Before filming AIRPLANE!, and starting an entire film sub-genre to which they become hopelessly trapped by Hollywood, the ZAZ Clan (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker) wrote KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, a series of comedic sketches, commercials, trailers, etc. Before shooting the monster hit ANIMAL HOUSE, John Landis directed KENTUCKY FIRED MOVIE.
KFM overall is good fun, with some killer sequences. The JFK assassination game SCOT-FREE. The Appeal to the Dead charity foundation. Feel-Around Theatre. CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS IN TROUBLE. "Show me your nuts!" *acts goofy, makes faces*
Yet the film dragged by jokes and gags that are either DOA, or simply won't make sense to people who didn't live in the mid-70s.
Take "A Fistfull of Yen," a 25 minute ZAZ-treatment parody of Bruce Lee's ENTER THE DRAGON. A good joke, followed by 4 minutes of dullness.
What I mean is, whenever hacks try to make parody movies(like say DATE MOVIE, EPIC MOVIE, SCARY MOVIE, etc.) they always go for the easiest jokes to pen, which usually end up stinkning the worst.
Example? Take stock footage of New York City, slap HONG KONG title card at the bottom. Ha ha, its so funny, Jay Leno wouldn't put it in his monologue.
But again, you have got to start somewhere...and KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE is a good start for ZAZ and Landis...before they crashed and burned hard in Hollywood.
