Reviews & Ratings for
Windy City Heat (TV) More at IMDbPro »

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

12 out of 16 people found the following review useful:

I have not laughed this hard since I first saw "Airplane".

Author: gilmourw from United States
19 January 2005

I do not care about the arguments about whether this movie is authentic or not. It is freaking funny.

It was by "accident" that I even saw this movie. It was a late night, and my girlfriend and I were snuggled up on the couch and channel surfing. I had never heard anything about this film before I stumbled upon it that night on Comedy Central.

It has been a long, long time since I have laughed so hard. I won't spoil it by giving details, but the scene with the baseball bats almost killed me. I was laughing hard, and it kept getting FUNNIER! I could not stop laughing, and I was in pain! My girlfriend had to turn off the TV for a couple of minutes so I could regain my composure.

If you have the chance to see this film, ignore all that you might have read about it being staged. It might be a fake, it might not be. But if you suspend all disbelief as you watch it, you will not be disappointed.

THIS MOVIE NEEDS TO BE RELEASED ON DVD!

13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

Hilarious!

Author: Judy Garland from Los Angeles, CA
28 January 2005

One word--hilarious! Despite what you may have read from one other IMDb user, this is a positive and funny film that has done more for the unwitting lead actor, Perry Caravello and his career than anything else. Clever and amazing in its duplicity, this movie is one of the best comedies ever made!

Without giving too much away, everyone in the film is in on the joke except for Perry. Led to believe that he is the star of a major motion picture, Perry soon reveals the rude and annoying personality that has probably helped prevent his successful entry into 'real' show business over the past decades.

The fact that Perry remains completely unaware of the trick being played upon him (the producer of the film is named John Quincy Adams and production assistants unflinchingly introduce themselves to Perry as 'Frances Farmer' while even 'Ansel Adams' shows up on the set to photograph Perry), only serves to amaze the audience as to how dumb one actor can possibly be.

Do yourself a favor and ignore those who criticize this film as mean-spirited--the fact that we now know the name Perry Caravello is proof that this film only served Perry Caravello's unrelenting self-serving personality.

9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:

Suspend Your Disbelief and Laugh Out Loud!

Author: LN_Smithee from San Francisco, California, USA
19 October 2003

I discovered "Windy City Heat" by accident while searching for another show, and thought it was worth a look-see. Within minutes, I was laughing as loud as I have ever laughed at anything on television -- and I thought I would never say that about anything with Bobcat Goldthwait.

Unknown actor Perry Caravello is the actual star, though, because he is the supposed victim of a years-long practical joke -- he is recruited to star in the non-existent action spoof "Windy City Heat" alongside fellow unknown hacks: the belligerent and jealous Don Barris, and the perpetually stoned Walter "Mole" Molinski (Tony Barbieri). Despite the fact he is a horrendous actor, Caravello takes his role as lead seriously, while Don and Mole -- who are in on the plot -- goof around, waste time, and cause chaos, placing the entire project in jeopardy of abandonment by the "producer." Also frustrating Perry is the overanxious personal assistant he is assigned. The normally spastic and irritating Goldthwait is uncharacteristically low key as the fake film's director, and lets Barris and Barbieri goad Caravello into profane rants and seething rage through endless indignities, large and small.

There are some occurrences in the finished product that will make you scratch your head, and say to yourself, "Wait, if Perry didn't know that was going to happen, why did he..." Do yourself a favor, and take the advice of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" theme song: "Just repeat to yourself, 'It's just a show, I should really just relax.'"

If you can't buy that "Windy City Heat" IS a big scam perpetrated on Perry, pretend you are watching a movie that is ABOUT a scam being perpetrated on Perry, and give your abs a laughter-induced workout.

8/10 stars.

10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:

I know for a fact WCH was NOT fake

Author: SimplyDonTheName from Hollywood, CA
23 October 2003

I know that WCH was not fake because I was Don Barris in the movie and this has been going on for over eleven years. Get in touch with me if anyone cares to and you can ask me questions. I'll share things that will make you believe that it is real. I'll also let you in on future plans for the project which will explain why there wasn't a satisfactory ending where we explain to Perry what happened.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:

Hysterical

Author: mortynyc from NYC
13 October 2003

I have read some unfavorable reviews of this film and I have to say that these have puzzled me.

If true, this is one of the funniest practical jokes of all time. The bizarre nature of Perry, the lead, and his crew, as well as the subtle nuances made this an excellent flick.

With charachters named Roman Polanski, Hiroshima Nagasaki, and this joker Perry buying it all was too much.

Some people have commented that this film might not be true and even Perry's lines were scripted. I actually think it is real judging from the guy and the fact that I have met some people sort of like Perry before.

Enjoy it, it's a fun one.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Cult classic.

Author: Tom Rochester from Canada
4 March 2011

Having taken some time to re-watch and ruminate over Windy City Heat (I've seen it four times and counting), explaining the enduring appeal of it is still tricky. First of all, it's funny. It's blindingly funny. It's tip a cow then kick a duck up the arse funny. It's also fantastically original in it's conception and treads heavily where few might dare to tread at all. The mark in this; possibly the most elaborate prank ever, is the fabulous Perry Caravello. Arrogant, sexist, homophobic and gullible. He is hilariously short tempered yet naive and lovable. Our catalysts and instigators are Don and Mole who according to the film have been messing with Perry for over a decade now. The setup is to have Perry, an aspiring actor and comedian in Hollywood, audition for a part in a film and win it. They go on to shoot the actual film over the course of a week, only it's all part of the setup and every scene is just another opportunity to provoke Perry's wrath while the cameras are rolling. There is physical comedy, humiliation, and provocation. It's great. When watching the film you will recognise names and faces. The in-jokes are endless. Perry gets none of the references. I do get twinges of pity for Perry as he falls for joke upon joke. Half the jokes are just to sell or justify a previous joke or fabrication. Some of the setups seem so contrived that it's hard to believe anyone would fall for it, but Perry sees no problems. It's humour is maybe a little cruel and sadistic in spirit, which in turn provokes thought on edgy comedy as an elaborate web of ethical dilemmas. Fortunately, any uncomfortable doubts about what you're watching are put to bed when you understand the relationship of Perry with Don and Mole. Perry is working, making some money and gaining the fame his so craves. Though it's clear someone like Perry can be (and has been!) taken advantage of in a town like Hollywood, I'd go as far to say Perry is protected by Don and Mole and there's obviously some affection there. The underlying fascination of WCH has percolated to the depths of my subconscious and left me quite frankly, obsessed. If there were ever a film cult I was part of than this is it. It is continued now with the excellent ongoing podcast (The Big Three podcast) and the unfolding drama and windups over facebook and other online forums. WCH triumphs where a film like I'm still here totally failed. There is no holier than thou Hollywood smugness. It is well planned and improvised and thick with gags from the most base to the marvellously subtle. It runs hand in hand with An idiot abroad as the most hilarious and startlingly real tragi-comedy out there. Comedy on film is often about levity and escapism but on the other end of that spectrum lies WCH, something that's real and engaging, provocative and most importantly, deeply and lastingly funny.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Gutbuster.

Author: bobcolganrac from Earth
4 November 2009

I love the idiots on IMDb who post the movie plot synopsis as if they need to interpret a movie so anyone who watches it will know ahead of time what they are watching. For what purpose...? Understanding? Enjoyment? Scientific advancement?

Makes no sense.

If you want to comment on a movie, comment on what you got out of it, because movies ---like books, or any thing artful for that matter---- are purely subjective experiences.

I have no wish to explain the details of the plot of Windy City Heat. It would serve nothing useful for me to do so. It's got actors, a movie supposedly being filmed, funny plot developments, imagined and real betrayals, situational stuff, sophomoric humor.

And the whole thing is friggin' hilarious! This movie works extremely well as a comedy because you never know exactly where it's going to go, and even after it gets to where it has arrived you don't know if it's going to stay there, or why it got there in the first place. And you don't care.

It's friggin' hilarious!

Basically it's "The Three Stooges Meet Dumb and Dumber" in a Hollywood soundstage. None of it smacks of reality, yet it has that "I-know- people-this-stupid-so-it-seems-half-real" feel about it. I love this movie in all its crudity and ignorance. It truly is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen!! I couldn't help myself laughing at it. Or stop laughing after it was finished and I thought back to scenes.

But spare me the total BS of the reality of this 'prank' on Caravello--- -the whole movie is simply that---it's a movie.

Enjoy it! Tell your friends about it! They'll love you for it. A great comedy movie!!!

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

fake but funny

Author: David from Austin
20 October 2003

The movie that Perry is appearing in is a mixture of the movies The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Stone Cold. Both of those movies were great, I thought, so I like this as well. It's definitely fake though. Perry has a tendency to set himself up and follow along nicely with too many of the jokes.

Laughed until I cried though.

One of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

Author: sammykiy2004 from United States
1 September 2012

I'm going to be brief. One night I woke up around 11pm or after, the TV was still tuned in to Comedy Central, and Windy City Heat was on TV. This was the premiere on Comedy Central. I glanced at the TV because it was on when it's usually off, and the moment I realized what I was looking at, and what was going on, I could not go back to sleep. I was laughing so much my girlfriend remembers me watching this movie while she was having her sleep interrupted. I wanted to see it again but it was no where to be found.i wanted this movie so bad, just to watch it again, I scoured the Internet and found someone had it on eBay. This was months later, and the movie wasn't even on disc at the time. Someone else knew how good of a movie it was and capitalized on it. Sorry for not being brief.

If fake - 100% amazing, If real - 200%

Author: Tarnished123 from United States
12 October 2011

This is easily the most creative idea for a movie I have ever seen, but just as important; it's the funniest.

If you like the Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, Crank Yankers, and just prank jokes in general, let alone an on-going rank that lasts over 11 years to create this masterpiece, this movie is for you.

If you think any specific scenes in the movie are not real just go ahead and post it here. As many times as I have seen it, I just don't think it's possible for Perry to pull the majority of the movie off if he knew it was all a joke.

Cheers.

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Add another review

Related Links