Synopsis
If There's A Movie That Is Funny... Outrageous... And Entertaining... It's Got To Be...
A ridiculous comedy that spoofs many different American made movies in multiple segments and skits.
1977 Directed by Chuck Vincent
A ridiculous comedy that spoofs many different American made movies in multiple segments and skits.
American Tickler is one of those weird little sketch comedy films that bubbled up in the 1970's...and almost exclusively in the 1970's because they were all varying degrees of terrible. This one is notable for two things: being directed by Chuck Vincent and having a young Joe Piscopo among the otherwise virtually unknown cast.
I don't know if this is the worst version of this I've seen. There are a couple of sketches that brush up against something either funny or interesting. The sadistic version of Treasure Hunt and the cult pushing for the legalization of human sacrifice are as close as this gets to actual comedy.
Everything else is pretty dated or dire, with the recurring problem of stretching every bit out too long. Which is actually slightly impressive, given the whole movie is only 77 minutes long.
When I buy used tapes I always ask myself “when was the last time someone enjoyed this?”
In this movie’s case I think its safe to say never.
I was not just curious about this film because its title is also what the media calls me in most prefectures of Japan; I am actually a champion of those oft-maligned sketch comedy films of the late '70's and early 80's, not because I find them funny, per se, but because they tell us so much about the society in which they were made. All of the usual criticisms of these films - that they are uneven, unfunny, offensive, or boring - can also be applied the best sketch comedy ever produced: we remember the hits from Mr. Show and not "Jeepers Creepers", and for every Dinsdale Piranha, Monty Python had twenty sketches about who-cares-the-fuck-what-happened in Parliament that week. But…
At least I can finally throw out the vhs of this that’s been sitting on my shelf for twenty years.