Amazon Women on the Moon


Amazon Women on the Moon is a 1987 American satirical science-fiction sketch comedy film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget films on late-night television. The film, featuring a large ensemble cast with cameo appearances by film and television stars, as well as some nonactors, was written by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland; it takes the form of a compilation of 21 comedy sketches directed by five different directors: Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss.
The title Amazon Women on the Moon refers to the central film-within-a-film, a spoof of science-fiction films from the 1950s that borrows heavily from Queen of Outer Space starring Zsa Zsa Gabor, itself a film that recycles elements of earlier science-fiction works such as Cat-Women of the Moon, Fire Maidens from Outer Space, and Forbidden Planet.
Landis had previously directed The Kentucky Fried Movie, which employed a similar sketch anthology format.

Plot

Fictional television station WIDB-TV experiences problems with its late-night airing of science-fiction classic Amazon Women on the Moon, a 1950s B movie in which Queen Lara and Captain Nelson battle exploding volcanoes and man-eating spiders on the Moon. Waiting for the film to resume, an unseen viewer begins channel surfing—simulated by bursts of white noise—through late-night cable television, with the various sketches representing the programming found on different channels. The viewer intermittently returns to Channel 8, where Amazon Women on the Moon continues airing before faltering once more.
The segments feature:

Alternative versions

An alternative version of the "Pethouse Video" sketch was filmed for the television broadcast of the film, with Monique Gabrielle in lingerie rather than appearing naked throughout the segment. However, most European television broadcasts of the film retained the original theatrical version. Bullshit or Not? was retitled Baloney or Not? for the television version.
The American television edit also features an additional bridging sequence between the death of Harvey Pitnik and his subsequent celebrity roast in which the mortician convinces Pitnik's widow to have the celebrity roast as part of the funeral. Her performance receives such strong feedback that it becomes a series lasting for weeks.
The DVD release features an unreleased sketch titled "The Unknown Soldier", starring Robert Loggia with Ronny Cox, Bernie Casey, and Wallace Langham. Some television broadcasts of the film featured the sketches "Peter Pan Theater" and "The French Ventriloquist's Dummy", which were not present in the theatrical version.

Cast

"Mondo Condo" :
"Pethouse Video" :
"Murray in Videoland" :
"Hospital" :
"Hairlooming" :
"Amazon Women on the Moon" :
"Blacks Without Soul" :
"Two I.D.s" :
"Bullshit or Not" :
"Critics' Corner" :
"Silly Pâté" :
"Roast Your Loved One" :
"Video Pirates" :
"Son of the Invisible Man" :
"French Ventriloquist's Dummy" :
  • Dick Miller as Danny Clayton, The Ventriloquist
  • Phil Bruns as Danny's Manager
  • Martin Goslins as The French Ventriloquist
"Art Sale" :
"First Lady of the Evening" :
"Titan Man" :
"Video Date" :
"Reckless Youth" :
"The Unknown Soldier"
"Peter Pan Theatre"

Production

Amazon Women on the Moon was filmed in 1985 with plans for an August 1986 release, but as a result of the ongoing legal fallout from director John Landis's involvement in the Twilight Zone accident, Universal repeatedly pushed the release date and issued a gag order on publicity for the film while the trial was ongoing.

Reception

The majority of critics agreed that the quality was inconsistent throughout the film. Variety called it "irreverent, vulgar, and silly... some hilarious moments and some real groaners, too." Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times felt that the exercise was somewhat unnecessary: "Satirists are in trouble when their subjects are funnier than they are."
Janet Maslin of The New York Times, in a largely positive review, described the film as "an anarchic, often hilarious adventure in dial-spinning, a collection of brief skits and wacko parodies that are sometimes quite clever, though they're just as often happily sophomoric, too."
In a retrospective article for Entertainment Weekly, Chris Nashawaty called the film "the beginning of the end of Landis' career". He cited the episodes featuring Monique Gabrielle, Archie Hahn, Ed Begley Jr., and David Alan Grier as "inspired", but criticized others for their failure: "You'll never see Michelle Pfeiffer look as trapped as she does in her skit with Thirtysomethings Peter Horton, or Joe Pantoliano and Arsenio Hall as unfunny as they are in their skits."
Amazon Women on the Moon has a rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. On Metacritic it has a 42% score based on reviews from 11 critics.