I was surprised that this movie actually existed. I'm a big fan of The Onion and couldn't resist watching the movie. I did have my doubts going in--I kept thinking about Mad TV and how bad that turned out. Could a sketch-comedy movie based on a fake newspaper be worthwhile? I was prepared for disappointment.
The Onion Movie is a pleasant surprise. It has quite a bit of low-brow humor juxtaposed with social commentary. It reminded me of Amazon Women on the Moon, another sketch comedy movie without much of a plot. This had much more timely humor than its predecessor, and slightly more of a plot. But, The Onion Movie does not have B.B. King.
The Onion Movie revolves around The Onion News Channel and its anchor Norm Archer (Len Cariou). Archer gets upset about journalistic integrity due to the advertising for a Steven Seagal movie called Cock Puncher that interrupts the newscast. This storyline takes up about 15 minutes of the total movie time.
It is an amusing movie with a lot of low-brow comedy gimmicks. It does, however, have some of the amusing news stories you'd expect from The Onion--mostly read by Archer. It's amusing, but certainly not worth paying much to see. I suggest Amazon Women on the Moon for your entertainment dollar.
3 comments:
Hmm, may have to check it out. Didn't know the flick existed!
This is what you did with your 4th of July? I'm trashed, been at bbqs for 12 hours now. I'd invite you to my leftover one tommmorow but don't think you'd show up. No burgers in China?
In the seventies these sketch flicks had a healthy birth. Oddities (well worth seeking out) include THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE (from John Landis and the Zucker Bros.), TUNNELVISION, THE PRIME TIME, THE GROOVE TUBE, CAN I DO IT... TILL I NEED GLASSES?, and AMERICAN TICKLER. It petered out around the time LOOSE SHOOES was released. Cable of the early-to-mid-eighties adored them. So did I, growing up. Some aged well, some did not.
AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON (with participation from John Landis) had the spirit right but failed to reignite the sub-genre.
Apparently THE ONION movie sat on a shelf for nearly two years. I believe David Zucker was even brought in to help whip it into shape for theatrical release. It was quietly released straight-to-video a couple of months ago: kind of like Steven Segal films produced post Y2K.
Post a Comment