''It's Pat'' is a 1994 American
slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Adam Bernstein and starring
Julia Sweeney,
Dave Foley
David Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer, and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and fil ...
,
Charles Rocket, and
Kathy Griffin. The film was based on the ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (''SNL'') character
Pat, created by Sweeney, an
androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...
misfit whose gender is never revealed. Foley plays Pat's partner Chris, and Rocket, another ''SNL'' alumnus, plays Pat's neighbor Kyle.
The film was released in only 33 theatres in three cities in the United States. ''It's Pat'' was universally panned by critics, and
bombed at the box office, only grossing $60,822 against its $8 million budget.
Plot
Pat Riley is a chubby, whiny, and obnoxious job-hopper of indeterminate gender who is searching for a steady foundation in life. Pat falls in love with Chris (whose gender is also unrevealed to the audience) and the two get engaged. Meanwhile, Pat's neighbor Kyle develops an unhealthy obsession with identifying Pat's gender and begins stalking them. He sends a tape of Pat performing
karaoke
is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone.
Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...
to a television show called ''America's Creepiest People'', bringing them to the attention of the band
Ween, who feature Pat in one of their performances, playing the
sousaphone
The sousaphone ( ) is a brass musical instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J.W. Pepper & Son, J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was design ...
. Pat and Chris break up when Pat learns that Ween intended only to use them for one gig.
Kyle steals Pat's laptop containing their diary and tries to coerce them into revealing the computer's password so he can access the files. When Pat only answers that it's a word in the dictionary, Kyle begins manually trying every word. He eventually succeeds with the password "
zythum" (an Egyptian malt beer) and reads the diary. However, he does not find the answer to his question and finally snaps.
Meanwhile, a gang of thugs with the same goal begin harassing Pat, who becomes distraught over the thugs' use of the term "androgynous". Pat complains to Kathy, a friend who is a therapist and host of a radio talk show. When Pat reacts acerbically to call-in listeners, the station fires Kathy and replaces her with Pat.
Kyle calls into Pat's radio show saying he has Pat's laptop, and sets up a meeting at the
Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum to retrieve it. Pat arrives to find Kyle dressed precisely like them. Kyle demands that Pat strip naked, but Pat runs off into a Ween concert. Pat falls after Kyle corners them on a
catwalk. Their pants get torn off by a hook, and they are lowered with their genitalia exposed to the cheering concert audience, but not to Kyle or the viewer. Security guards subsequently take Kyle away. Pat then runs to see Chris, just as Chris is leaving on an ocean liner. In an epilogue, Pat and Chris marry.
During the end credits, Kathy hosts her radio show again, and the first caller is Kyle, whose obsession with Pat has driven him to
cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...
.
Cast
*
Julia Sweeney as
Pat Riley
Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...
*
Dave Foley
David Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer, and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and fil ...
as Chris
*
Charles Rocket as Kyle Jacobsen
*
Kathy Griffin as herself
*Julie Hayden as Stacy Jacobsen
*
Timothy Stack as Doctor
*
Mary Scheer as Nurse
*
Beverly Leech as Mrs. Riley
*
Tim Meadows
Tim Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. For his work on ''S ...
as KVIB-FM manager
*
Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...
as Stage manager
*
Larry Hankin
Lawrence Alan Hankin (born December 7, 1937) is an American character actor. He has had major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in '' Billy Madison'' (1995). H ...
as Postal supervisor
*
Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She was first nationally known for her feminist play ''The Kathy and Mo Show'', which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney. On film, she is best known for her ...
as Tippy
*
Jerry Tondo as Sushi chef
*
Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi (; born April 5, 1952) is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in '' Shocker'', Walter Skinner on ''The X-Files'', Colonel Steven Caldwell on ''Stargate Atlantis'', Ernest Darby in '' Sons of Anarchy'', and Harris Ryland i ...
as Concert guard
*
Andrew Weiss as himself
*
Dean and
Gene Ween as themselves
Production
In January 1993, it was announced
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
was developing ''The Pat Movie'' based on the ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' character ''
Pat'' starring
Julia Sweeney.
In order to make the movie, Fox had to negotiate the rights of the character from
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
(though Sweeney herself possessed certain rights regarding the character).
''Saturday Night Live'' producer
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...
had no involvement with the film which was produced by
Charles B. Wessler.
After six months worth of work which included a script with input from
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
that involved Pat being pursued by a relentless suitor, Fox grew frustrated with the lack of a workable script and put the film into
turnaround.
Following Fox dropping the film, it was reported both
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
and
New Line Cinema
New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
had begun bidding on the project.
Disney eventually won the rights and produced the film through their
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures was an American film distribution label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured ...
label with filming taking place in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in August.
[Up From the Tube, but Then Down the Drain](_blank)
a May 1994 article from ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
The film was written by Sweeney, Jim Emerson (Sweeney's friend from their days with
The Groundlings), and Sweeney's former husband Stephen Hibbert.
[Pat's World — It's Funny Business, Hard Work And A Little Too Much Attention For Julia Sweeney](_blank)
a January 1993 article from ''The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
'' While at the Groundlings, Emerson suggested that the character Pat, at the time a "character based on annoying co-workers who don't leave you alone", be made androgynous.
Three months before the film's release, Sweeney commented on her initial reluctance to do a film based on Pat:
:I resisted it completely. I just didn't know how we could make it last for two hours. But 20th Century Fox was really keen; our producer was really keen. So we thought, OK, we'll write the script. And after three months, we fell madly in love with the script. Unfortunately, Fox did not.
Release
The film was given a limited regional theatrical release between August 19-26 1994 in the areas of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
, and
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
before its release on home video on March 28, 1995
Reception
''
Variety'' magazine called the film "shockingly unfunny", noting that Sweeney had "perversely turned the relatively harmless TV character into a boorish, egotistical creep for the bigscreen", the film's "only really funny bit is ''
Sexual Personae'' author
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia ( ; born April 2, 1947) is an American academic, social critic and Feminism, feminist. Paglia was a professor at the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1984 until ...
, deftly parodying herself, commenting on the significance of Pat's
androgyny
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to Sex, biological sex or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it oft ...
". Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote: "''It's Pat'' offers a simple message of self-acceptance, asserting that what counts is who you are rather than what your gender may or may not be. The trouble is that its telling is truly terrible." ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' called it "yet another tepid film comedy based on a recurring ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' sketch". They conclude "the story goes nowhere, and if the film ran longer than its 80 minutes, it would have become too tedious to tolerate".
The film opened in only three cities
[How I Spent My Cancer Vacation](_blank)
a December 1996 article from ''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine (33 theaters
). Its total gross was $60,822. As a result, the film was pulled from theaters after its opening weekend.
Accolades
''It's Pat'' was a multiple third place nominee at the
16th Golden Raspberry Awards, though the film's cast and crew lost in every category to ''
Showgirls'':
*
Worst Actress - Julia Sweeney
*
Worst New Star - Julia Sweeney
*
Worst Picture - Charles B. Wessler
*
Worst Screen Couple - Dave Foley and Julia Sweeney
*
Worst Screenplay - Jim Emerson, Stephen Hibbert, and Julia Sweeney
At the
1995 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film was nominated for Worst Picture but lost to ''Showgirls''. However, Julia Sweeney did win Worst Actress for this film. Later, the Stinkers released their user-constructed "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list in which visitors determined the 100 worst movies of the 20th century. ''It's Pat'' ranked in the bottom 20 at #7.
Soundtrack
No soundtrack album was released. The songs from ''It's Pat'' are listed below as shown within the film's credits:
# "It's Pat Theme" - Christina Zander,
Julia Sweeney, Cheryl Hardwick
# "Walz Pompadour" (written by Tom Elliot)
# "Poem of Crickets" (written by 長沢 勝俊 (
Katsutoshi Nagasawa))
# "Delta Swelter" -
Gary Fletcher, Paul Jones,
Dave Kelly,
Tom McGuinness, Bob Townsend
# "The Cool Look" -
Johnny Hawksworth
# "Brain Women" -
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US ...
# "
Everybody Loves Somebody" - Julia Sweeney
# "
Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" -
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
# "
Le Freak
"Le Freak" is a funk-disco song by American disco band Chic, released in September 1978 by Atlantic Records as the first single from their second album, '' C'est Chic'' (1978). It was written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, a ...
" - Julia Sweeney
# "Paero" - Phillippe Lhommt, Jacques Mercier
# "Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese" -
Ween
# "How's It Gonna Be" -
The Dead Milkmen
# "Bring It to Me" - Collective Thoughts
# "Don't Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)" - Ween
# "
You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" -
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:It's Pat
Saturday Night Live films
Saturday Night Live in the 1990s
1995 films
1994 comedy films
1994 films
American comedy films
American independent films
American satirical films
Disney and LGBTQ
Fiction about androgyny
Films based on television series
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Touchstone Pictures films
Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh
American LGBTQ-related films
1994 directorial debut films
1990s English-language films
1994 independent films
1990s American films
LGBTQ-related controversies in film
1994 LGBTQ-related films
English-language independent films