Customer Reviews

Chris Elliott: Action Family & FDR: A One-Man Show [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chris Elliott is the epitome of the ridiculous. From outrageous sight gags, like a fist fight with his father, using obvious stunt doubles, to the subtle(?), not knowing his son has been going to a Spanish-speaking school, and can't figure out why his grades are failing, Chris Elliott packs a wallop on the laugh meter. He has also cast the show perfectly. The actors playing his family, and the sundry characters surrounding the detective business play their roles straight, without winking to the camera. Hats off to this highly under-rated comedy writer, actor, and director.

That's right, I laughed until I thought I was going to be sick! Not at "The Action Family" so much (though that was funny--and Chris Elliott's David Cassidy impersonation at the end is right on) but at "FDR: A One-Man Show", which is so indefinable, so weird, so. . .well, beyond Monty Python is the only phrase I can think of to describe it. Probably only one person in ten would find this even vaguely amusing (pretty much the same percentage of people who appreciate Chris Elliott's humor), but that one is going to laugh until they want to hurl. I know, that's not a very literate or distinguished description, but it was the best I could do. Chris Elliott, you are THE funniest man in the world. End of statement.

Chris Elliott is one of the funniest people in America. I don't know why this guy isn't a household word!

I first "ran into" Chris Elliott when he was a semi-regular on the David Letterman show years ago. Every time he was on, he would just steal the show! David L. is funny, but honestly Chris was soooo much funnier whenever he was on, he made Dave look bad in comparison.

Chris also was *the* perfect voice for Dogbert in the old Dilbert TV series.

The fact that he's been reduced to playing Raymond's brother's future brother-in-law on Everyone (Everybody?) Loves Raymond is a crime against humanity!

But I digress. I'm supposed to be reviewing "Action Family" and "FDR".

I found this tape, used, at Blockbuster several years ago for $5. Having never seen it, but absolutely LOVING Chris Elliott, I bought it and, boy, that was the best $5 I ever spent! I can't tell you how many times I've watched my tape. I now have a friend converting it to DVD for me so I can have this gem forever. I can't believe it's out of print! This tape deserves a much wider audience than it's been given.

The other reviewers here sum it up pretty well. I especially love the person who said he laughed so hard he wanted to hurl. Yeah, it really is that funny!

"Action Family" is hysterical -- a combination of silly 70s family sitcoms and overly dramatic Quinn Martin-style 70s cop/detective shows. The opening pays homage to The Brady Bunch, but the remainder of the sitcom portion of the half-hour is more slanted towards The Partridge Family, complete with a blonde mom named Shirley and an ending homage to The P. Family with Chris playing Keith Partridge that will have you grabbing your sides while tears run down your face. It is brilliantly "filmed" in two media ... video for the indoor/family/comedy scenes and film for the outdoor/gritty/detective scenes. The detective half of this flick is played so straight, so deadpan, that again you will find your face soaking wet and your sides in serious need of medical attention. If you used to watch Mannix back in the day, you will really enjoy Chris's take on the detective genre!

As for the second half-hour of this tape, the "FDR: One Man Show" ... oh my gawd, I do not even know where to begin. Words cannot describe how completely off the wall this is. Chris plays the wheelchair-bound Franklin Delano Roosevelt with such kitsch (?) chutzpah (?) ... there's no English word for it, but I bet there's a perfect Yiddish word to describe this flick! Let's just say that Chris Elliott doesn't let historical facts get in the way of his telling the story of FDR's life, and he's a genius at portraying a terrible actor. Make no mistake, Chris Elliott is *not* a bad actor -- he is a great actor who can play a terrible actor like nobody's business.

It's a shame this is out of print, and that the used ones being sold on Amazon are going for over $40! Yikes! If you don't own this tape, please do yourself a favor and find some way to get your hands on it. I promise you will not regret it!!!

Chris Elliott's "Action Family/FDR A One-Man Show" tape is just so full of those little comedy nuances, you just have to watch it over and over. And his real dad Bob (or is he Ray?) steals the show in both pieces. It's easy to see how Chris Elliott set the stage for Adam Sandler's current success. I just can't understand how the Comedy Central channel can keep showing the same Paula Poundstone and Margaret Cho bits over and over, and have yet to show these gems of Chris'. This tape is the perfect addition to any Chris Elliot collection.

Any Chris Elliott fan will love this tape. It consists of two 30-minute episodes that Chris originally made for Cinemax in the late '80's. The first is "Action Family", a sitcom spoof in which Chris juggles untypical family sitcom problems with his on-the-job life as a private detective. The second is his famed one-man stage show, "FDR", in which he brings some little -known facts about the former president to the public's attention. Guest appearances by David Letterman, Marv Albert and Bob Elliott are additional highlights. All in all, this is a funny tape, and any fan of Chris Elliott would want to have it.

Not much to say except don't operate heavy machinery while watching "FDR, a One-Man Show." You'll not be able to concentrate through the laughter. "Action Family" is amusing, too, but "FDR" is inspired.

Having seen this tape countless times I must say that I'm 50/50 on it. While 'Action Family' is a sophomoric sendup of such shows, 'FDR-A One-Man Show' perfectly captured, I feel, the nuances of our only sitting President. The only improvement I could see would have been to add another person playing Eleanor (thus it would have to have been retitled "A two Person Show" or "a one man and one woman"show), who, as we know from 100 year old pilot Ralph Charles, was just a regular gal.

In summary, I recommend purchasing this tape for the FDR piece if you really want a good idea of what this former writer and cast member of Late Night with David Letterman can do.

I saw this "program" several years ago shortly after it had aired on Cinemax's "Comedy Experiment." At the time it was made, Elliot was just an off-beat side kick of David Letterman. "Action Family" was a 30-minute cross between a cheesy 70's style detective show ala "Barnaby Jones" and a sitcom complete with canned laughter. All the interior segments of the show were done in the sitcom foremat while the exterior scenes were shot with bad film to give it the old detective show look. The concluding scene brought all the characters together to watch Chris Elliot and his family perform a song in the vein of the Partridge Family. Anyway, my brother had recorded "Action Family" and we must have watched the tape 10 times before it was lost. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen on television and the loss of the tape was truly a tragedy. Now I come to find out that it was put out by the studio, but is no longer in print! If anyone knows how to get a copy of this tape or wants to sell one, please let me know. Perhaps the studio will re-release it???

In this send-up of television chiches, master of comedy Chris Elliott delivers his biting wit to TV fans everywhere. The first episode on the tape, "Action Family," is so seamlessly done, you'd swear you were watching a real program. And for those women who insist on defining Elliott's brand of humor ar "stooge-esque," his "FDR: A One-Man Show" will prove that he can be as high brow as the next guy. This video gets two thumbs up and is fun for kids of all ages. Except for very young ones.

In this inventive spoof of stage and screen cliches, the former "Late Night" writer keeps audiences "rolling in the aisles." While many women describe Elliot's brand of humor as "stooge-esque," this video will garantee laughs for the whole family. I give it "two thumbs up."