Tunnel Vision (1976)

I didn't like it. After being a fan of the wacky comedies in this category, such as Kentucky Fried Movie, Groove Tube, and Amazon Women On The Moon, I thought Tunnel Vision would knock it out of the park, especially since I found Neal Isreals name attached to the project. Sad stuff. I had high expectations from you, Neal...but, I won't knock you around too much. After all, this was your earlier work, and you're obviously not the only one I blame for this farce. Better examples of this genre have been made, as stated above. Kentucky Fried Movie reigns supreme in outrageous humor that nobody would have the balls to make today. Tunnel Vison follows the same formula as these films, however, it is much more organized, following an uncensored TV channel from morning light, right up to the signing off screen at midnight. There lies the problem...who asked for it to be organized? Many of us enjoyed the random, unpredictable skits and sketches the films had to offer. Why did you screw that up, Tunnel Vison? Maybe because your blind to comedy, that's the way I see it. Very few chuckles, very few laughs, this movie ranks last on my list that I would ever want to watch again. What world are we living in, anyways, where we put a TV network on trial just because they're scraping in millions of viewers, and leaving other networks with none? Did they run out of REAL cases to take in, or what? The entire movie remains an unforgivable mess, and to think of all the great stars it has. More sad stuff. It doesn't even come close to being as funny as Groove Tube, which I will watch any day of the week. Clocked in at just under 70 minutes, it will feel like 70 hours by the time you get through it, IF you get through it. Even more sad stuff! Tunnel Vision, laugh or get off the pot? I got a better idea. Why don't you take this entire movie, and flush it down the toilet, and don't forget to wipe.

Stephen Feinberg, who Played the Proctologist and was one of the writers of the movie, passed away in early 2006. I met Steve in Portland in 1993, it was a year latter when he told me that he had been a writer in Hollywood years earlier, working mostly on TV promos. He asked me not to see 'Tunnel Vision', but it was too late, I had seen it already! Actually I had seen it years before, when it was released. At that time I didn't think it was that bad a movie. However seeing it as an adult my opinion was somewhat different. Yes is is a bit puerile as well as dated. Steve admitted it was not a very good movie. That said he was just a little proud of 'The Proctologist' sketch.

This one is definitely a product of the 1970's with it's post- Watergate and Viet Nam cynicism. Perhaps it's a bit dated, but does a great job capturing the smarmy quality of TV commercials of the era, especially because it uses some of the best voice over talent of the time (Ernie Anderson, Danny Dark, etc.). Look for pre-fame bit parts by John Candy, Chevy Chase, Ron Silver, and director Betty Thomas.

By today's standards, this movie is crude, filled with drug and lame sex humor, and just plain silly. But in 1976, this was the segue from National Lampoon to Saturday Night Live-type "sophomoric" comedy. This was also precursor to the Zucker brothers' "Kentucky Fried Movie", "Airplane" and "Police Squad" types of movies that make fun of both the subject and the medium.