The Gong Show Movie
| The Gong Show Movie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Chuck Barris |
| Written by |
|
| Based on | The Gong Show by Chris Bearde |
| Produced by | Budd Granoff |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Richard C. Glouner |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Milton DeLugg |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $6.6 million[1] |
The Gong Show Movie is a 1980 American slapstick film starring, co-written and directed by Chuck Barris, host and creator of the game show of the same name.[2]
Plot
[edit]The film shows a fictional week in the life of Chuck Barris as the host and creator of The Gong Show, through a series of outrageous competitors, stressful situations, a nervous breakdown (which compels him to run away and hide in the Moroccan desert) and other comic hijinks in his life and work on the TV show. Among the highlights included a group of men dressed as a Roman Catholic priest and three nuns lip-synching Tom Lehrer's song "The Vatican Rag", a man blowing out a candle with flatulence, and the uncensored version of Jaye P. Morgan's infamous breast-baring incident.
Reception
[edit]The film premiered in May 1980 alongside The Empire Strikes Back and The Shining, beating the latter at the box office in its opening weekend but losing to the former. The film received uniformly negative reviews and was withdrawn from most theaters just days after its release.
Among the many bad reviews at the time was one from George Burns, who, after seeing the movie, went on the record and said, "For the first time in 65 years, I wanted to get out of show business."[3]
Home media
[edit]The movie was occasionally seen on cable television during the 1980s but was long out of print until it achieved cult status; it was released on Blu Ray in 2016.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Gong Show Movie". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- ^ Sandra Brennan (2015). "The Gong Show Movie". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
- ^ Jacobs, A. J. (June 11, 1999). "The Gong Show debuts". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Tasho, Ken. "The Gong Show Movie". EDGE Media Network. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- The Gong Show Movie at IMDb
- The Gong Show Movie at the TCM Movie Database
- The Gong Show Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
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- 1980 films
- 1980 comedy films
- American comedy films
- Films about television
- Films about quizzes and game shows
- Films based on television series
- Films with screenplays by Robert Downey Sr.
- Universal Pictures films
- 1980 directorial debut films
- 1980s English-language films
- 1980s American films
- English-language comedy films
- 1980s comedy film stubs
- 1980s American film stubs