National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins

National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins is a pretty funny movie. Why? Because their are so many good stars and actors (or that the two leads are hilarious on and off the stand-up stage). Denis Leary stars and directs (debut) this movie about greed, anger and lust. Also in this film is Andrew Dice Clay as Richard Spencer. And these characters plus Joe Montegna and Anabella Sciorra provide laughs in this tale of what started hollywood. Funny as hell. A

You can fast-forward through Lust (a cutesy Boccaccio-like vignette), and Anger (the Diceman riding a one-joke pony about a guy ticked off because he has to buy tampons for his wife).

Greed, however, is pretty funny. Joe Mantagna is a producer for those TV movies of the week which are based on today's headlines. In order to beat his competitors to the hottest stories, he decides to go in for vertical integration .... creating his own tabloid crimes.

When his plan backfires he still gets sweet revenge by producing his own electrocution, with Pisa Zadora singing "My Way" on his behalf.

OK, It isn't "Annie Hall", but it has some laughs.

This is one of my all-time favorite comedies. It is written a trilogy. The movie's director, Dennis Leary also has his acting debut in the first portion, Lust. I always fast forward through Joe Montegna in Greed as it is drawn out a bit too long. It is funny but I'm really not a big fan of his and I am only really interested in seeing the third portion.

Watch Andrew Dice Clay in his best comedic performance as he stars in Anger. This portion has become a cult classic for stag parties. It's about an upset man, Richard Spencer (played by Andrew Dice Clay) who is sent out to the local convenience store to purchase tampons. His frustrations and how he interacts with others is priceless. Of course if you detest Andrew Dice Clay, you won't like this movie.

Having purchased this DVD from a discount bin, I was not expecting much for my $1.99 -- but, what a great comedy surprise!

As a die-hard Lampoon fan, I had to log on to IMDB to see if anyone else knew about this liitle gem of a movie. First of all, I love Denis Leary. I thought his ABC show, "The Job" was cuttng edge stuff for network TV. His involvement in the movie is what attracted me in the first place.

But it was Joe Mantegna (who I really didn't consider a comic actor) who totally blew me away! (Note -- this is a segmented movie, a la Woody Allen's,

Everthing You Wanted To Know About Sex...")

Joe's "Greed" segment, about a bottom-feeding reality-TV producer, actually seems to be ripped from today's headlines. The fact that this was written back in 1995 really shows the sophistication of the satire here.

Joe plays, Frank Musso, (a real-life Max Bialistak from The Producers) with a vicious and totally believable over-the-top zeal. This laugh-out-loud short (which is cock-full of suprise cameos, like David Letterman & Conan O'Brien) is worth the price of admission in itself.

Surprisingly, Leary plays a subdued version of his usual scatilogical self in the "Lust" segment -- but it's definietly sexy and enjoyable non-the-less. The piece is photographed particulary well and was also directed by Leary.

The Andrew Dice Clay segment, (that other reviewers here raved about), to me, is the weakest link of the film. Conceptually, I like the story of a guy who's so obnoxious that he's not only kicked out of heaven -- but also hell, very funny -- but the Dice-man doesn't seem to be in on the joke.

Anyway, for those satire fans out there, this is a tight, funny, anthology comedy film, that deserves to be seen and savored.

After the "Anger" segment with Andrew Dice Clay, I turned it off. It was probably one of the worst films I have ever viewed in my life...along with CONEHEADS and the Jurassic Park sequel.

The acting was horrid, the dialogue was downright bad, and it wasn't funny in the least bit. I don't remember laughing once.

Do yourself a favor and SKIP IT. I don't know what made this film a "National Lampoon" but stick to the Christmas one or the one where they go to Wally World. But for the love of GOD, please don't torture yourself by viewing this utter crapola!