# Kentucky Fried Movie, The (1977)

### reviewed by
Chuck Dowling

    The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
    Rating: 3.0 stars out of 5.0 stars

Cast: Evan Kim, Master Bong Soo Han, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Donald Sutherland, Bill Bixby, Henry Gibson, George Lazenby, Rick Baker, Stephen Stucker, Tony Dow, Charlotte Zucker, Forrest J. Ackerman, John Landis Written by: Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker Directed by: John Landis Running Time: 83 minutes

The Kentucky Fried Movie is the writing debut of comic masterminds Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker (who went on to give us zany gems like Airplane!, Top Secret!, and The Naked Gun trilogy). The film is a raunchy sketch comedy movie (a popular comedic format in the 1970s, with The Groove Tube and Loose Shoes as other examples) and most have described it as an R-rated "Saturday Night Live".

The Kentucky Fried Movie is horribly dated by today's comedic standards, but the attempts at humor come so often that there are enough good jokes throughout to make it work. Although, I wonder what someone's reaction to this film would be watching it for the first time today, since a great deal of the humor is based on the commercials and fads of the 70s. I mean, when was the last time you heard "Detroit" as the punchline of a joke?

Best bits include: the educational film "Zinc Oxide and You", the 1950s lawyer spoof "Courtroom", and the final skit of the film where a TV news anchorman and his crew watch a young couple having sex through the couple's television. Other segments fall flat or run too long, with the Bruce Lee parody "A Fistful of Yen" definitely falling into the latter category.

The Kentucky Fried Movie is available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. It contains the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (and enhanced for 16x9 televisions), as well as a full frame version. The disc also features a full length audio commentary track (featuring director John Landis, producer Robert K. Weiss, and writers Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker), the original theatrical trailer (featuring footage shot specifically for the trailer... and advertising the film as G-rated!), behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery, and crew biographies.

The commentary track is a blast, just as you'd expect it to be with these five men in one room. The jokes come as quickly as they do in the film, although many times someone ends up getting talked over (as is common with commentary tracks featuring numerous participants). Director John Landis is quick to point out all the moments that would never make it through the motion picture rating board today, and how the film, if resubmitted, would instantly get an NC-17 rating. Landis also pulls off the amazing feat of seemingly knowing what every single member of the cast is doing today.

The behind the scenes footage, which was shot by the Zuckers to prove to their parents that they were actually making a movie, is interesting whenever there's sound to go with it. However, that isn't often. The remaining silent footage would be of the most interest to the cast and crew of the film, as watching them all sit and enjoy a meal isn't too entertaining for me (despite those silly 70s haircuts).

Anchor Bay has done the fans of this film a great service with this special edition DVD, and I'm very happy to support a company dedicated to giving its customers exactly what they want. [R]

Reviewed by Chuck Dowling - chuckd21@fdn.com AOL Instant Messenger: FilmJax The Jacksonville Film Journal - http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/

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