Coneheads

Coneheads is one of the best conversions of an SNL skit to the big screen. Granted, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin were funny on SNL as Beldar and Prymat, but the movie has given them the chance to show how funny they can be as these two aliens from "France"! All the SNL cameos are great too! If you don't like this film, you should be sent to "Narfal the Garthok!!" :)

I saw Coneheads for the first time on TV last week. So, not having paid for it, and not expecting too much, its reasonable to think that I might not be as critical as I could be. (Drum roll...) I was VERY surprised how damn good it is. When I saw the title come on screen I thought, Jeeze, in 20 minutes I'll be clicking away, but no. Dan and Jane do amazing things to keep their limited characters extremely entertaining. Just about every other bit part, and there's a load of 'em, measures up. Even Sinbad does a nice job as Beldar's first boss. Adam Sandler is on screen for 2 minutes and I am still chuckling at his quirky sleaze-ball office geek. Its a good satire about the hypocrisy and prejudice in our so called Democracy, and on balance, a ridiculously accurate reflection of the diversity and opportunity in modern America. It came on again two days later and I watched it again. I would have rented it. No, seriously....

Other than WAYNE'S WORLD, this is the only film adaptation of an SNL skit that really worked for me. CONEHEADS was an inventive and smartly written 1993 comedy that expanded upon the original Saturday Night Live skits starring Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Lorraine Newman as Beldar, Prymatt, and Connie Conehead, the aliens who are trying to live as earthlings and tell the world that they are from France. The movie starts before Connie is even born, showing why Beldar and Prymatt were sent to earth and how they ended up smack in the middle of suburbia. There are some moments of genuine warmth that you feel for the Coneheads as they have to stay on the run, as they are being pursued by a slimy Immigration agent (Michael McKean, in an on target performance) and his ass-kissing assistant (a hysterical David Spade). The film has one hilarious moment after another. Jan Hooks appears as a student of Beldar (who is seen working briefly as a driving instructor)who lusts after Beldar and her silent encounter with Prymatt in a supermarket is hysterical. Chris Farley is very funny as Ronnie, Connie's boyfriend. The role of Connie has been inherited by Michelle Burke for some reason, though Lorraine Newman can be spotted in a cameo near the end of the film. Jason Alexander and Lisa Jane Persky are very funny as Beldar and Prymatt's suburban neighbors. Sinbad has some funny moments as Beldar's first boss and Adam Sandler is funny in a brief scene as a guy who provides Beldar with a phony Social Security card and whole new identity. There is so much to take in here and a lot of talented comedians are seen to good advantage, whether in starring or cameo roles. CONEHEADS is one of the most underrated comedies of the 90's which I don't think ever got the credit it deserved. If you've never seen it, definitely worth the rental.

I could say, you had to be there. Or you just aren't old enough to understand. The bottom line? Sometimes it is nice to just sit back, suspend your disbelief and enjoy without having to analyze why it works or doesn't work. This falls back to a time when crude and rude was still in its infancy. Light for the day, it is still lots of fun. The punch lines are subtle and innuendo a bit advance for the punch and Judy crowd that is looking for the "Down with society" commentary that seems to fill the comedy of today. The Coneheads are classic Old School SNL. I like a story where the good guy wins, albeit the good guys in this case are Aliens. If you like Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, or Danny Kay. Then you will probably like this movie. If you are the Dumb and Dumber crowd this will probably be a disappointment. So, suspend your disbeliefe and just enjoy it for what it is. A funny movie with a lot of "good" laughs.

I've never watched a microsecond of SNL so I watched this as just another film. It's not Gone with the Wind, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's a small scale comedy. It isn't 90 minutes of side splitting belly laughs, but it's mildly amusing throughout and there are a number of pretty good jokes. Flicking through the twenty or so movies my cable channel is offering me this evening, I'd prefer Coneheads to any of them. That doesn't make it a masterpiece, it just makes it a solid little comedy that will leave you more cheerful at the end than you were at the beginning. For those who like their comedy to be cutting edge with constant sarcastic political barbs, you should look elsewhere. (Is this why some reviewers don't like it - maybe they were expecting political satire ?) This isn't satire, it's mild smiley humour a la Ghostbusters, and none the worse for that.