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Reviews4
ChazSmith's rating
How gratifying it is to finally be able to watch this series after hearing so many promising things about it. It's worth every moment, and its ten episodes made a great binge watch this morning.
Everyone in the show, from the leads to every last cameo, are a revelation - as is the pacing and music and all that good stuff, thanks to writer/director Bruce Kimmel and music director Richard Allen.
Special mention must be made of the incredible privilege it is to watch the great Cindy Williams in what, sadly, became her last appearance. Her comic genius is perfection, which beautifully evokes her early brilliant work with Kimmel in his films "The First Nudie Musical" and "The Creature Wasn't Nice", and in their TV appearances. RIP, dear lady.
If you love classic TV situational comedy and/or just love musicals of all stripes, SAMI is for you. I will personally be back for more, and I can't recommend the series enough. Now, bring on Season Two!
Everyone in the show, from the leads to every last cameo, are a revelation - as is the pacing and music and all that good stuff, thanks to writer/director Bruce Kimmel and music director Richard Allen.
Special mention must be made of the incredible privilege it is to watch the great Cindy Williams in what, sadly, became her last appearance. Her comic genius is perfection, which beautifully evokes her early brilliant work with Kimmel in his films "The First Nudie Musical" and "The Creature Wasn't Nice", and in their TV appearances. RIP, dear lady.
If you love classic TV situational comedy and/or just love musicals of all stripes, SAMI is for you. I will personally be back for more, and I can't recommend the series enough. Now, bring on Season Two!
"Spaceship" and "Naked Space" are a badly recut version of Bruce Kimmel's "The Creature Wasn't Nice", conceived as a comedic musical take on the original "Alien". I'm not a child of the 1980s, so I'd only ever seen "Naked Space" once or twice on a cheap DVD release. The piecing together of the material was pretty obvious even without knowing how the original was supposed to play, and though I liked the basic elements of it, there wasn't much thought I could give to it. Happily, we can now see the only preserved copy of the original movie via a new authentic director's cut DVD release, and I recently had the pleasure of watching it. My first reaction was "okay, now it feels like a real movie".
What happened was that writer/director Bruce Kimmel had managed to preserve a copy of his film on 3/4-inch videotape before the producers took it and cut it to pieces, and that's what we have here. The image is predictably soft but totally viewable and enjoyable. Be thankful we have it, sit back, and savor the comedic writing and pacing, all of it executed to perfection by an incredible cast.
If you think you've seen all the great deadpan Leslie Nielsen roles, you really haven't until you can include this one in your lineup. Gerrit Graham is supremely funny, as always, and a special treat is actor Patrick Macnee who apparently didn't think he had the ability to do comedy, but he played it straight as directed and his character is laugh-out-loud funny throughout. Bruce Kimmel and Cindy Williams repeat their star turns from Kimmel's "The First Nudie Musical", and their rapport and comedic timing are impeccable. The casting of dancer Ron Kurowski is icing on the cake, but far be it from me to post a spoiler.
I should say more about the new DVD. Beyond the wacky fun of the movie itself, the extras are a treasure. In his commentaries, Kimmel knows precisely how to inform, entertain, and give listeners their money's worth. Actress Cindy Williams is wonderful in her commentary with Kimmel. Their decades long friendship and common appreciation for the art of classic comedy results in a supremely entertaining conversation. Do NOT miss the surprise bonus treat from these two, a Kimmel-written Honeymoon Sketch from the TV show "Dinah and Her New Best Friends". It's a lesson in comic writing and timing.
Newly filmed reminiscences by actors Graham and Kurowski are great, and the eight-page booklet includes production photos and a written history by Bruce Kimmel. Another welcome bonus is two episodes of Kimmel's web series "Outside the Box" (and wouldn't it be great to have the full series issued). It's a great package. Enjoy, and judge anew the REAL movie, "The Creature Wasn't Nice", on its own real merits.
What happened was that writer/director Bruce Kimmel had managed to preserve a copy of his film on 3/4-inch videotape before the producers took it and cut it to pieces, and that's what we have here. The image is predictably soft but totally viewable and enjoyable. Be thankful we have it, sit back, and savor the comedic writing and pacing, all of it executed to perfection by an incredible cast.
If you think you've seen all the great deadpan Leslie Nielsen roles, you really haven't until you can include this one in your lineup. Gerrit Graham is supremely funny, as always, and a special treat is actor Patrick Macnee who apparently didn't think he had the ability to do comedy, but he played it straight as directed and his character is laugh-out-loud funny throughout. Bruce Kimmel and Cindy Williams repeat their star turns from Kimmel's "The First Nudie Musical", and their rapport and comedic timing are impeccable. The casting of dancer Ron Kurowski is icing on the cake, but far be it from me to post a spoiler.
I should say more about the new DVD. Beyond the wacky fun of the movie itself, the extras are a treasure. In his commentaries, Kimmel knows precisely how to inform, entertain, and give listeners their money's worth. Actress Cindy Williams is wonderful in her commentary with Kimmel. Their decades long friendship and common appreciation for the art of classic comedy results in a supremely entertaining conversation. Do NOT miss the surprise bonus treat from these two, a Kimmel-written Honeymoon Sketch from the TV show "Dinah and Her New Best Friends". It's a lesson in comic writing and timing.
Newly filmed reminiscences by actors Graham and Kurowski are great, and the eight-page booklet includes production photos and a written history by Bruce Kimmel. Another welcome bonus is two episodes of Kimmel's web series "Outside the Box" (and wouldn't it be great to have the full series issued). It's a great package. Enjoy, and judge anew the REAL movie, "The Creature Wasn't Nice", on its own real merits.
Prepare yourself for some truly bad, WONDERFULLY bad, ideas for material that would, uh, make a great musical.
These shows are perfect gems that come in in under ten minutes each, and they reward on both first viewing and repeated ones. The casts are top-notch comedy/singing/acting talent who, I can promise, will move you in ways you never thought you could -- or should -- be moved. Let them fearlessly guide you through the incredible.
And don't be fooled by a few overly publicized musicals based on questionable material that actually made it to Broadway. Those pretenders can't hold a candle to these.
So go. Watch. Put yourself in the loving hands of Stephen Findle, the man with one BRILLIANT idea after another.
These shows are perfect gems that come in in under ten minutes each, and they reward on both first viewing and repeated ones. The casts are top-notch comedy/singing/acting talent who, I can promise, will move you in ways you never thought you could -- or should -- be moved. Let them fearlessly guide you through the incredible.
And don't be fooled by a few overly publicized musicals based on questionable material that actually made it to Broadway. Those pretenders can't hold a candle to these.
So go. Watch. Put yourself in the loving hands of Stephen Findle, the man with one BRILLIANT idea after another.