Before there were YouTube stars, there were Gong Show stars. Truly tacky and talentless, these performers went out of their way to get attention with the most bizarre acts possible. For those of us who were around to see the show when it aired, this movie might hold a little bit of nostalgia because in its day, it was a lot of guilty pleasure fun. What went on behind the scenes however is documented here in a rather bizarre film that shows host Chuck Barris practically having a nervous breakdown over the national obsession with getting on the show and his inability to have a private life or a career that means anything artistic. That causes issues with his girlfriend and soon he finds himself needing a break and ends up in overall places a desert in Morocco where he comes to terms with his demons.
Certainly, this forgotten B comedy is not of much interest to modern audiences who have not seen much of the footage that remains of this series, but it is a unique look back at a bizarre era in entertainment history. If we think that there are attention seekers today who will do anything for fame, all we have to do is look at this show to see the even more bizarre. Some of what they do in this movie could not be put on TV back then and some of it would be considered majorly offensive today. However much of it is funny in a sort of "I can't believe they're trying to get away with this" manner, and that's where the laughs do happen, although not very often. The attempt for comedy is often forced and what results is an example of bad taste that belongs in a time capsule to remind us that attention seekers come from every generation, from every era.
Of course, the unknown comic is there, with bag over head and recurring appearances that are sometimes funny but often eye rolling. A funny bit has him in bed with "Mrs. Unknown Comic", and you guessed it, bag over head, with lipstick around the mouth hole. There are some interesting cameos by celebrities as themselves including Jaye P. Morgan whose controversial antics in the original show gets more adult play here, and a cameo by Tony Randall in a gag appearance as himself doing stand-up on the show. The lovable Mabel King gives a sweet performance as his secretary, accompanied by an elderly lady as her mother who follows her everywhere. But most of the film is low brow and head scratching, perhaps one reason that theaters in my home town which booked it only utilized teeny, tiny advertising and pulled it after a week. I haven't seen this listed for TV broadcast ever, and home video seems to ignore it, so finding it will be very difficult, getting a gong from fans for the copyright holders keeping it back.
Certainly, this forgotten B comedy is not of much interest to modern audiences who have not seen much of the footage that remains of this series, but it is a unique look back at a bizarre era in entertainment history. If we think that there are attention seekers today who will do anything for fame, all we have to do is look at this show to see the even more bizarre. Some of what they do in this movie could not be put on TV back then and some of it would be considered majorly offensive today. However much of it is funny in a sort of "I can't believe they're trying to get away with this" manner, and that's where the laughs do happen, although not very often. The attempt for comedy is often forced and what results is an example of bad taste that belongs in a time capsule to remind us that attention seekers come from every generation, from every era.
Of course, the unknown comic is there, with bag over head and recurring appearances that are sometimes funny but often eye rolling. A funny bit has him in bed with "Mrs. Unknown Comic", and you guessed it, bag over head, with lipstick around the mouth hole. There are some interesting cameos by celebrities as themselves including Jaye P. Morgan whose controversial antics in the original show gets more adult play here, and a cameo by Tony Randall in a gag appearance as himself doing stand-up on the show. The lovable Mabel King gives a sweet performance as his secretary, accompanied by an elderly lady as her mother who follows her everywhere. But most of the film is low brow and head scratching, perhaps one reason that theaters in my home town which booked it only utilized teeny, tiny advertising and pulled it after a week. I haven't seen this listed for TV broadcast ever, and home video seems to ignore it, so finding it will be very difficult, getting a gong from fans for the copyright holders keeping it back.