''Wholly Moses!'' is a 1980 American

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

spoof film written by Guy Thomas and directed by Gary Weis. Dudley Moore plays Old Testament-era idol maker Herschel, whose life and adventures seem to parallel that of the more famous

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

, all the while being misled to think he is the prophet of God. The film also stars Laraine Newman, James Coco, Paul Sand, Jack Gilford, Dom DeLuise, John Houseman,

Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...

, David Lander,

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

, and John Ritter.

Plot

Harvey and Zoey, two tourists travelling through Israel, discover an ancient scroll describing the life of Herschel, the man who was almost Moses. Herschel thinks he hears God commanding him to go to Egypt, but actually, he has overheard God giving His instructions to Moses at the burning bush. He tries to obey this command, but Moses always seems to be one step ahead of him. Several other biblical stories, such as Lot and his wife, David and Goliath, and the miracles of Jesus, are also parodied in this story of the life of a man trying to follow the path to God, but somehow always seeming to lose his way.

Cast

* Dudley Moore as Harvey Orchid/Herschel * Laraine Newman as Zoey/Zerelda * James Coco as Hyssop * Paul Sand as Angel Of The Lord * Jack Gilford as Tailor * Dom DeLuise as Shadrach * John Houseman as Archangel *

as Sorceress * David L. Lander as Beggar *

as Pharaoh * John Ritter as Devil * Richard B. Shull as Jethro * Tanya Boyd as Princess * Ruth Manning as Landlady * Walker Edmiston as God (voice)

Reception

The film received poor reviews. Because of a production hiatus imposed on their television show by WTTW,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

and

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

did not review the film on '' Sneak Previews'' upon its initial release. Of the film, Ebert wrote in print: In another print review, Siskel wrote: When the film was released on DVD, John Sinnott of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

echoed Siskel's comparisons: In a guest review for ''

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

'' regarding the same DVD release, and that of another film starring Moore, '' Crazy People'', Ty Burr of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' gave the film a D grade, describing the film as a "wholly unfunny comedy". Five orthodox Jewish groups protested the film for mocking their religion. ''Wholly Moses'' holds a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.

References

External links

* * * 1980 films 1980 comedy films 1980s parody films American comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by Patrick Williams (composer) Films set in ancient Egypt Religious comedy films Films directed by Gary Weis Portrayals of Moses in film 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-US-film-stub