Eat and Run

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.

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

I liked this movie a lot. It was on TV several times when I was younger. Ron Silver narrates out loud to himself during the movie and other characters occasional complain and ask him to stop. He also refers to his girlfriend, the judge, as "your honor darling". I've been trying to find this movie again for several years, I'll probably have to try to get a bootleg from ebay. It's cheesy etc., but has some very funny moments and ideas. I think calling it an airplane rip-off is inaccurate.

Man, this is by no means as bad as eighties crappy comedies like 91/2 ninjas, but it's not so hilarious as it thinks it is either.

An alien (played by a giant actor who is sadly no longer with us) lands on Earth and immediately starts chowing down on the Italian populace of New York, because, you know, Italian food tastes the best (except curry).

It's all down to cop Ron Silver to bring down the alien, with one complication, the judge he's banging (badly) turns out to be Italian, but she's also going easy on criminals and lets the alien go and also falls in love with him, but what happens when the alien finds out she's Italian.

Full of many, many failed gags, Eat and Run almost works due to Silver's constant narrating of the plot to himself and others (which works very well when he meets his dad, who does the same thing). A lot of bad jokes too, however, as it's going for a kind of Airplane type atmos but doesn't quite make it. Ron Silver ain't with us anymore either. That's depresses me. Can actors from the eighties stop dying please? It's not a film I would have tracked down hadn't I purchased it and 25 other dvds for £3 at Polmadie Car Boot Sale...

I would just like to comment that this movie scared the everloving bejeezus out of me when i was a child. Seriously, to the point where if i saw even the box sitting on a shelf in the video rental store i would start panicing as if the walls were closing in on me. All i ever remember of this movie is the very first scene where the fat guy eats a roadside hot dog vendor. I distincivly remember the victum's eye-view being the last shot of that scene. So a word of advice, don't let your children watch this. I grew up to be a pretty skinny guy and i won't set aside the fact that this movie may take some of the blame...