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National Lampoon's Movie Madness Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
A National Lampoon anthology of three shorts spoofing everything from personal growth films, glossy soap operas, and police stories. In the first story "Growing Yourself", stars Peter Riegert as a confused family man who throws his wife out of the house in order for him to "grow" a new path in life and raise his four children on his own. In "Success Wanters", Ann Dusenberry stars as Dominique Corsaire, a young college graduate determined to succeed in life in which in a few days time lands a job as a stripper, then the mistress to a margarine company, inherits it when the owner croaks, and is then romanced by a Greek shipping tycoon, and ultimately the US president. In "Municipalians", Robby Benson stars alongside Richard Widmark as a naive rookie Los Angeles policeman paired with a cynical veteran of the force to catch an inept serial killer (Christopher Lloyd). The film was originally produced under the title National Lampoon Goes to the Movies; completed in 1981, the film was not released until 1983, and was reedited and retitled as Movie Madness.
For more about National Lampoon's Movie Madness and the National Lampoon's Movie Madness Blu-ray release, see National Lampoon's Movie Madness Blu-ray Review published by Brian Orndorf on December 2, 2021 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.5 out of 5.
"National Lampoon's Animal House" was released in July 1978, and went on to become a massive success, delighting audiences with its raunchy sense
of humor and nostalgic groove. It was the second highest grossing picture of the year (coming in below "Grease" and above "Jaws 2"), putting
National Lampoon in a unique position of power, capable of doing anything they wanted to with their follow-up project. The company had a prime
opportunity to showcase their talents, creativity, and abundant supply of mischief. And so they made 1982's "National Lampoon's Movie Madness"
(a.k.a. "National Lampoon Goes to the Movies," with this title still included on art in the feature), which is a complete and utter dud, even shelved for
over a year while studio executives decided how to deal with a surefire bomb. Whatever audience goodwill developed with "Animal House" was wiped
out by "Movie Madness" (and 1982's equally lame, "National Lampoon's Class Reunion"), which is shockingly awful at times, with the end product
resembling a production largely fueled by cocaine (this was actually the case) and zero vision for what this oddball collection of non-ideas was
supposed to be.
In "Growing Yourself," Jason (Peter Riegert) is a corporate lawyer who's had enough of his life, looking to ditch everything, encouraging wife Susan
(Candy Clark) to leave him and their four children to find herself. Jason wants to be a mother, embarking on a mission to care for his kids and seek
employment as a gardener. However, after setting his house on fire and dealing with work responsibilities, Jason's sex life begins to suffer, juggling
the disappointment of his 14-year-old girlfriend, Liza (Diane Lane), and the demands of his lover, Diana (Teresa Ganzel).
"Success Wanters" explores the desperation of college graduate Dominique (Ann Dusenberry), who becomes a stripper to pay the bills, soon
assaulted by a group of dairy executives. Seeking revenge, Dominique decides to take her rage to the margarine industry, seducing Paul (Robert
Culp) to help achieve complete control of Everest Margarine, launching an attack on butter tycoons, including Greek shipping magnate, Naxos
(Bobby Di Cicco). Becoming a major force for the margarine cause, Dominique soon sets her sights on ultimate power, out to claim the President of
the United States (Fred Willard) and his wife (Margaret Whitton).
In "Municipalians," rookie cop Falcone (Robby Benson) is partnered with veteran Nagurski (Richard Widmark), with the pair hitting the streets of Los
Angeles, on the hunt for the Driver's License Killer (Christopher Lloyd), who's terrorizing the women of the city. Trouble is waiting for Falcone, whose
inexperience on the job finds him trying to become a positive presence in the community, receiving multiple bullet wounds for his efforts,
complicating his law enforcement mission while Nagurski sits back, working on his alcoholism.
"Movie Madness" opens with a celebration of movies, supported by a Dr. John tune that's repeated between segments. The production offers a series
of caricatures, which display National Lampoon humor mixing with familiar images from features such as "Jaws" and "The Wizard of Oz," suggesting
that the picture is going to be some type of parody endeavor, with the brand name taking on the big hits from film history. "Movie Madness" doesn't
do that, instead presenting three shorts that have nothing to do with cinema triumphs. They're just brief examinations of behavior and power,
lacking any sort of connective tissue or appreciable humorous intent. It's a comedy that doesn't have any comedy, which would be more interesting
to watch if the shorts offered anything remotely interesting to follow.
With the exception of "Municipalians," "Movie Madness" is almost a dramatic endeavor, with the opener, "Growing Yourself," a semi-sincere look at a
bumbling character trying to better his life through a different level of domestic and financial responsibility. Riegert plays it straight for the most
part, and the short seems to be a vague mash-up of "Kramer vs. Kramer" and Woody Allen, which might explain the "joke" about a 40-year-old man
obsessed with Fassbinder films who's sleeping with a 14-year-old girl. The Lampoon-iness of it all doesn't emerge in "Growing Yourself," which offers
a muddled take on midlife crisis fears and male needs and desires, eventually working its way to dismal sex jokes and a non-ending.
For "Success Wanters," some form of farce is detected, as Dominique embarks on a journey of vengeance after being "butter banged" by old dairy
executives at a strip club. She takes on Big Margarine, using her sexuality to charm and destroy an executive, which offers her greater opportunities
for revenge. There's a germ of an idea here, but "Movie Madness" doesn't know how to develop it, content to rest on the concept of the margarine
business as the height of comedy. Things get weirder in the short, which introduces Naxos, an Anthony Quinn-type who has sex with his son, and
the story eventually reaches the U.S. President, with his wife attracted to Dominique, giving the college grad access to real power.
"Municipalians" has the oddity of being directed by Henry Jaglom, a man not known for his broad sense of humor, and he brings nothing to the
short, which plays like a satire of a T.V. series, not a feature film. At least there's a more identifiable comedic vibe to "Municipalians," with Falcone
routinely taking bullets for his efforts to keep L.A. safe, gradually losing his boy scout attitude. There's potential in the whole Driver's License Killer
idea, but the writing basically ignores the menace until the very end of the story. On the plus side, a brief cameo from Henny Youngman manages to
supply the only laugh in the entirety of "Movie Madness."
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is a stronger catalog offering from MGM. Detail is generally quite good, exploring a range of
textured costumes and facial surfaces from the large cast. Interiors are open for inspection, and exteriors retain dimension, with "Growing Yourself" and
"Municipalians" offering a good look at street signage and activity in 1981. Colors are secure, with bright primaries and deep greens for plant life.
Skintones are natural. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in excellent condition.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA supplies an inviting listening experience, with dialogue exchanges clear, capturing performance choices and extensive looping for
the "Municipalians" short. Musical moods are set, with the Dr. John song offering crisp instrumentation. Scoring cues are also satisfactorily defined.
A Theatrical Trailer (1:29, SD) is included. Interestingly, it contains the "National Lampoon Goes to the Movies"
title, and includes a few
shots from the deleted short, "The Bomb."
"National Lampoon's Movie Madness" was originally shot with four shorts, eventually cutting a disaster parody, "The Bomb," also directed by Jaglom. It's
hard enough to make through a 90-minute film, so perhaps the producers were doing the world a favor by losing the last story. In fact, this project
should've never gone forward, as it's so ill-conceived and poorly assembled (performances are committed, but in service of terrible material),
suggesting it was a manufactured in a panic to put something, anything out there to sustain the National Lampoon brand.
Use the thumbs up and thumbs down icons to agree or disagree that the title is similar to National Lampoon's Movie Madness. You can also suggest completely new similar titles to National Lampoon's Movie Madness in the search box below.
Code Red has dated and detailed its upcoming Blu-ray release of Bob Giraldi and Henry Jaglom's National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1983), starring Richard Widmark, Peter Riegert, Diane Lane, Candy Clark, Teresa Ganzel, and Ian Fried. The release, which will be distributed ...
Code Red is preparing a Blu-ray release of Bob Giraldi and Henry Jaglom's Movie Madness (1983), starring Peter Riegert, Diane Lane, Candy Clark, Teresa Ganzel, and Ian Fried. The release, which will be distributed by Kino Lorber, is expected to arrive on the market ...
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