring the jokes come thick and fast. It’s probably the most entertaining sketch of Kentucky Fried Movie and is really the most direct influence on the future direction of ZAZ’s work. The story, quite simply, has Mr Loo - a more accurate portrayal of Bruce Lee than even Jason Lee managed, thanks to a brilliantly incorporated lisp – venturing to Dr Klahn’s island fortress to kick some arse and chew some bubble-gum. Along the way he meets brilliantly named characters like Ming Chow and Ada Gronick, participates in a few not so-well choreographed fights, realises that being sent to Detroit is the worst form of torture, and gets to see Dr Klahn’s operation (a visual joke almost on par with Ted Striker’s drinking problem). It’s very silly stuff, with a very silly end but seeing as it’s book-marked by sketches equally silly and humorous, what else would you be expecting.

Featuring a cast of more than a few but less than a lot, (the majority of the cast are unknowns) there are some blink and you'll miss them cameos. The aforementioned Bill Bixby and Henry Gibson are joined by George Lazenby and Burt Lancaster who also appear briefly in short skits. And where else in movie history would you get to see a three second clip featuring Donald Sutherland as a clumsy waiter?

There really is little else that can be said about the film - no plot, no characterisation and no real aim (except to make you spit your tea out with laughter) makes it difficult to convey the content and a thorough explanation of some of the sketches is difficult because of the joke per minute factor. In any one scene there are about eight gags of differing style packed into a minute, so even if it doesn’t have you belly laughing throughout, it’s likely you’ll raise an odd smile here or there.

Still, it might not be for everyone. Some of the sketches are clearly stuck in the 70’s and for a more modern audience some of the gags may seem rather politically incorrect. There is also a little gratuitous nudity and some tasteless gags, which might not be to everyone’s liking - however don’t be confused into thinking that ZAZ are anything like Jim Davidson. ZAZ are funny for one thing and not inappropriately disengaging like Jim the big bigot. Indeed, The Kentucky Fried Movie is enjoyable, silly and funny stuff. Some of the sketches may be a little hit and miss, but there are more than enough belly laughs to keep anyone happy and if you’re a fan of Airplane, The Naked Gun or Police Squad, this is rather essential viewing.


Overall - Whilst the film has dated with some of the sketches, stuck in the 70's as they are, the killer script and a wonderful sense of turning everything possible into a gag, the insanity and bizarreness of it all will happily keep you laughing into the merry hours of the night.

Director: John Landis

Screenplay: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Sucker

Rating: 18 (features nudity and some scenes of a sexual nature)

Running Time: 90 Minutes

Cast: of unknowns, too numerous to mention!

Summary: Hilarious pre-Airplane! comedy sketch showcase from the ZAZ team.