It's hard to underestimate the importance of Kentucky Fried
Movie in my own pop culture consciousness. I love this movie.
I first saw it the night I graduated from high school, and that was just
perfect timing - here was a flick which was as twisted and crude and as
filled with non-sequitur jokes as I was. KFM also marks
the first movie to chronicle the collaboration between Jim Abrahams and
David and Jerry Zucker. All of them have gone on to greater things -
including the TV cop show spoof Police Squad and its
Naked Gun
spinoffs on the big screen - but their bizarre take on everything from TV
commercials to the martial arts movie craze is quite evident here.
One thing to keep in mind is that the only way I had ever seen this
movie before the days of DVD was on a very poorly
mastered pan & scan VHS tape. Seeing it remastered (as much as was
possible, given the state of the original film print, that is) and in
widescreen (though not that wide) was a revelation.
Included as extras on the disc are home movies shot on the set (really
for completists and Zuckerholics only - I didn't even find them all that
engrossing), and a hysterical all-hands-on-deck audio commentary with the
Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker troika, producer Bob Weiss and director John
Landis, recounting the story behind the various sketches committed to
film, who among the cast were old friends (or family) of the Zuckers, and
wild tales of the various locations and how the movie was shot. The
commentary makes this disc. At one point where things are
dragging just a little bit, one of the filmmakers says, "So can we
talk about any movie other than this one?"
"Sure," replies one of the others, probably thinking that an
anecdote about Airplane! or The Naked Gun is
waiting in the wings.
"Well, I saw Galaxy
Quest the other night, and it was really funny!"
Granted, Kentucky Fried Movie's brand of crude frat-boy
sketch comedy isn't for everyone, but if you've enjoyed any of the ZAZ
team's other works, why not see for yourself where it all started? If
you've seen the movie, or want an education in Zucker-esque comedy, this
DVD is highly recommended.
