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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: 1/13/2009
Director: Michael O'Donoghue
Cast: Michael O'Donoghue, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray
Year: 1979
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The Movie:
Best known as a writer for National Lampoon and one of the founding writers of Saturday Night Live, Michael O'Donoghue passed away in 1994 from a brain hemorrhage but his legacy and influence are still going strong. His talent for satire and penchant for skewering pop culture and current events made quite a mark on the world of comedy writing but it's his 1979 feature film Mr. Mike's Mondo Video that really makes you wonder just what was going on in that head of his. The film started off as a television special that was to fill a slot in NBC's Saturday night line up one a night when SNL was going to be off the air. Unfortunately, what was turned in to the studio was considered to be of questionable content and taste and so they passed on the project. O'Donoghue wound up securing theatrical distribution for the film, and the rest is history.
So what the Hell is Mr. Mike's Mondo Video? That's a good question, with no real easy answer. At its core the movie is a satire of Jacopetti and Prosperi's 1962 Oscar Winning Mondo Cane, widely considered to be the film that jumpstarted the whole 'mondo movie' trend that was so popular in the late sixties and through into the seventies. Like that film, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video purports to show us all manner of strange sites and customs from around the world, but here, all of it is stage for comedic effect.
Some of the highlights include a fly on the wall look at a church that worships Hawaii 5-0 star Jack Lord lead by a Jim Jones-esque leader (played by Dan Akroyd), a black and white film that blows the lid off of the American government's secret Laser Bra 2000 weapons project, a peek into an elite swimming school for cats (in which real, live, and obviously pissed off but unharmed kitty cats are tossed into a swimming pool for our amusement), and an expose from various female celebrities (such as Jane Curtin, Carrie Fisher, Gilda Radner, Teri Garr, Wendie Malick, Margot Kidder and Deborah Harry) who explain just what it is about creepy men that drives them wild. The later part of the film features a performance from a New York City underground rock band who deliver a song called 'Boogie Till You Puke,' man on the street interviews that inquire as to the public's opinion on issues like capital punishment for elephants, and a finale that tells us just where all of America's pop culture garbage winds up and the influence that it has on those who discover it.
Cameos from Saturday Night Live cast members such as the aforementioned Dan Akroyd and Gilda Radner as well as the likes of Bill Murray, Paul Shaffer and, oddly enough, Sid Vicious (a clip from the 'My Way' vide is presented with a text scrawl explaining how Paul Anka would not let them use the song in the movie and whom O'Donoghue refers to as 'a real mondo kind of guy') keep things interesting but the movie wind up feeling disjointed and odd. It's compelling in its own unusual way, but strange dream sequence inserts containing random absurdist sketch humor feel out of place amongst the other bits that do a pretty good job of spoofing the 'top Italian journalists' who started the mondo trend in the first place.
By 1979, the mondo trend was more or less on its last legs. It's odd that O'Donoghue chose this time to take on the idea but in general he does a good job of it. The film isn't always firing with all cylinders but when it's good, it's good and when it's not it's screwy enough to at least remain an interesting watch.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Mr. Mike's Mondo Video is shown in its original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio. Quality of the image varies depending on the source, with some of the bits that were shot on video looking a little soft and some of the stock footage used to fill in certain scenes showing some wear and tear. Generally, however, the image looks pretty good for what it is. It isn't reference quality but it likely never was. Color reproduction is decent and there aren't any issues with mpeg compression artifacts or heavy edge enhancement.
The Dolby Digital Mono English sound mix is also of decent quality, even if it won't wow you. Dialogue remains easy to follow throughout the film and the levels are always well balanced. There aren't any major problems with hiss or distortion to note and the background score and ridiculous opening theme song sound pretty solid.
The biggest and best of the supplements on this disc is a commentary track with co-writer Mitch Glazer who does a pretty good job of talking about where he and Michael O'Donoghue got some of their inspiration from and in detailing the odd history of this particular project. He talks about the various cast members, set pieces and sketches and makes some interesting observations about how the picture was made and how it holds up now. He also spends a fair bit of time sharing stories about O'Donoghue himself (who, according to Glazer, screamed like a little girl because he thought the cat swimming bit was so funny). There's a bit of dead air here and there but overall, this is an interesting talk.
Aside from that, look for a trio of clips from Mr. Mike's Least-Loved Bedtime Stories that originally appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1976 and 1977 as well as a give minute clip from 1994 in which Bill Murray eulogizes the deceased writer (eventually leading into a fairly brilliant skit in which O'Donoghue plays himself as a bartender). Menus and promos for other Shout! Factory releases are also included.
The Final Word:
A truly odd piece of cinema, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video is as strange as the films it attempts to lampoon, making it a pretty fascinating curiosity item even if it isn't a comedy classic. Shout! Factory's DVD looks and sounds alright and contains some decent supplements making this one worth a look.