(1993)
2
Karl Williams
The memorable skit from Saturday Night Live becomes this thin series of sight gags disguised as a feature film. Star and co-writer Dan Aykroyd makes a valiant effort to transform a brief sketch concept into a full-blown narrative, but the bland, generic, TV situation-comedy version of family life he's satirizing is so devoid of drama or conflict that his film, while occasionally clever, still falls flat. For a brief time, Aykroyd's script gets by on high-energy weirdness and bizarre visual jokes such as the Coneheads' dietary requirements and Beldar's career. When a pair of snarling INS investigators begin plaguing the protagonists, the formulaic qualities of his story take over and a big special effects-heavy finale is inevitable, derailing the vibe of suburban mockery that is the film's most compelling quality. Coneheads is most notable for being the first big-screen pairing of co-stars Chris Farley and David Spade, who would go on to be a successful comedy duo with Tommy Boy (1995) and Black Sheep (1996).
Coneheads on AllMovie
Coneheads (1993)
