Before Airplane!, before The Naked Gun, even before The Blues Brothers or Animal House there was The Kentucky Fried Movie. Written by Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker and directed by John Landis the Kentucky Fried Movie is essentially a series of skits and disconnected bits of comedy spoofing mostly movies and television. Most of the names and faces won’t be recognizable to many viewers today, but some will be, such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, and even George Lazenby (yes, the James Bond actor). Those with a longer memory will recognize some folks such as Henry Gibson or even Tony Dow (in a funny “Leave It To Beaver” cameo).
A little offensive, but almost always funny, there’s still plenty of humor to be found with The Kentucky Friend Movie. The kung fu movie spoof at the center of the film (taking up about a third of the running time) could easily have been expanded and released on its own. Because it is from 1977 it takes on a lot of the “old school” conventions, but also Bruce Lee. Fake movie trailers, television commercials, even a skit about death being our nation’s number one killer.
Much of what would make John Landis as well as the writing/directing team of Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker household names can be seen here. The writers each show up on the screen themselves, and they look so… young. And with that youth comes an attitude and brashness that many will find at times offensive. This is not a politically correct film.
Now on Blu-ray, we get this early look at some comedic geniuses ready for rediscovery as well as passing on to a new generation. While the film is in high definition, it has not been restored. Some of the movie was shot onto video tape and it shows. At times the picture is soft and fuzzy, but any diminished video quality is a result of the original film source as well as just how movies were made back then.
Shout Factory has put together a solid package that includes not only the film but an hour long interview with Jerry and David Zucker. This is a must watch for any fans of their films. Then there is the audio commentary that includes not only the brothers, but Jim Abrahams, John Landis and producer Robert Weiss. This is a fantastic track that is honest and insightful. I really enjoyed listening to this. Both of these extras are older, but still enhance the film greatly.
I haven’t seen The Kentucky Fried Movie since the mid-80s when it was shown on a cable movie channel. I was sort of surprised at how much I still liked this juvenile, sophomoric low budget sketch comedy film. The thing is, The Kentucky Fried Movie isn’t trying to be anything other than what it is.