Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

Somewhere, in the used-music store of my dreams, lies a stack of vintage Don "No Soul" Simmons vinyl, next to Spinal Tap's "Shark Sandwich" and the debut disc by the Wonders.One of the easier-to-miss comedy showcases of the 1980s was this collection of sketches that narrowly made it to theaters in 1987 before finding a friendlier home on cable and video. It's catch-as- catch- can comedy, often puerile or obvious in intent, yet consistently enjoyable for its inventiveness and lack of pretense.A man watches his life get panned by two Siskel-and-Ebert-style movie critics on TV. "He didn't like 'Gandhi,' either," his wife offers consolingly. A video rental goes from seduction to double- homicide, with Andrew Dice Clay as triggerman. Steve Guttenberg's hot date with Roseanna Arquette turns into a credit check from hell when she looks into his past dating history and discovers he lies about liking Meryl Streep movies.I don't want to say you have to have lived through the 1980s to enjoy "Amazon Women On The Moon," but it definitely helps.The only two bits that seem to have weathered the years is Don "No Soul" Simmons (David Alan Grier as a black Pat Boone singing white- bread classics like "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee" and "Tie A Yellow Ribbon") and a mystery-documentary spoof where Jack the Ripper is revealed as the Loch Ness Monster, complete with deerstalker cape and bowler hat. They seem to show up on YouTube, anyway.The rest of the sketches may not be as lasting, though an opening bit with Arsenio Hall getting attacked by home appliances makes for a memorable showcase for Hall's physical humor. But most are good for some chuckles.I even enjoyed sketches no one else writing reviews here did, like the one where insufferable yuppie parents Michelle Pfeiffer and Peter Horton are introduced to their "baby," a Mr. Potato Head, by absent-minded doctor Griffin Dunne."Sure, just jump all over me," Dr. Dunne whines after his ruse is called out. "What about the nine kids I DIDN'T lose this week!"There's a lot of invention on display, in the big concepts and in the small jokes, too. Lead director John Landis was also the guy behind "Kentucky Fried Movie," which this was an unofficial sequel, and a lot of the same goofball energy feeds this film, even if the writers are different.Sketch comedy is always a hit-and-miss thing in theaters; even Monty Python had problems with it. The aim is lower here (there's even a long bit featuring a beautiful woman where her nakedness is the whole joke), but the attitude is right. It actually reminded me more of a 1982 ABC-TV sitcom, "No Soap, Radio," which starred Guttenberg. There, as here, a few running plot threads (like Don Simmons and a spoof of a 1950s space adventure which provides the film's title) are interwoven with blackout sketches. Like "No Soap, Radio," the device of television-watching is used to move from sketch to sketch.I enjoyed "No Soap, Radio" in its day, and I found this similarly entertaining in its low-key, off-kilter way. Even if "Amazon Women" is as much of a time capsule now as the various films it spoofs, it still offers plenty of good fun; maybe some misty nostalgia, too.

While it's not as outrageously over-the-top as KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON indeed has its moments. It's a minor thing, but the opening credit sequence had me smiling ("Starring: Lots of people..."). Unfortunately, the opening skit is easily the least of the offerings this time around- but, if you can make it through it, there are rewards to be had. Henry Silva's deadpan delivery makes BULLSHIT- OR NOT? one of my favorite segments: finding out the "truth" about Jack the Ripper is worth the price of admission. It was great to see the late William Marshall (BLACULA himself) as the leader of a band of VIDEO PIRATES (who Tape and Pillage) and the black and white sequel to THE INVISIBLE MAN, SON OF THE INVISIBLE MAN, was as inspired as YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Another highlight was seeing the late Forrest J. Ackerman as The President in AMAZON WOMEN ON/OF THE MOON. The "roast" of the dead man was chock full of classic comedians who were still capable of "killin' 'em" even that late in the day. "Miracle Pictures: If it's GOOD, it's a Miracle!"

1st watched 2/25/2007 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis & Robert K. Weiss): Funny compilation of shorts mostly masterminded by comedy director John Landis with a few other directors getting involved as well. The focus of these parodies are mostly television and old movies with the title being one of the bits parodying a science fiction movie of the 50's that is interrupted throughout the movie for commercials and other small funny scenes. One of my favorites is an un-cool black performer singing various non-funky toons with B.B. King asking for donations to help the cause of this afflicted black man without soul. Don't run away when the titles come at the end because it's interrupted by a very dead-on funny bit copying the 30's exploitation movies warning the viewer about the dreaded social diseases with Carrie Fisher playing the title woman character. One of the least funny bits is a funeral where it's played out like a celebrity roast with various schtick comedians doing one-liners about the deceased. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that this is a very funny escapism movie setup similar to Woody Allen's "Everything You Wanted to Know about Sex" and "The Kentucky Fried Movie" without as much sick humor and a few more running gags to keep the movie flowing despite it being a group of disconnected bits otherwise. If you want to laugh, watch this one.

I first saw this movie fairly soon after it was released. I didn't enjoy very much of it other than the segment at the beginning with Arsenio Hall. In the meantime I've become quite a big fan of "B movies" and a lot of the people in this film are now near and dear to my heart. I think I have a better understanding of what they were trying to do in this film now, but I don't think on the whole it was very successful. The film remains fun for fans of B movies but not nearly as funny as I think it tried to be.It's certainly watchable, as it is fast-moving and features many memorable faces from not only B movie lore but popular culture at large. For example in the same segment you can see legendary exploitation director Russ Meyer ("Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill!") and stand-up star Andrew "Dice" Clay. The film's epilogue features Carrie Fisher of "Star Wars" fame and director/character actor Paul Bartel ("Eating Raoul") in a funny spoof on educational style exploitation films. Monster movie fandom icon Forrest Ackerman appears as the President in the extended sci-fi sequences, Phil Hartman does a sports announcer voice, Arsenio Hall is a man terrorized by his own apartment, Lana Clarkson (now famous for very undesireable reasons in connection to Phil Spector) is an amazon woman, B.B. King urges tolerance and sympathy towards "Blacks without Soul", Henry Silva appears as himself to spoof Jack Palance's television gig in "Bullsh** or not", and so on and so forth. You could have a pretty good time watching this movie just trying to spot random celebs who came from the B movie world and others who became big stars later (Michelle Pfeiffer for example).But the bits and pieces don't add up to a good film, and the film fatally fails to walk the tight line required for a "B" type movie, even an expensive one with big stars, between its camp and its serious side. The sci-fi segments in particular fall pretty flat and I have to imagine would fail to amuse anyone but geeks like myself who recognize some of the "inside" jokes. Surely the outer space scenario being depicted is ridiculous, but it actually looks and feels quite a bit like an older sci-fi film (specifically the late 50s "Queen of Outer Space") without having much of its charm or the sense of innocence about it. With something like the Zuckers' "Airplane" you can see how cheezy the disaster movies they were spoofing were but at the same time the film itself was more outrageously campy and silly than any real disaster film. But with this film, it feels like the film-makers felt the source material was goofy enough that the laughs should follow from simply a reproduction of some of the genre's original camp elements -- they failed to take it to another level where it would become funny in its own right.A lot of the other segments fail to take off as well, or overstay their welcome. The bit in the hospital, the bit about "Two IDs".... a lot of these parts just take a long time and end up having no punch line. The majority of the sketches are basically funny premises beaten into the ground and done in a self-serious style that wastes the opportunities for humor. I just do not feel this movie's conviction -- it seems like they were afraid to be too zany but they were also trying really hard to seem "irreverent" while in fact the film rarely strays into controversial territory.