Customer Reviews

Americathon [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's 1998, America is out of gas both literally and figuratively. People live in permanently parked cars, walking, jogging and biking to work.

When a Native American billionaire who loaned money to the government to cover the national debt threatens to foreclose on the nation, a telethon is held to raise the money to save the country.

An early work from Neal Israel, the man who would later create such classics as the *original* "Police Academy" and "Real Genius," the movie brims with humorous high-concept jokes. For example, in schemes to raise money, San Diego is sold to Mexico and a daredevil (played by Meatloaf) battles a car.

Aside from the comedy, there's a great soundtrack with songs by the Beach Boys and Elvis Costello (who makes a cameo appearance). One of my favorite films of the late 70's, this is a great addition to anyone's video collection.

I enjoyed this late 1970s satire when it was first released over 30 years ago, but I expected it wouldn't wear well over the decades. I was wrong--it's actually damned funnier now. The premise is that in the distant future (1998) the USA is without oil and completely bankrupt. A Native American billionaire has loaned the country money to keep it afloat, the loans have come due, and the billionaire (played magnificently by Chief Dan George) is about to foreclose on a failed country even he doesn't want ("... don't get me going about Cleveland...). A telethon is held to raise the money, hosted by cross-dressing Harvey Korman in one of his best performances. There are other complications including an idiot New Age President, Chet Roosevelt, played flawlessly by John Ritter. George Carlin narrates; tons of familiar and welcome faces are present; the script was by Proctor and Bergman of the legendary Firesign Theatre comedy group. You even get an Elvis Costello performance and can watch Meatloaf demolish a car. How can you go wrong?

Those who grew up with modern ham-fisted Culture War "satires" that, of course, go chasing after one side but not both (i.e. not themselves) simply won't get this kind of far more sophisticated effort. Sorry, but I think the other reviewers here fall into that category. This isn't Culture War agitprop but a broad-based humorous critique of our entire culture, and the fact that Proctor and Bergman nailed us perfectly in the late 70s means much of their commentary still holds water. Very little of this film seems dated and most is dazzlingly prescient: in the "future" China is a wealthy superpower that's gone Capitalist. You had to be pretty clear headed in 1979 to see that coming.

Again, younger people (under 35) are going to have serious difficulties with this film, especially if they've been weened on Culture War either/or-isms, and have no real background in American history other than the polarized either/or history they've probably been exposed to in college. Firesign Theatre, and Proctor and Bergman, were notorious for going after complex & ambiguous subjects with equivalent complexity and ambiguity--through the 60s, 70s and beyond they kept their high standards while other socially conscious comedians, sadly including Carlin, eventually stooped to becoming court jesters to their increasingly niche-marketed audiences. This sort of Firesign Theatre intellectual expansiveness ain't the style in a post 9-11 country that's actually (and laughably) become as pathetic and simpleminded as the "Future America" depicted in this film. The companion to this little masterpiece is the devastatingly brilliant "Idiocracy" which also got blank stares from all sides of the contemporary Culture War clown-fight. Praise "Bob" someone's still keeping up the good fight instead of following the path of least resistance and joining one or another gang of ignorant squabbling rabble.

Really happy to see this movie available again. I recommend it to those of us who are pretty disgusted with everyone's behavior in the USA these days but who have still retained a sense of humor about it all.

Americathon was a satire about the 1970s showing what the country would be like if the trends continued. People don't remember now but every night the news broadcasts announced a new "crisis" When I moved out to college in 1976 I could afford rent and food on minimum wage; by the time I graduated I was living off sardines and crackers. President Carter blamed America for being under a "great malaise" and interest rates hit 20%. To a lot of people the future depicted in "Americathon" wasn't all that unbelievable.

Well it is a movie about time. Our past future. The world of 1998 as seen through the eyes of the makers of AMERICATHON back in the when ever this was made. Anyway, a comedy about "future" America. No more gasoline and out of money. Funny and musical. The IT IS ABOUT TIME is for it is about time they release this on DVD. I have been waiting. One of my favorite movies. And after re-watching it still is.

I have a vague recollection of having seen this flick as a kid on a double bill with "Meatballs". As you can tell it was a milestone of my moviegoing experience. It almost completely left the recesses of my mind until my cousin Ed the Head brought it up and described it as a film ahead of it's time. Had Ed been injesting too many bad shrooms or had this ersatz "Network" totally flew under my radar? Judging from the reviews I've read both liberal and conservative alike to some degree champion "Americathon". Bleeding heart Ed probably thinks it's an indictment of Reaganism though it came out in 1979 more than a year before Reagan was elected. To this card carrying Republican this is clearly an indictment of the namby-pamby new-age hand-wringing of Jimmy Carter though it's doubtful that Proctor and Bergman intended it that way. The first fifteen minutes or so of "Americathon" tackle political satire but the results on the whole are either half-hearted or miss their mark. Realizing this, politics are virtually dropped the rest of the way. This is fortunate because the best part of the movie is it's lampooning of show-biz. Highlights include Harvey Korman's performance as a pill-popping emcee, Zane Buzby's lusty Vietnamese punk rocker, Meat Loaf destroying a car, Jay Leno in a mother-son boxing match and of course a performance by a young Declan Patrick McManus. Paddy Chayefsky the Firesign Theatre were not, at least in this instance, but some enjoyment can be mined by this late Seventies nugget.

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. I think it was very funny and can be enjoyed today. The company that owns the rights to this film should release it on DVD.

With this whole economic crisis on Wall Street and the Feds trying to bail us out, I told my husband this evening, "What if there was a telethon so we could raise money for America and we could save our own country, could that help?" He responded by saying, "You know, there's an actual movie about that with John Ritter and San Diego gets sold to Mexico." Here I thought I was coming up with an original idea and clever idea someone beat me to it. I am on a mission to find/buy this movie and watch it. the premise sounds hysterical. I will add to the review when I do. But seriously, I think as an American, if there was an "Americathon," I could not ignore the crisis and would try to help with as much as my pocketbook would allow. I'm not rich my any means but $500-$700 would be feasible and I would hope more of my fellow Americans would do the same to take us out of this mess that Greedy Corporate America has gotten us into. Go OBAMA!

I remember seeing AMERICATHON a long time ago on video. I thought that it was weird, dumb sometimes, but with a wicked sense of humor that I appreciated. This film was made back in 1979, and the plot is set in 1998.

Well, right now we're in 2001, on the heels of the most catastrophic terrorist attack in this country since Pearl Harbor, on the verge of a deep recession, and we are running out of money--fast. Tonight, we're having the kind of star-studded telethon that took place in this movie. Of course, it's to raise money for the victims of the awful attack, but it IS an "Americathon" of sorts, isn't it??

This movie stars a likably goofy John Ritter as the President of the United States (har-har) and a wonderfully twisted Harvey Korman as the beleaguered host of the Americathon (and whom is not entirely dissimilar to Peter Finch's beleaguered TV news anchor in the great 1976 movie NETWORK). Some of the great cameos include Meat Loaf as a car-battling stuntman and Jay Leno as a mother-boxing son. Sure, it's wacky and sometimes stupid, but overall, I must say that I liked it.

Now let's hope that our real "Americathon" tonight goes much better...and, of course, let's continue to pray for the families who lost their loved ones last week. And, in the middle of all this madness, please take some time to take your mind off this terrible, senseless tragedy, and go watch this movie. I think that it will make you laugh a little.

With the recent Wall Street meltdown and increasing bailout from foreign investors, I think this movie deserves a second look. It's predictions from twenty years ago are becoming eerily accurate. I'm still laughing, just a little more nervously.

This is a really funny movie, but had great foresight--it was made in 1979 before Ronald Reagan put us into mega debt. It's a strange view of the future where people live in cars since they can't afford to drive them anymore, jog everywhere...the Arabs and Israelis have joined forces...and America is flat broke and about to be foreclosed. Rent this on a day when you need a good laugh!