This movie had so many things going for it. I think the main problem might be how the script is stupid in a really distinctly awful way. There are these moments that feel like it was supposed to be a vehicle to launch Rick Dees? But by making him seem like a manic cartoon. It really reads like live action cartoons. And like I said, great cast. No fault to the cast and crew and hard working people that made this but dang. What a mess. Also we love and respect Frank Gorshin but damn he chews up scenery here like he hasn't eaten in weeks. THEN GALLAGHER SHOWS UP like whaaaaaat are you even talking about but it was just clearly fueled by tons of terrible drugs that made people feel a very false sense of confidence and belief in this script and it's execution. Oh Ed Begley Jr. Is in this and he's awesome and it's crazy because he's deep in a real character and everyone else is serving ham at 11 like weirdly horny and everyone is on a different level. The director like maybe had something going on in their personal life and weren't keeping their eye on the ball for any sense of consistency in the performances. Which is, again, infuriating because of how interesting and genuinely good the cast is. Also the racial and sexual stereotypes have aged super poorly but no shock there. Being super weirdly racist and homophobic was pretty standard in lowbrow comedies of the era. In every scene, every single character is as loud and weird and sleazy as humanly possible and by halfway through the film my brain has melted. It boggles the mind that at no point in the pre-release of this film not one person said,"maybe we should wait for the drugs to wear off and watch this again."
I mainly watched this film to see Kinky Friedman who is a character of legend in Texas. And an interesting dude. Let me tell you he is the most normal and grounded part of the carnival of madness that is this film. The echo-amplified voice of Rick Dees reverberates through this film like the shrieks of the faithful as the sept exploded per Cersei's orders. Where was I? Oh yes. This movie kind of sucks in a bad-horny way but suffers from a weak script and absent direction wasted on an icon like Ruth Buzzi. We forever stan RB. Also I'm not saying don't watch this movie. Just go into it knowing how much better it could have been and tell me you're not like dayumm. Okay thanks for reading.
