The Kentucky Fried Movie

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The Kentucky Fried Movie

The Kentucky Fried Movie theatrical poster
Directed by John Landis
Produced by Kim Jorgensen
Larry Kostroff
Robert K. Weiss
Written by Jim Abrahams
David Zucker
Jerry Zucker
Starring Bill Bixby
George Lazenby
Evan C. Kim
Tony Dow
Donald Sutherland
Music by Igo Kantor
Cinematography Robert E. Collins
Stephen M. Katz
Editing by George Folsey Jr.
Distributed by Starz Home Entertainment
Release date(s) August 10, 1977
Running time 90 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $600,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue $20,000,000 (Global) = $15,000,000 (USA) + $5,000,000 (Non-USA)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Kentucky Fried Movie is an American comedy film, released in 1977 and directed by John Landis. The film's writers were the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. This same team would go on to write and direct Airplane!, Top Secret! and the Police Squad! television show and its movie spinoffs, The Naked Gun films. The "feature presentation" portion of the film stars Evan C. Kim and hapkido Grand Master Bong Soo Han. Aong the numerous cameo stars were George Lazenby, Bill Bixby, Tony Dow, Donald Sutherland, and the voice of Shadoe Stevens. The movie also features many former members of The Groundlings theater, as well as some from The Second City.

This film is number 87 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".[1]

Contents

[edit] Description

Kentucky Fried Movie has no unified plot; it consists of numerous sketches that parody 1970s TV commercials, drive-in movies and educational films shown in schools. The skits spoof kung-fu movies (particularly Enter the Dragon, as displayed in the films "feature presentation"/longest segment), courtroom TV shows, women-in-prison movies and pornography (or more specifically, advertising for pornography).

A common target of these sketches is exploitation films, many of them produced by the mythical "Samuel L. Bronkowitz" (a conflation of Samuel Z. Arkoff and Joseph L. Mankiewicz) who seems to be producer for all of the parodies. For example, a spoof of early martial arts movies such as Enter the Dragon is parodied as A Fistful of Yen in imitation of A Fistful of Dollars. A Fistful of Yen is the longest sketch in the movie.

One preview appears for the disaster film That's Armageddon. Some segments make fun of television commercials from the 1970s, public service announcements, and high school science films (Zinc Oxide and You). Short movie parodies are presented as satires of "Coming Attractions" trailers, and longer parodies represent "feature" films. The city of Detroit and its high crime rate are a part of a running gag throughout the clips, each reference jokingly portraying the city as a sort of hell-on-Earth.

Another notable parody in the film is Rex Kramer, Danger Seeker. Part-time airline mechanic, full-time daredevil Rex Kramer vows to take on the most dangerous situations possible "for the sake of adventure." Kramer gears up in Evel Knievel-like garb and steps across some train tracks to a group of African American men playing Cee-lo against a wall. Kramer takes a stance, breathes deeply, screams "NIIIGGERRRRSSSSS!!" and runs away, with the now-angry group pursuing him.

Zinc Oxide and You is the spoof of a high school science film. The plot is straightforward - as the announcer intones "without zinc oxide, you would not have ...", then there is a "ding" and the noted object disappears, with successively more disastrous results. The results can be guessed at from the title of the next film (introduced but not shown), which is "Rebuilding your Home".

A.M. Today presents several animals, including a "rare" specimen that looks just like a golden hamster. Between cuts to a bland news show it also features a gorilla who rips off the female host's clothing and then destroys the studio.

The film's original production budget was $650,000 and later increased to $1,000,000 after post-production costs were added in. The film grossed about $20 million, making it one of the most financially lucrative films of the 1970s, and one of the most successful comedies of all time. It has become a cult favorite for fans of the comedy genre.

Some consider Amazon Women on the Moon to be a sequel to this movie, due to the similar style of the two films and John Landis' involvement as a director of a few sketches. This is evident in the French title of the film "The Cheeseburger Movie", while Kentucky Fried Movie is "The Hamburger Movie".

[edit] Sketch Selection

The film's credits listed the sketches incorrectly, as the writers changed the order after the credits had been written. The following list is in the running order used in the film: Sketch Details

  1. 11 O'Clock News (Part 1) (:04)
  2. Argon Oil (1:13)
  3. A.M. Today (6:05)
  4. His New Car (:24)
  5. Catholic High School Girls In Trouble (2:00)
  6. (See You Next Wednesday in) Feel-A-Round (4:52)
  7. Nytex P.M. (:35)
  8. High Adventure (3:01)
  9. 11 O'Clock News (Part 2) (:05)
  10. Headache Clinic (:40)
  11. Household Odors (:40)
  12. The Wonderful World of Sex (4:55)
  13. A Fistful of Yen (31:34)
  14. Willer Beer (:58)
  15. 11 O'Clock News (Part 3) (:05)
  16. Scot Free (:58)
  17. That’s Armageddon (2:17)
  18. United Appeal For the Dead (1:42)
  19. "Courtroom" (Part 1) (4:35)
  20. Nesson Oil (:14)
  21. "Courtroom" (Part 2) (3:02)
  22. Cleopatra Schwartz (1:24)
  23. Zinc Oxide and You (1:59)
  24. "Danger Seekers" (1:02)
  25. Eyewitness News (4:24)
  26. 11 O'Clock News (Part 4) (:09)

[edit] Sketch Details

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nicole Cammorata and James Duffy (2006-7-25). "Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies of All Time". The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links