(1973)
2.5
Buzz McClain
Made on the run in 1973 for 60,000 dollars by 23-year-old first-time writer/director/star John Landis, who also plays the costumed critter, Schlock is a goofy, lackluster, glorified student film that would still be moldering on a shelf somewhere were it not directed by someone who would go on to great success. There are echoes of Woody Allen's early work, but Landis isn't as inventive, satirical, or, basically, funny. The dialogue scenes go on too long and usually have no punch line, and the action sequences are all shot on a camera cemented to a stationary tripod, thus deadening the action. The film's highlight is the monkey suit, created by future multiple Oscar-winner Rick Baker, who, after viewing his work in the remake of Planet of the Apes, has improved immensely. Overall, this example of, ahem, guerrilla filmmaking is strictly second banana. (By the way, Landis was an actor in 1973's Battle for the Planet of the Apes. He must like dressing like a monkey.)
cast-crew for Schlock on AllMovie
Schlock (1973)
