Skidoo

Finally saw this thing in Washington DC at a special showing. What a mind blower! Director Preminger and company really took risks here; a counterculter comedy with an all star middle aged to senior citizen cast! The story has gangster Jackie Gleason being hired by Groucho Marx to kill Mickey Rooney in prison where Gleason takes LSD and his wife Carol Channing does a strip tease and sings the theme song.. it's enough to make your head spin! It must be said that this film made motion picture history: It's the only movie ever made where the end credits are actually SUNG, by the films composer Nilsson! Can't wait for this to be on DVD!

I've always wanted to see this film, and I'm glad I finally had the opportunity. As an example of old Hollywood's inability to grasp the counterculture of the late '60s, it is certainly worth seeing once. However, it is neither a great film nor a lost masterpiece, and I find it depressing that it is being hailed as such by those who are caught up in the smug-hip mindset that values mediocre films like this over truly great cinema. As bizarre as it all sounds, it plays like an extended episode of a bad sitcom and is really rather tame. However, the song performed by Carol Channing at the end is catchy and will remain in your head for days. You have been warned.

Yes, it's a must for bad film fans and fans of the truly odd, but even with the amazing cast it's basically a chore to sit through. Harry Nilsson singing the end credits is perhaps the movies one moment of real charm, but by then everyone had gone home. Groucho is touching at 78, trying harder than he did in "Love Happy," and for a fleeting moment lifts the car out of the ditch. Everyone seems to note how "weird" this was, but in context, I would say not so much. It's an attempt to imitate Terry Southern's hipster humor, which only worked when applied by directors like Kubrick and Richardson with a light, even handed touch. Then again, the jokes are far more obvious than Southern, and the basic situation too absurd. Sad to see so many great stars near the end, but the real question is, how did Harry Nilsson survive this ?

It's very hard to describe SKIDOO. It starts as a spoof of gangster movies. Jackie Gleason plays a hoodlum who is forced into prison so he can bump off a possible informant (Mickey Rooney) In prison, Gleason accidently helps himself to a dose of cell mate's (Austin Pendleton) acid laced stationary, and has an LSD trip hi-lighted with cruddy special effects, dancing co-stars, etc. In the meantime, Gleason's adoring wife (Carol Channing) allows their hippie daughter to bring over about a hundred of her hippie friends. Throw in a tired looking, unfunny Groucho Marx as "God", an actually funny Frankie Avalon, a trip-out scene where Hollywood old-timers like Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, Fred Clark, and Slim Pickens get embarassingly stoned. Channing is down right frightening when she leads the finale musical number. It's also impossible to fathom Otto Preminger behind this hoo-hah!

This film is unbelievable... Big stars, a big Hollywood director... and what they came up with is the movie equivalent of a car wreck! You don't want to look, but you find yourself unable not to. Don't get me wrong, I've seen this film a dozen times and it still blows my mind how this ever got put on film. You won't believe your eyes or ears! And Groucho Marx and half of the cast never looked more worse for wear. By far, this is one of my favorite "bad" films. Watch it... and then blame the dog!