''Amazon Women on the Moon'' is a 1987 American satirical science fiction film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget films on

late-night television Late night television is one of the dayparts in television broadcast programming. It follows prime time and precedes the overnight television show graveyard slot. The slot generally runs from about 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. ET, with variation ...

. The film, featuring a large ensemble cast including

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s from film and TV stars and even non-actors, was written by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland, and takes the form of a compilation of 21 comedy skits directed by five different directors: Joe Dante,

Carl Gottlieb Carl Gottlieb (born March 18, 1938) is an American screenwriter, actor, comedian, and executive. He is best known for co-writing the screenplay for ''Jaws'' (1975) and its first two sequels, as well as directing the 1981 film ''Caveman''. Early ...

Peter Horton Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...

, and Robert K. Weiss. The title ''Amazon Women on the Moon'' refers to the central

film-within-a-film A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...

, a

spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

films from the 1950s that borrows heavily from ''

Queen of Outer Space ''Queen of Outer Space'' is a 1958 American science fiction feature film shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Produced by Ben Schwalb and directed by Edward Bernds, it stars Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, and Laurie Mitchell. The screenplay by C ...

'' (1958) starring

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...

, itself a film that recycles elements of earlier science-fiction works such as ''

Cat-Women of the Moon ''Cat-Women of the Moon'' is an independently made 1953 American black-and-white three-dimensional science-fiction film, produced by Jack Rabin and Al Zimbalist, directed by Arthur Hilton, that stars Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, and Marie Winds ...

'' (1953), ''

Fire Maidens from Outer Space ''Fire Maidens from Outer Space'' (US: ''Fire Maidens of Outer Space'') is a 1956 British independent black-and-white science fiction feature film. It was written, produced and directed by American filmmaker Cy Roth as a collaboration between ...

'' (1955), and ''

Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story by Allen Adler and Irvi ...

'' (1956). John Landis had previously directed ''

The Kentucky Fried Movie ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' is a 1977 American independent sketch comedy film, produced by Kim Jorgensen, Larry Kostroff, and Robert K. Weiss, and directed by John Landis. Among the numerous star cameos are George Lazenby, Bill Bixby, Henry G ...

'' (1977), which employed a similar sketch anthology format.

Plot

Fictional television station WIDB-TV (channel 8) experiences problems with its late-night airing of science-fiction classic ''Amazon Women on the Moon'', a 1950s B movie in which Queen Lara (Sybil Danning) and Captain Nelson (Steve Forrest) battle exploding volcanoes and man-eating spiders on the Moon. Waiting for the film to resume, an unseen viewer begins

channel surfing Channel surfing (also known as channel hopping or zapping) is the practice of quickly scanning through different television channels or radio frequencies to find something interesting to watch or listen to. Modern viewers, who may have cable or ...

—simulated by bursts of

white noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines ...

—through late night cable, with the various segments and sketches of the film representing the programming found on different channels. The viewer intermittently returns to channel 8, where ''Amazon Women'' continues airing before faltering once more. These segments feature: *

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Com ...

as a man who nearly kills himself in a series of mishaps around his apartment; *

Monique Gabrielle Katherine Gonzalez (born July 30, 1962), also known as Monique Gabrielle, is an American model and actress. Gabrielle was selected as the '' Penthouse'' Pet of the Month for December 1982, and has appeared in a variety of mainstream and adult fi ...

as a model who goes about her daily routine in Laguna, California, completely naked; *

Lou Jacobi Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor. Life and early career Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch. Jacobi began acting ...

as a man named Murray, zapped into the television, wandering throughout sketches looking for his wife; * Michelle Pfeiffer and

as a young couple having trouble with eccentric doctor

Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is kn ...

delivering and then concealing their newborn baby; *

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

as the presenter of a commercial recommending stapling carpet to a bald head as a hair loss prevention measure; * David Alan Grier and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

in a public-service appeal for "blacks without soul" featuring "Don 'No Soul' Simmons"; *

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song'' (1982), and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

as a young woman on a blind date, employing unusual methods of investigation to reveal the qualifications of

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...

; *

Henry Silva Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor. A prolific character actor, Silva was a regular staple of international genre cinema, usually playing criminals or gangsters. His notable film appearances include ...

as the host of a show entitled ''Bullshit or Not?'', clearly intended as a spoof of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' with

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

and '' In Search of...''; * Archie Hahn as a man who dies after being mauled (by

Roger Barkley Roger Barkley (September 11, 1936, Odebolt, Iowa, USA – December 21, 1997, Duarte, California) was an American radio personality, based in Los Angeles, California, best remembered for his work with Al Lohman as part of ''The Lohman and Barkley ...

and Al Lohman, mimicking Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert), then is

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

ed at his funeral by a variety of people, including

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (16 March 1906 – 24 February 1998) was a British-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the " one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many comedians told ela ...

, and even his own wife; * William Marshall as the leader of the ''Video Pirates'', who hijack an

MCA Home Video Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

ship, uncover a vast amount of videotapes and laserdiscs, and promptly begin illegally bootlegging the media; * Ed Begley Jr., as the son of the Invisible Man, having trouble with his formula; *

Angel Tompkins Angel Tompkins is an American actress. She appeared in several films and television shows, and is a Golden Globe nominee. Career Angel Tompkins was a model in the Chicago area before being discovered by Woody Allen, who sent her to Universal Pic ...

as a president's First Lady who is also a former hooker; *

Matt Adler Matthew D. Adler (born December 8, 1966) is an American film actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in the 1980s teenage films: '' Teen Wolf'', '' White Water Summer'', '' North Shore'', and '' Dream a Little Dream''. He currently works ...

as a sexually frustrated teenager trying to purchase a pack of condoms, with unexpected results; *

Marc McClure Marc McClure (born March 31, 1957) is an American actor known for playing Jimmy Olsen in the '' Superman'' series of feature films released between 1978 and 1987 and Dave McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' films. Career McClure appeared in the 1 ...

renting a personalized date video that spills over into real life; * "Reckless Youth" – an epilogue at the end of the credits, with

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...

and

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy '' Eating Raoul'', which he wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies and ...

in a black-and-white ephemeral film warning about the spread of " social diseases" in the style of ''

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...

''.

Alternative versions

An alternate version of the "Pethouse Video" sketch was filmed for the television broadcast of the film, with Monique Gabrielle in lingerie instead of appearing naked throughout the segment. However, most European television broadcasts of the film retained the original theatrical version. ''Bullshit or Not?'' was retitled ''Baloney or Not?'' for the television version. The American television edit, in addition to the alternative "Pethouse Video" sketch, features an additional bridging sequence between the death of Harvey Pitnik and his subsequent celebrity roast. In it, the mortician successfully cons Pitnik's widow into having the celebrity roast as part of the funeral, and her performance gets such strong positive feedback, it becomes a continuing performance series lasting for weeks. The DVD release features an unreleased sketch titled "The Unknown Soldier", starring

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

with

Ronny Cox Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in '' Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), C ...

Bernie Casey Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet and professional American football player. Early life Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated ...

, and

Wallace Langham James Wallace Langham II (born March 11, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Phil the Head Writer on ''The Larry Sanders Show''. He has also played the roles of David Hodges on the crime drama television series '' ...

. Some television broadcasts of the film featured the sketches "Peter Pan Theater" and "The French Ventriloquist's Dummy", which were not present in the theatrical version.

Cast

"Mondo Condo" (directed by

): *

as Apartment Victim "Pethouse Video" (directed by

): * Donald F. Muhich as Easterbrook *

as Taryn Steele "Murray in Videoland" (directed by Robert K. Weiss): *

as Murray *

Erica Yohn Erica Yohn (October 1, 1928 – January 27, 2019) was an American stage and television actress. Yohn had many bit parts in film and television, such as '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', and television shows, such as '' Rhoda'', '' ER'', '' Murphy ...

as Selma * Debby Davison as Weatherperson * Rob Krausz as Floor Manager *

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

as Baseball Announcer *

Corey Burton Corey Gregg Weinberg (born August 3, 1955), known professionally as Corey Burton, is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake, Dale and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformer ...

as Anchorman "Hospital" (directed by Landis): * Michelle Pfeiffer as Brenda Landers *

as Harry Landers *

as Dr. Raymond * Brian Ann Zoccola as Nurse "Hairlooming" (directed by Joe Dante): *

as Sy Swerdlow * Stanley Brock as Customer "Amazon Women on the Moon" (directed by Weiss): *

as TV Announcer * Steve Forrest as Captain Steve Nelson *

Robert Colbert Robert Colbert is an American actor most noted for his leading role portraying Dr. Doug Phillips on the ABC television series ''The Time Tunnel'' and his two appearances as Brent Maverick, a third Maverick brother in the ABC/Warner Brothers ...

as "Blackie" *

Joey Travolta Joseph Allen Travolta (born October 14, 1950) is an American actor, singer, producer, director and screenwriter. He is the older brother of actor John Travolta. Early life Travolta was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, a nearby suburb o ...

as Butch *

Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a pr ...

as U.S. President *

Sybil Danning Sybil Danning (born Sybille Johanna Danninger) is an Austrian actress, model, and film producer. She is best known for her frequent appearances in B movies during the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Early years and first films Born in Austria, Dannin ...

as Queen Lara *

Lana Clarkson Lana Jean Clarkson (April 5, 1962 – February 3, 2003) was an American actress and fashion model. During the 1980s, she rose to prominence in several sword-and-sorcery films. In 2003, record producer Phil Spector shot and killed Clarkson insi ...

as Alpha Beta *

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

as Prescott Townsend "Blacks Without Soul" (directed by Landis): * David Alan Grier as Don 'No Soul' Simmons *

as Himself * William Bryant (credited as Bill Bryant) as Male Republican *

Roxie Roker Roxie Albertha Roker (August 28, 1929 – December 2, 1995) was an American actress who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), half of the first interracial couple to be shown on regular prime time television ...

as Female Republican * Le Tari as Pimp * Christopher Broughton as Fan Club President "Two I.D.s" (directed by

): *

as Karen *

as Jerry "Bullshit or Not" (directed by Dante): *

as Himself * Sarah Lilly as Prostitute "Critics' Corner" (directed by Dante): *

(credited as Barkley) as Herbert * Al Lohman (credited as Lohman) as Frankel * Archie Hahn as Harvey Pitnik *

Belinda Balaski Belinda Balaski (born December 8, 1947 in Inglewood, California) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her large supporting role as Terri Fisher in Joe Dante's ''The Howling'' (1981), and has continued to appear in most of Dan ...

as Bernice Pitnik * Justin Benham as Pitnik Boy * Erica Gayle as Pitnik Girl "Silly Pâté" (directed by Weiss): *

as Announcer *

T. K. Carter Thomas Kent Carter (born December 18, 1956) is an American actor. In films, he is mostly known for his many comedic performances, such as the street-smart Chester in ''Seems Like Old Times (film), Seems Like Old Times'' and the karaoke-singing ...

as Host *

Phil Proctor Philip Proctor (born 1940) is an American actor, comedian and a member of the Firesign Theatre. He has performed voice-over work for video games, films and television series. Career Of the four members of Firesign Theatre, Proctor has had t ...

as Mike *

Ira Newborn James Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949) is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks. Life and career Newborn was born in New York City. References to him as James I ...

as Fred * Karen Montgomery as Karen "Roast Your Loved One" (directed by Dante): * Archie Hahn as Harvey Pitnik *

as Bernice Pitnik * Justin Benham as Pitnik Boy * Erica Gayle as Pitnik Girl *

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

as Paramedic #1 *

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' S ...

as Rick Raddnitz *

Rip Taylor Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr. (January 13, 1931 – October 6, 2019) was an American actor and comedian, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others ...

as Himself *

Slappy White Melvin Edward "Slappy" White (September 27, 1921 – November 7, 1995) was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' Circuit of stand-up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows ''Sa ...

as Himself * Jackie Vernon as Himself *

as Himself * Charlie Callas as Himself *

as Himself "Video Pirates" (directed by Weiss): * William Marshall as Pirate Captain *

Tino Insana Silvio Peter "Tino" Insana (February 15, 1948 – May 31, 2017) was an American actor, producer, writer, and comedian. Life and career Insana was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 15, 1948, the son of Silvio A. Insana, a musician, and Hilora ...

as Mr. Sylvio *

Donald Gibb Donald Richard Gibb (born August 4, 1954) is an American actor, best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted fraternity brother Ogre in several installments of the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' film series, as Kumite fighter Ray Jackson in '' B ...

as Graceless Pirate *

Frank Collison Frank Collison (born February 14, 1950) is an American actor known to television audiences as the hapless telegrapher Horace Bing in the series ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman''. Early life Collison was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Peg, ...

as Grizzled Pirate * Bill Taylor as Gruesome Pirate "Son of the Invisible Man" (directed by Gottlieb): * Ed Begley Jr. as Griffin * Chuck Lafont as Trent * Pamla Vale as Woman In Pub *

Larry Hankin Larry Hankin (born ) is an American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer. He is known for his major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in ...

as Man In Pub *

Garry Goodrow Garry Goodrow (November 4, 1933 – July 22, 2014) was an American actor known for his role in the original stage production of the Obie Award-winning play ''The Connection'' (1959) and its 1961 film version, and as one of the original memb ...

as Checker Player * Roger La Page as London Bobby "French Ventriloquist's Dummy" (directed by Dante): * Dick Miller as Danny Clayton the Ventriloquist *

Phil Bruns Philip Bruns (May 2, 1931 – February 8, 2012) was an American television and movie actor and writer. He portrayed George Shumway, the father of Mary Hartman on the 1970s comedic series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' and Morty Seinfeld, the f ...

as Danny's Manager * Martin Goslins as the French Ventriloquist "Art Sale" (directed by Gottlieb): *

John Ingle John Houston Ingle (May 7, 1928 – September 16, 2012) was an American actor best known for his roles as scheming patriarch Edward Quartermaine in the ABC soap opera '' General Hospital'' and Mr. Threehorn, the father of the main characte ...

as Felix Van Dam "First Lady of the Evening" (directed by Weiss): *

as First Lady *

Terry McGovern Terry McGovern may refer to: *Terry McGovern (boxer) (1880–1918), boxer who held the world bantamweight and featherweight titles *Terry McGovern (actor) Terence McGovern (born May 11, 1942) is an American actor, television broadcaster, radio pe ...

as Salesman * Michael Hanks as Announcer "Titan Man" (directed by Weiss): *

as George *

Kelly Preston Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including '' Mischief'' (1985), '' Twins'' (1988), ...

as Violet *

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

as Mr. Gower * Howard Hesseman as Rupert King * Steve Cropper as Customer * Chris Wolf as Mascot Bip "Video Date" (directed by Landis): *

as Ray *

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...

as Video Salesman * Corrine Wahl as Sharri *

Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the fi ...

as Frankie * Willard E. Pugh as Speaking Cop "Reckless Youth" (directed by Dante): *

as Mary Brown *

as Doctor *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as Agent * Tracy Hutchinson as Floozie *

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

as Dutch * Frank Beddor as Ken "The Unknown Soldier" (directed by Horton) *

as General McCormick *

as Major General Hadley *

as General Balentine *

as Private Anson W. Pucket "Peter Pan Theatre" (directed by Gottlieb) *

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...

as Cleopatra *

Raye Birk Raye Birk (born May 27, 1943, Flint, Michigan) is an American film and television actor best known for a variety of roles, such as playing the role of Pahpshmir in the first and last of the '' Naked Gun'' movies, and a variety of television appe ...

as Vanya * Mark Bringelson as Theater Customer #1 * Victoria Ann Lewis as Theater Customer #2 *

Vivian Bonnell Vivian Bonnell (born Enid Mosier, May 23, 1924 – November 18, 2003) was an actress and calypso singer, originally from Antigua, British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: A ...

as Theater Customer #3 *

Kellye Nakahara Kellye Nakahara Watson (January 16, 1948 – February 16, 2020) was an American actress, best known for playing Nurse Kellye in 167 episodes of the television comedy series ''M*A*S*H''. Life and career Nakahara was born in Honolulu. Before beco ...

as Theater Customer #4

Reception

The majority of critics agreed that the quality was inconsistent throughout the film. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "irreverent, vulgar and silly...

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

some hilarious moments and some real groaners too." Roger Ebert in the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' felt that the exercise was somewhat unnecessary: "Satirists are in trouble when their subjects are funnier than they are."

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', in a largely positive review, described the film as "an anarchic, often hilarious adventure in dial-spinning, a collection of brief skits and wacko parodies that are sometimes quite clever, though they're just as often happily sophomoric, too." Certain portions of the film were singled out for praise. "The funniest episode probably is 'Son of the Invisible Man', directed by

, in which Ed Begley Jr. plays a man who thinks he is invisible but is not", wrote the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. "The film's best sight gags come from Robert K. Weiss, who deserves kudos for the inspired idiocy of his ''Amazon Women'' segments", was the opinion of ''The New York Times''. In a retrospective article for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', Chris Nashawaty called this film "the beginning of the end of Landis' career". He cited the episodes featuring

, Archie Hahn, Ed Begley Jr. and David Alan Grier as "inspired", but criticized others for their failure: "You'll never see Michelle Pfeiffer look as trapped as she does in her skit with ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

''s

, or

and

as unfunny as they are in their skits." ''Amazon Women on the Moon'' has a rating of 65% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

it has a 42% score based on reviews from 11 critics.

References

External links