I have not seen The Gong Show Movie since… maybe 1982. I think it was Showtime or HBO that allowed me to see the film since I was too young to watch it in theaters when it came out in 1980. I was a fan of television’s “The Gong Show” as it was broadcast in the late 70s. The absurd humor or recurring acts like The Unknown Comic and recurring appearances by Rip Taylor, even the “judges” J. P. Morgan and Jamie Farr just made the half-hour program pack iin more laughs than virtually every sitcom.
Was that Taylor Negron showing up during the auditions?
The Gong Show Movie debuted in 1980 and didn’t do as well at the box office as the television show did in the ratings. I am sure the film’s (lack of) reception played a part in the show’s cancellation, which is a shame. “The Gong Show” was a much more enjoyable half-hour precursor to “America’s Got Talent” and shows of the like.
That was Tony Randall on stage….
Finally on home video we get the movie of the show, a semi-fictional week in the life of Chuck Barris and a look behind the scenes as well on stage. There is drama about the show’s ratings and some of the antics that take place on stage.
Vincent Schiavelli and Rip Taylor show up as well, but in a different roles than you might expect.
Where the television show had some questionable antics it still had to adhere to certain standards. Now as a film there was freedom to use certain words and feature certain acts that might have been too questionable for broadcast.
Phil Hartman?
Due to an evergrowing series of increasing difficulties Chuck Barris sort of has a breakdown and winds up about 2/3 of the way through the film breaks up with his wife and leaves the show. Is this a fictional account of how the series actually stopped producing new episodes? Is it a recreation?
An audio commentary by pop culture historian Russell Dyball is presented as the only special feature. There is a lot of great information that even longtime fans of “The Gong Show” won’t know or remember. Not even the film’s trailer is available on the disc, which is… odd.
I really wish “The Gong Show” was readily available to view. This just doesn’t satiate my appetite for the series. There was too much “plot” and not enough clips of the show in production for my taste. I’m glad to have the opportunity to revisit The Gong Show Movie and by proxy “The Gong Show” itself. For fans this is certainly well worth checking out.