Repossessed

Repossessed (1990)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Seventeen years after having the Devil removed from her soul, adult Nancy Aglet (Linda Blair) finds herself possessed yet again so she brings back Father Mayii (Leslie Nelson) but this time a fake preacher (Ned Beatty) wants to put it on live television to make some money. A spoof of THE EXORCIST with Linda Blair returning and Nelson coming off THE NAKED GUN should have meant a sure-fire hit but sadly this is a rather boring, unfunny and at times painfully bad movie that probably had more cash in its eye than anything else. There's so much that could have been done with the material but this is a perfect example of why certain films work and why others don't. Stuff like AIRPLANE, HOT SHOTS and THE NAKED GUN work because of the talented screenwriters who make the jokes work. Writer-director Bob Logan simply doesn't get the material to work for a number of reasons but the biggest is that the jokes are all rather lame and just seem forced. One such example of Blair fixing her kids pea soup. Another has a priest saying something about "head" and it of course being taken the wrong way. The stuff with the preacher and his wife is so forced and annoying that it just never gets any laughs. Even worse is how the story structure is because for the most part we see Nelson teaching in front of a class and then we see the "other" story dealing with Blair. We go back and forth between the two and usually we get Nelson making a few comments but those two are unfunny. Nelson seems bored in his part and Beatty simply overplays his. Blair doesn't give a very good performance but I'm not going to blame her since the material just wasn't right and she appears to really be forcing herself to try and get laughs. REPOSSESSED should have worked and probably could have worked in better hands but as it is the movie is just cheap and weak.

Linda Blair is certainly an example of how cruel Hollywood can be. Out of the blue as a young kid, she landed a part in one of the most shocking films of its time that really redefined the modern horror film. In 1973, hardly anyone had ever heard of exorcism and then it was on the cover of Newsweek. Maybe there have been more bloody and graphic horror films, but none that so grabbed people at the time. People fainting and getting sick in the theater was a common occurrence. The cruel fact is that this film was both a blessing and a curse for Linda Blair. Amazingly other then Airport 1975 and the TV films Born Innocent and Sarah T...Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic, Blair was never really offered another decent part in a film that would become someone who had been nominated for an Oscar in their first major role (for you trivia lovers she lost to another child actress Tatum O'Neil). Blair is a fine actress who can bring style and class to even the most mundane role. Wasn't it great when she was a hit on stage with Grease a few years back? Seventeen years later, she made this film with Leslie Nielsen spoofing The Exorcist (by the way Exorcist III was released the same year). Making this film must have been like therapy for Linda, she was able to spoof her most famous role that was a blessing and a curse for her. Besides, she must have had a ball working with Leslie Nielsen. This is one of those films that you really have to watch closely to catch all the gags. Nothing is sacred, everything from the Pope to Oliver North. They also spoof so many scenes from The Exorcist from the pea soup vomiting to her....well doing that thing with the cross. I also liked the way this film pokes fun at TV evangelists like the one Ned Beatty plays. I even noticed that Robert Fuller, Doctor Kelly Brackett from Emergency, has a part in this. Linda gets some really funny lines and have fun spoofing herself. She must be a great lady and a really good sport. Looking at the legacy of comedy, Leslie Nielsen has left us, it is hard to believe that for the first thirty years of his career he was exclusively a dramatic actor! Hard to believe isn't it?

Linda Blair, Leslie Nielsen, Ned Beatty, and Anthony Starke star in this funny spoof of "The Exorcist" (which also starred Linda Blair). Linda Blair is Nancy Aglet who has been possessed by the devil. Leslie Nielsen is Father Mayii who has driven the devil out of Nancy before and is called upon once again to fight the devil. Ned Beatty is Ernest Weller, the evangelist who is trying to exploit the devil by making a television show out of her. If you like spoof movies then you should definitely see this one.

Repossessed is funny, and some scenes are very funny, but there are a lot of silly gags instead of funny ones. But the funny gags out shine the silly ones. I give this movie **1/2 out of ****

I saw REPOSSESSED on Comedy Central one night and while many may disagree with me on this one, I think that it is Linda Blair's best work. Both Linda Blair and Leslie Nielson are at their comedic best. The premise could have used a little work, but the movie seems to serve one purpose and one purpose only: to spoof THE EXCORCIST. I like that idea since I didn't like THE EXCORCIST that much and the movie spoofs it very well yet there needs to be more to the movie. It would have worked better if the movie spoofed several movies and not just a few. Though as I said before, it is a very funny movie with the two leads giving their best performances. The music and special effects are also top-rate along with the writing. I hope that there is a REPOSSESSED 2 sometime soon.