It’s a stunning homage to some of the greatest B-movies of all time, like the classic Queen Of Outer Space or Cat Women On the Moon. Then there’s a series of increasingly bizarre sketches and fake TV ads, which were directed by folks like Landis and Joe ‘Gremlins’ Dante, shoehorned in to pad out the 90 minute running time. It feels more like an extended sketch show than a bona fide film and because the sketches come and go so quickly, you soon forget the duff ones, like the bit with Arsenio Hall at the beginning, or the video pirates (well, it was the 1980s – anyone want to bet they will appear in Ashes To Ashes?). Those will have you reaching for the remote. The black and white “Reckless Youth” parody starring Carrie Fisher is still hilarious. The woman who was Princess Leia keeps a straight face as a fresh-faced ingénue being tempted by the evils of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Carrie Fisher really was made for such a sketch and it remains a mystery to this day how she never became a huge stand-up comic. A recurring joke about Don Simmons, a singer who has no soul, gets played throughout the movie, and just gets funnier and funnier. The funeral where stand-up comics slag off the deceased is inspired. The crazy doctor handing new parents a Mr Potato Head because he forgot the baby could just as easily have been from The Fast Show or The Two Ronnies. That’s a complement, by the way. Scenes are missing and on one occasion the film burns up. And you thought Tarantino and Rodriquez were being original with their Grindhouse films last year! John Landis was doing this back in 1986, and he did Kentucky Fried Movie too! There are a few deleted scenes on the DVD and to be brutally honest, you can see why they were left on the cutting room floor. The gag reel, on the other hand, which includes more stand-up ad-libs from the funeral parlour, is essential viewing. Everyone clearly had a blast making this film. John Landis, we salute you…
