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16 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Kentucky Fried Movie-Redux, 6 March 2003 Author: britishdominion from Las Vegas, NV
I'm sure this is the last time we will see this kind of Cuisinart comedy collection directed by, at the time (1987), some of the cinema's top comedy directors. And that's a shame. Because "Amazon Women On The Moon", although not perfect by any cinematic measuring stick, represents a small victory for loopy, silly comedy anarchy. Look at this line up of comedy vets: John Landis ("The Blues Brothers", "Trading Places", "Animal House" among so many others), Joe Dante ("Gremlins", "Innerspace", "Matinee"), Robert Weiss (TV's "Police Squad!"), Carl Gottlieb (co-writer of "Jaws" AND "The Jerk") as well as newby Peter Horton (of "thirtysomething" fame). This anthology features some real groaners to be sure, but surprisingly hits more times, and with more genuine laughs, than would be expected. Cobbled together as a de facto follow up to Landis's 1977's "Kentucky Fried Movie" (the picture that boasted the first unspooling of the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker genius that would soon launch "Airplane!" three years later) on a low-low indie budget way outside his usual 80's big-budget Universal stomping ground, "Amazon Women..." manages to both successfully surpass AND fail to reach the dizzy, laff-a-minute, rat-a-tat-tat of the 70's midnight circuit fave. This picture has several clinkers of flat comedy (Landis's opener nearly stops the film dead with the always-unfunny Arsenio Hall), but hits with so many other vignettes that it's easy to get into the groove of this short-but-sweet skewer of 80's late-late-night TV. The standout segments in this comedic buffet are abundant, but the best of them belong to Dante, Weiss & Gottlieb: the Universal-International "Invisible Man" short with Ed Begley Jr.; his hilarious run at the Leonard Nimoy "In Search Of" chestnut as "Bullshit Or Not?" with pitch-perfect host Henry Silva; the stay-for-the-end-credits 1930's "Reefer Madness" health scare jewel starring the late, great Paul Bartel and Carrie Fisher; or the crossed-circuit tributes to BOTH the "Siskel & Ebert" show AND the old Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, featuring a dream cast of vaudeville and 50's Vegas comics that has to be seen to be believed. Landis's standouts include a "no soul" infomercial featuring David Alan Grier and BB King, a funny hospital sketch featuring Landis players Griffin ("American Werewolf") Dunne and Michelle ("Into The Night") Pfeiffer (!) and a respectful nod to the earlier "Kentucky Fried Movie" wrap-up featuring an interactive video that stars Marc McClure, "UltraVixens" cult director Russ Meyer and Andrew Dice Clay. Highest marks, though, go to the running-gag "Amazon Women On The Moon", which lovingly - hilariously - mocks everything from "This Island Earth" to "Robot Monster" complete with film splices and gorgeous, over-saturated Eastmancolor. If you have ever loved crappy TV, the Universal Studios backlot or any of the directors who have contributed to this dog's breakfast of SNL-inspired skits (written by two ex Carson-era "Tonight Show" writers), take a look at this one. Plus, it's only 85 minutes of your life that you'll never get back. Bullshit, or not.
16 out of 17 people found the following review useful: A Funny Parody On Everything!, 28 January 2004 Author: Doramius from Las Vegas, NV
Cross a 1950's B-Movie with Saturday Night Live skits popping in every 15 minutes and you have something like this. Great cast selection and an ingenious put together of skits as commercials and sitcoms. The writers here have created a 25 minute mock B-movie 'Amazon Women On The Moon, missing more than half of its essential plot. Interspersed are hilarious commercials, infomercials, and filler shows that take up the slack as the original movie reel breaks, burns through, or just simply comes to a commercial stop in the baseline movie. Some of the skits are side splitting funny. This film was not intended to have a very straight forward plot or screenplay, but finds itself quite interesting. You'll find yourself trying to guess all of the actors spotting cameos and appearances throughout the film.This movie is great to add to a video collection or definitely worth renting a few times with friends. This has all the makings of a comedic cult classic.
14 out of 15 people found the following review useful: super, 13 January 2002 Author: sickcritik (sickcritik@hotmail.com)
This movie says that it stars lots of actors and they aren't kidding! A cast of thousands and these are actually actors that you know!There are various comedy vignettes surrounding the satire of a 1950's Sci-Fi movie called "Amazon Women on the Moon". If you have ever had insomnia and watched an incredibly bad movie in the middle of the night, then you can relate. "Movies til Sunrise"!!! These astronauts sit in computer chairs with seatbelts. No matter how you cut it...these chairs have wheels. No matter how many times that the booth announcer says that there will be no further interruptions...get ready for another interruption. If you listen carefully, the year of the movie and the name of the movie changes.If you think that you have had a bad day, watch what Arsenio Hall goes through. Splat! Don't point the remote at your face as you may be sucked into the TV as Murray (Lou Jacobi) is! This is ongoing throughout the movie as Murray appears on every channel. Unfortunately, his wife won't let him stay on the Playboy Channel. One of the funniest sketches include the scenes in the hospital after Brenda (Michelle Pheiffer) and Harry (Peter Horton) give birth to a son and their doctor (Griffin Dunne) loses him! Henry Silva does an extremely funny rip-off of "Fact or Fiction" (could Jack the Ripper and the Loch Ness Monster be one and the same?). There is a funeral "roast" involving Steve Allen, Rip Taylor, Slappy White, Henny Youngman, Charlie Callas and Jackie Vernon. One of the funniest bits is "Son of the Invisible Man". Griffin (Ed Begley, Jr.) believes that he is truly invisible and flits about in a bar (wearing nothing)! Trust me...the nudity is integral to the plot.The faux commercials are hysterical. How about "hair looming"? You can actually have a literal rug stapled to the top of your head (in complete privacy). Don Simmons (David Alan Grier) is a black singer without soul. Want to liven up a party? How about serving "Silly Paté"? It tastes great and bounces high! Don't bail out during the first credits as the best is yet to come! Carrie Fisher and Paul Bartel participate in an "unclean" PSA! This is produced by Miracle Pictures whose motto is "If it's a good picture, it's a miracle".
12 out of 12 people found the following review useful: An homage to late-night television surfing, 6 April 2005 Author: djstevet from Republic of Korea
Greetings, one and all! "Amazon Women on the Moon" is one of my all-time favorite movies, not because it is perfect, but because it effectively yet respectfully lampoons so many genres, including 50s movies, late-night television of all sorts, and even different styles of literature available throughout a good portion of the 20th century. Find a trend in literature of the 40s and 50s, movies of the 50s and 60s, or television of the 50s through the 70s, and it is somehow made fun of in this movie.Another reason that I like this film is the fact that everyone involved, and there are many, many recognizable names involved with this project, seems to be having so much fun doing it. Several of the best moments for me are those when actors are playing, tongue-in-cheek, the same types of roles for which they were famous in other "serious" movies.The movie is incredibly funny if you are in the right mood, and with the right crowd. Even if not, however, there are enough funny moments to make this worth watching. The pacing and style are sometimes uneven, which I found worked toward a purpose, but that may make it hard for some to watch the movie straight through. If that is the case, watch it in two sittings; it's worth the extra effort.One game you can play, if you know the times or are old enough to remember first-hand, is to find how many books, TV shows/icons, and movies are good-naturedly ridiculed throughout the movie.
10 out of 10 people found the following review useful: A Fun Niche Movie!, 13 March 2005 Author: Michael from Rio Grande Valley, Texas
While most people will think this film is plain silly, which it is, it is really quite fun too.With a few exceptions, the film is about your typical late night television and the crazy ads that used to permeate the airwaves before all the infomercials started taking over in the 90's. In this film, they make fun of those crazy ads and programming by doing outrageous spoof ads interspersed with an old 1950's B movie with a lot of projection problems.Any couch potato with a good sense of humor and a memory of the 70's & 80's television programming should enjoy this one! This is why I call it a niche movie.
11 out of 14 people found the following review useful: A hilarious collection of comedy sketches. Highly recommended!, 17 February 2003 Author: Matt Huls (cowman777@hotmail.com) from Westland, MI, USA
Like its predecessor KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON is simply a 90-minute assortment of short sketches, gags, and spoofs. All of the segments star multiple big-name actors, but they each vary in style, technique, and content. Some rely on humorous dialogue while others (specifically "Mondo Condo") depend solely on slapstick physical comedy. Some (like "Video Date") are pretty risque and could even be considered questionable in taste, while others are 100% family-friendly. Each of the approximately 20 skits do have one thing in common with one another, though: they are all unbelievably hilarious.Admittedly, there are some jokes that miss the mark and one or two short sketches that are pretty corny, but these dull moments are easily forgiven since the rest of the movie is just so damn funny. My suggestion: grab a friend, a bowl of popcorn, and watch AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON today! Be prepared to laugh yourself to tears, and don't forget order the latest album from Don 'No Soul' Simmons when you're done!
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: A feel-good, light-headed pleasure, 5 December 2000 Author: blackcircles (blackcircles@beer.com) from Toronto, Canada
This is not a great film by any means, but there are some really hilarious, unforgettable sketches in this movie. There's the Playboy bunny who goes grocery shopping naked, goes to church naked and everyone else acts like its normal. The Amazon Women on the Moon sketch is a scream. David Alan Grier is fantastic as the man without soul. There's the Siskel and Ebert-style critique of a man's life. There's also Andrew Dice Clay's finest moment (not like he's had any others) as he screams from a TV set at someone watching his girlfriend's porn video. A very silly movie, but with lots of great moments.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: An authentic parody on late-night telly that works despite some forced and silly side-skits., 23 December 2005 Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.
I guess it was perfect timing that I watch this late last night, because it goes hand-to-hand with its overall context and what it's trying to come across as. This star-studded production with the likes of John Landis and Joe Dante directing some of these gags and segments, come up with a compilation comedy that lampoons late-night American TV. The main focus is on a Z-grade 1950's Sci-fi film called 'Amazon woman on the moon', but it's the small comedy sketches of info-commercials that flooded proceedings. The majority of the film is filled with these comical ads and pointless interruptions and breaks, with the z-grade feature more so in the background. Which is quite sad as from what get out of this flick is a correct parody on late-night telly and some of it is mildly entertaining. It's just sometimes the one idea gimmick had me smiling while other times it had me rolling my eyes. Some skits worked with their ingenious side gags and self-referential humour, while others totally missed the point by overplaying its hand, or they were rather thin. Some of my favourite segments would be the Video date, Don 'no soul' Simmons, Murray in videoland, critics corner and bullsh!t or not. Plus the z-grade mocking of 'Amazon woman on the moon' is neatly setup and done with great effect, with its dodgy sets, awful dialog, wooden acting, women in skimpy outfits (with Sybil Danning appearing), choppy editing and the many pointless interruptions that go through the flick. They just nailed it! The whole parody is interesting and it works in small slabs, but the whole execution was rather uneven and downright hectic. Maybe too many directors spoil the brew? As some segments and gags just don't fit in with others, that being the context or that of the humour. The narration is all over the place, but that was intended by mocking these type of productions and the clever script is done with enough panache and wit. You'll notice a lot of familiar faces popping up throughout, like Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Guttenberg, Dick Millar, Ralph Bellamy, Arsenio Hall, Phil Hartman and many more. But just don't think it's finish when the credits start rolling, as there's another send-up following involving Carrie Fisher called reckless youth. Pocking fun of the 30's when there was movie/TV propaganda about foolishness of teens and how your youth can destroy you by taking reckless temptations.The feature did kinda remind me of Monty Python gags and definitely in the way the format was presented. These Python's films are 'And Now For Something Completely Different' and 'The Meaning of Life'. Although a friend of mine told me that this idea for this film is similar to 'The Kentucky Fried Movie' (1977), the same people who went on to create the spoof 'Airplane'. It supposedly was a catalyst for this type of picture.Basically it's a fairly entertaining watch and true to its sources, but still rather forgettable when it came to shove.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: one of my favorite comedies!, 28 January 2003 Author: MASTAMIND72 from United States
Boy, do i love this movie! Im not saying it didnt have any flaws. Id say about 80% of it was very funny. My absolute favorite sketches are the Harvey Pitnik critics corner/funeral sketches. The critics really tore Harvey a new one (LOL)! All the roasters (comedians) were great, but my favorite was Rip Taylor, especially when he says "you know the old saying in show business, get off quick, like Harvey on his wedding night!" When i heard that, I laughed so hard, that i probably have an uncured hernia to this day from it. Of course i cant leave out the blacks without soul/ Don no soul Simmons albums (my second favorite), Arnesio Hall, bs or not, pirates, titans, and every Vangoe must go, and the Amazon Women movie itself. These were all very funny. I cant wait to get this on dvd one day. 8 STARS OUT OF 10.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Donate your money to Don Simmons - Black without a soul :), 7 July 1999 Author: Gallston from Turku, Finland
After I saw this film I was positively surprised of the varied amount of excellent little surprises this film offered in form of little jokes. The film itself is in a way a sequel to the "Kentucky Fried Movie" so if you have seen it, you might know what to expect. The movie itself is built around a 50's b-movie "Amazon women on the moon" which has some serious troubles while showing and the jokes are then presented as commercials etc. One of the most memorable moments IMO in this film include: "The blacks without the soul", "Petmate of the month" and several others. I'll give this 9 out of 10. RECOMMENDED
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