Slapstick of Another Kind (1982)

A rich, beautiful couple give birth to deformed alien twins who, when their heads are together, are the smartest kids on the planet.

Director:

Steven Paul

Writers:

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (novel) (as Kurt Vonnegut), Steven Paul

Stars:

Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry Lewis	...	Wilbur Swain / Caleb Swain
Madeline Kahn	...	Eliza Swain / Lutetia Swain
Marty Feldman	...	Sylvester
John Abbott	...	Dr. Frankenstein
Jim Backus	...	President of the U.S.
Samuel Fuller	...	Colonel Sharp
Merv Griffin	...	Anchorman
Pat Morita	...	Ah Fong, the Chinese Ambassador
Virginia Graham	...	Gossip Specialist
Ben Frank	...	Quentin, the Handyman
Cheire Harris	...	Maria, the Maid (as Cherie Harris)
Robert Hackman	...	Study Hall Supervisor
Eugene Choy	...	Lum Fung
Ken Johnson	...	Horace
Peter Kwong	...	Chinese Astronaut

Storyline

Caleb Swain and his wife Lutetia are a rich couple deemed to be the most beautiful of all the beautiful people by the press. This changes when Lutetia gives birth to oversize, deformed twins named Wilbur and Eliza. Unknown to them, the twins are really an alien brother-and-sister team implanted in Lutetia to solve the world's problems. When they are apart they are not much smarter than a potted plant, but together they are an intellectual force to be reckoned with. Their closeness is put to the test when a series of events threatens to keep the twins apart. Mixed in with all this is a miniaturized Chinese ambassador who needs the twins' help to make a deal for the sale of gravity.

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | twins | alien | chinese | voice over narration | 

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Taglines:

Extra-terrestrials have never been this spaced-out before [DVD]

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1982 (France)

Also Known As:

Slapstick of Another Kind

Filming Locations:

The Rindge House - 2263 South Harvard Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original 1982 cut of the movie featured a score by Michel Legrand. When the movie was re-edited and subsequently re-released in 1984, it was replaced with a more science-fiction-laced score by Morton Stevens (of Hawaii Five-O (1968) fame). A soundtrack LP was released containing on one side the score by Stevens and on the other side highlights of the score by Legrand.

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Goofs

The boom mic is visible in the scene where the staff at the mansion is attempting to cheer up Eliza after Wilbur is taken to military school (on full frame 1.33:1 prints; the prints cropped to 1.85.1 mask the boom out).

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Alternate Versions

In the original 1982 cut of the film, Eliza sings a song called "Lonesome No More" (which is part of the title to the original novel "Slapstick") after the staff tries to cheer her up after Wilbur is taken to military school. Michel Legrand wrote the music, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. wrote the lyrics and Madeline Kahn sings the song in the character of Eliza. This clip also occurs before the flying saucer with the Japanese inside fly into the attic window where she is staying. In the 1984 US release, the song is still credited in the final credits, but has been edited out of the movie. The 2005 German DVD "Director's Cut" of the film also omits the song.

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Connections

Referenced in Decker: Sonrise (2017)

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Soundtracks

Puttin' Our Heads Together
Music and Lyrics by Randy Bishop
Performed by Randy Bishop and Bonnie Paul
Produced by Spencer Proffer for Pasha
Music Engineered by Duane Baron
Coordinated by John Lombardo
Published by The Grand Pasha Publisher and S. Paul Music Company
Available on Pasha/CBS Records

User Reviews

2ND WORST MOVIE OF ALL-TIME (Next to Gigli)

With huge talents such as Jerry Lewis & Madeline Kahn I thought this movie was going to be gas, sitting in my favorite chair ready to laugh...NEVER DID. Movie made me ill, The directors & producers of this film should be arrested for letting this "VOMIT" on the screen.

The concept of having Jerry Lewis as a space alien could have been funny (See Visit to a Small Planet) which wasn't that funny either, but it wasn't crap like this. I've seen bad movies, like "Manos Hands of Fate", "Gigli", "Plan 9 From Outer Space", and many other terrible films, but with the exception of "Gigli", this is the worst movie I have ever seen, I truly had to take Maalox after this one. How in the Hell did they get The KING of Comedy, Jerry Lewis, and one of the funniest ladies to ever live Madeline Kahn to star in this bag of Dung?

They must have owed favors to the producers or something, because this movie really bit the big one.

Pardon My French, but It Sucked!