Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)

Just what I expected

Blistering performances.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I found this movie extremely confusing like at the beginning of the film, we see two masked women that looked like they were wearing onesies. I mean why did need to dress up really oddly, was it meant to be someone planting a bomb? It didn't really give a message across.We then see Mike O'Donoghue with bunnies around him. Pretty cute they were but why did he involve them? What really was the point in getting animals to be involved in this film when you really don't know what they are in for? With those cats in the water, why did they have to be in the water? Movies like Lassie or Homeward Bound are best examples to use animals involved on films. However this movie failed to deliver the explanation and reason for using these animals! This movie should be called 'A question of Why?' since this movie made no absolute sense to me!

Continuing to review the early works of "SNL"ers in movies and TV, we're now at 1979 with the release of Mr. Mike's Mondo Video. Michael O'Donoghue had just left "SNL" and did this thing after doing so. It was supposed to run on NBC but it was judged as too risky so it ended up running in movie theatres. One look at the content and you can see why: the first sequence has someone throwing cats in a swimming pool to demonstrate their ability in the water. Good thing they actually can swim here. Dan Aykroyd proves he's a mutant when he takes a Phillips screwdriver and puts it between the webs in his toes. Aykroyd also appears in a hilarious sketch called "The House of Jack Lord" with him preaching to an audience of Lord worshipers. Also appearing in that one is Rhonda Coullet who sings a spiritual with Lord's name inserted in. Loved her in both this and National Lampoon's Lemmings from a week or so ago. Bill Murray also appears as one of his "SNL" characters as a man on the street. Then there's Jane Curtin, Lorraine Newman, and Gilda Radner as three of several women praising the bad habits of men (also appearing among them are Judy Jacklin-John Belushi's wife, Susan Forristal-Lorne Michaels' about-to-be then-wife, and Edie Baskin-"SNL"s then photographer). The version I saw showed the performance of Sid Vicious performing "My Way" but the audio was cut with the disclaimer of supposedly Paul Anka not wanting it there. Oh, and "SNL" musician Paul Shaffer was also in the Jack Lord segment. Overall, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video had plenty of weird images that I mostly laughed at. So on that note, that's a definite recommendation.

This is the first movie I've ever walked out on and I've stomached quite a few. Half the people in the theatre walked out before I did. If you enjoy watching cats being thrown off the rooftop of buildings, looking at Dan Aykroyd's deformed feet and feel some sort of affinity toward Jeffery Dahmer and Ted Bundy, you'll love this movie. But if you have just an atom of decency somewhere in your soul, don't waste your time.

Originally intended to be a one-shot summer replacement for Saturday Night Live, "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video" was never aired due to its aggressive, in-your-face humor: "Christmas on Other Planets," "The Church of the Jack Lord," "Laser Bra 2000," "Nazi Oven Mitts," and musical performances by RootBoy Slim and the Sex Change Band and by Sid Vicious. Never aired by NBC due to problems with the censors, instead it received very limited theatrical release. Beware the now-existing video version (if you can find it), as the Sid Vicious performance of "My Way" is missing audio-- instead you get a scroll over the video explaining that Paul Anka, who wrote "My Way" refused to give rights to the video. Too bad-- it was pretty damn funny.The movie is sketch comedy at its sickest, not too different from the best of SNL or "TunnelVision": one of the funnier pieces ("Beautiful Women Love Disgusting Men") has Deborah Harry telling the audience that she thinks "it's cute when guys miss the toilet seat."A must-see. Simply incredible.