Monday, December 1, 2014

Skidoo (1968)

Director: Otto Preminger

Writer: Doran William Cannon

Composer: Harry Nilsson

Starring: Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Fred Clark, Michael Constantine, Frank Gorshin, John Phillip Law, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney, Groucho Marx, Arnold Stang, Doro Merande, Phil Arnold, Slim Pickens, Richard Kiel, Harry Nilsson, Austin Pendleton

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It takes two to skidoo.

Plot: Ex-gangster Tony Banks is called out of retirement by mob kingpin God to carry out a hit on fellow mobster "Blue Chips" Packard. When Banks demurs, God kidnaps his daughter Darlene on his luxury yacht.



My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? No.


Have you seen this?  It's awful and it's a bigger crime considering who's in front of and behind the camera.  I'd seen the trailer many times and I'd heard how bad it was for the past twenty plus years.  I always wondered, considering who made this, how could it be so bad.  Well, the short story is that it's wildly unfunny.  It's supposed to be a comedy but there's barely a laugh to be had.  The best parts for me were with Groucho Marx (his last film appearance).  It's a big clusterfuck of "how did this end up such a mess?"  There's plenty to read about the troubled production.  With a cast like this there's no talking me out of seeing it.  It's gonna happen.  Even though the movie doesn't work, I'm glad I saw it.  I'd love to check out a special edition DVD tricked out with loads of special features but I'll never need to see it again.  Woof.  It's a real head-scratcher.

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