Eat and Run

Ah, the wasted potential in this Christopher Hart (a man truly well-known for his hands-- portrayer of Thing in the Addams Family films, Lefty in Quicksilver Highway, The Hands in Idle Hands... you get the idea)-directed Airplane! wannabe. Ron Silver (many, many TV films) plays a bumbling cop with a liberal-judge girlfriend (veteran soap chanteuse Sharon Schlarth) assigned to track down a serial killer of Italians who's known for leaving no traces except the buttons of the shirts of his victims. Turns out the killer is actually an alien, Murray Creature (R. L. "Pat" Ryan, best known for a brief association with Troma Films), who upon crash-landing on Earth was picked up by a sausage vendor and developed a taste for, shall we say, Italian food. Sight gags abound and there's some great wordplay between Ron Silver and his brother Robert, who plays an informant, but this movie would be immeasurably better had they at least tried to do something that hadn't already been done in a slew of Leslie Nielsen films. * 1/2

My review was written in December 1986 after watching the film at a Times Square screening room.

"Eat and Run" is a one-joke horror spoof that plays like a "Saturday Night Live" tv sketch stretched out to 90 minutes duration. Filmed as "Mangia" two summers ago in Manhattan, New World pickup opened in Chicago in October and is headed mainly for midnight bookings.

Ron Silver toplines as a police detective given to narrating out loud his misadventures in 1940s tough guy fashion, a habit picked up from his dad (Derek Murcott). He's on a missing persons case, the result of a tubby alien (R. L. Ryan) landing in New Jersey and eating up Italian Americans because the first person he meets (and eats) is Italian, making him addicted to "Italian food".

Silver links up romantically with a judge (Sharon Schlarth) who despite being named Cohen turns out to be Italian. She improbably falls in love with the alien, but Silver saves the day, only to end up in hot water himself in a ridiculous, unsatisfying ending.

Chatty film is directed by newcomer Christopher Hart (who scripted with his dad Stan Hart) in the manner of a radio play; static visuals present a pleasant but unatmospheric background to verbal humor. High points are two well-delivered (by Silver and cohorts) variations on Danny Kaye's patented, fast-paced alliteration routines, though without Kaye's rhythm of singing attributes. Otherwise, pic is deadly dull, hammering its gag firmly into the ground via repetition.

With no special effects, gore or sexploitation, film seems like a G-rated approach with dirty words inserted to get an R rating.

I saw this on late night TV when I was about 14, and it made quite an impression on me because it was weird and gross. In fact, an unhealthy interest in cannibalism may have sprung from this movie. As well as my dramatic weight increase over the last decade. Anyway, I liked the film a lot at the time, despite the fact I could hardly hear it, because I had the TV volume incredibly low, as I was scared that some pornographic or blood-bakingly horrific sound would wake my parents up and have them tumbling down the stairs, at which point they'd see that their innocent kid was watching a film about a fat cannibal from outer space. The film struck me as much more of a horror than a comedy. I could see dark humour, for sure, but it seemed pretty horrific. I'm not crazy about seeing it again. I don't have a desperate need to track it down, as I'm sure it wasn't really that good. Instead, I'll stick with my memory of an interesting and grotesque concept. If I make a film with a cannibalism theme some time in the future, I may owe a debt of thanks to this oddity.

Before I start I did watch this movie twice, i didn't like it at all when I saw for the first first then watched it watched it second, i did find it bit more funny then before.

The plot A humanoid alien lands on earth, and soon discovers he likes to eat Italian. Italian people, that is. Incompetent detective McSorely is the only one with a clue about what's going on, and even his grasp of the situation isn't too firm. The rest of the police force thinks he's crazy, while the alien continues sampling the Italian cuisine of New York City This movie is so Cheese movies, if you do like cheesy movies this is cheesy at it best. Not scary at all (Maybe for 4 year old).

The whole movie is over the top and acting not bad for this kinda of movie.

It did have some really funny stuff in this movie, McSorely who talking to (us instead of using the voice over thing ) himself was really funny.

Everytimes his goes to see his boss, The boss is always eating, you don't see him not eat at all.

Alien itself was silly just like the whole of the movie was over the top however it fitted in well with the rest of the movie

If you like really cheesy movies, check this out others wise i don't recommender this movie to anyone else 3/10

Too funny! This movie is _way_ underrated. C'mon people! 3.2???? Have a heart (and a funnybone).

The piano music that the detectives dad played coming as muzak finally had me laughing out loud. Too MUCH! I was still playing over and over in my mind the mime that was going for help by RUNNING IN PLACE! I was crying laughing when the mime put his elbow on the imaginary support and she was like "Don't just stand there! Go get help!" I feel for the actual real life actor who played the part of the alien eater and know his health can't be good. I have a friend that is almost as large yet eats like a bird, so I really feel empathy for the big guy.

Anyway, a perfect movie at 3am after watching "Mr. Brooks" and "The Island", it sorta broke the somber mood and I was able to go to bed in light spirits.