Other comments will give you the skits within, but know this revue movie comes from the late 70s when THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT spawned spoof imitators like THAT'S ADEQUATE! ....KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE and finally LOOSE SHOES, here to mop up the threads of the compilation genre. Most skits run too long... and I guess, loose, thus allowing the title to cover the unedited feel to most of the sorta funny and occasionally tedious skits. but.... it is worth getting to the end to discover possibly the funniest movie skit of all time: "Darktown After Dark", a parody of Negro nightclub musicals as seen available on other classic DVD titles like Killer Diller or Boardinghouse Blues. You can almost skip through the previous 75 minutes then spend another 75 minutes screaming with laughter as you play this one musical skit over and over until you collapse. Then take great delight in showing this bit to everyone you know over the age of 18. Somehow Mel Brooks missed inventing this sequence so it is here instead.
16 Reviews
Dated Sketch Compilation With One Standout Segment
galenhoward827 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Loose Shoes (AKA Coming Attractions) is an uneven collection of film trailer spoofs in the vein of Tunnel Vision and American Raspberry (and contains a number of the cast members from both films). The majority of the sketches settle for stale bathroom humor and come off horribly dated. The film nearly redeems itself at the end with the brilliant Cab Calloway send-up "Dark Town After Dark," from which the title is derived. Both affectionate homage and topical satire, it makes you wonder how the rest of the material got in the door. The few celebrity appearances read only as curios and lack the punch to bolster the film on the whole.
Hasn't Aged Well
DearJohnny13 March 2005
An occasionally amusing, often confusing, gleefully profane 70's movie that hasn't really aged well. A precursor to Saturday NIGHT LIVE, it's a hodgepodge of spoofs and takeoffs of popular movies of the time. Some of the material is quite good ('The Shaggy Studio Executive,' where Walt Disney comes back as a guy in a dog suit), some of it's dated badly (A 'Snacktime' concession stand advert featuring a stoned guy with the munchies), a lot of it you have to think for a minute or two to figure out what's supposed to be funny (Who knew the eulogist at the biker funeral was supposed to be a takeoff of Georgie Jessel?). Best if you remember the time.
Wildly uneven but mostly not very good
dbborroughs26 September 2006
This is a sketch comedy movie done in the style of movie trailers. It's another in the long line of films that filled theaters in the mid to late 1970's like Kentucky Fried Movie, Groove Tube, American Raspberry, Tunnelvision promising to do what Saturday Night Live was doing but with dirty words and naked women. This is probably the weakest of the bunch.
Spoofing everything from musicals (Darktown after Dark) to prison films (3 Chairs for Lefty) to public service announcements (Buddy Hackett on bed wetting) to biker films (Skateboarders from Hell) to Charlie Chaplin films (The Kid and the Yid) and a few things in between this is a very hit or miss film. Most of the gags had been done before and better in other films and on TV by the time this was made so it was like watching reruns of reruns.3 Chairs for Lefty, which stars Bill Murray is rife with the sort of prison jokes that have been around since the 1930's,including giving Lefty a roast to cook when he finally goes to the chair.
The real problem is that almost all of the sketches go on way past the point of being funny. There seems to be some need to spoof a complete film, so in Skateboarders from hell we get a climatic funeral scene that isn't very funny and destroys the laughs that the film had generated with the "biker" fight. There is no reason that this film needed to be almost two hours long since tighter cutting could have made this a classic.
Worth seeing if you run across it on cable and you're in the mood for a very uneven comedy.It would be also okay to get in the bargain bin at the 99 cent store (which is how I got my copy) since its not worth more than a dollar.
Spoofing everything from musicals (Darktown after Dark) to prison films (3 Chairs for Lefty) to public service announcements (Buddy Hackett on bed wetting) to biker films (Skateboarders from Hell) to Charlie Chaplin films (The Kid and the Yid) and a few things in between this is a very hit or miss film. Most of the gags had been done before and better in other films and on TV by the time this was made so it was like watching reruns of reruns.3 Chairs for Lefty, which stars Bill Murray is rife with the sort of prison jokes that have been around since the 1930's,including giving Lefty a roast to cook when he finally goes to the chair.
The real problem is that almost all of the sketches go on way past the point of being funny. There seems to be some need to spoof a complete film, so in Skateboarders from hell we get a climatic funeral scene that isn't very funny and destroys the laughs that the film had generated with the "biker" fight. There is no reason that this film needed to be almost two hours long since tighter cutting could have made this a classic.
Worth seeing if you run across it on cable and you're in the mood for a very uneven comedy.It would be also okay to get in the bargain bin at the 99 cent store (which is how I got my copy) since its not worth more than a dollar.
Some funny skits, some not, some Hilarious!
Hoohawnaynay2 September 2003
As with all of these kind of satire skit movies (i.e. Kentucky Friend Movie, Tunnelvision, etc) some skits range from not so funny to hilarious. The funniest (in my opinion) skit is the take-off on the Ma & Pa Kettle Movies. Here, instead of a talking horse we have a talking pig and some of the dialogue being uttered by the pig is priceless. Here's an example. Pa Kettle says to the pig "Pigs can't talk" whereby the pig replies "Your old lady is a pig and all she ever does is talk". Then the pig really lets loose on a hotel detective calling him all kinds of deragatory names. But the end is a hoot where they do a satire of the Warner's Bros. cartoon ending with a Porky Pig spoof that is so x-rated I can't repeat it here. J.P. Morgan is quite funny as the Nurse at a hospital for chronic bed-wetters. Not a great movie but some very clever spoofs in between the not so funny ones.
Excruciating.
gridoon20 August 1999
Most collections of comic sketches are extremely uneven. "Loose Shoes" is an exception. It is CONSISTENTLY unfunny, and all the episodes are awful. Their humor is infantile, aimed strictly at kids. Murray, who stars in just one episode, is awful,too. At 74 minutes, this excruciating "comedy" doesn't even qualify as a movie. It's just a fraud. Be warned.
Party Film?
merlin991111 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I rented the film years ago (Bill Murray...gotta be funny right?) and we put it in the player and waited for the movie to start. After a few of the movie previews we thought, "Any time now...the movie has to start just any minute.." Then we realized that all it was was trailers...and fake ones to boot.
I really hate movies that play on a big name who really is little more than a cameo in the film just to get someone to see it. Like Bruce Willis in Four Rooms or Lugosi in Plan 9; just there for window dressing.
The only thing I can see using this movie for would be background noise at a big party. I can see it playing on a screen, you wander by, watch a scene or two, and wander on. No plot to miss by not sitting and watching it.
I really hate movies that play on a big name who really is little more than a cameo in the film just to get someone to see it. Like Bruce Willis in Four Rooms or Lugosi in Plan 9; just there for window dressing.
The only thing I can see using this movie for would be background noise at a big party. I can see it playing on a screen, you wander by, watch a scene or two, and wander on. No plot to miss by not sitting and watching it.
Not as good as many, but good
jimel982 April 2020
Every previous review has stated something I agree with and maybe something I DISagree with. For example, this doesn't come close in laughs to Kentucky Fried Movie which I consider the benchmark for this type of parody movie.
I do believe that some of the segments (I don't know, is SKIT really the right word?) do go on a little past where they should. Even long trailers tend to end before these and we've all see via the internet and TV skit shows that a parody trailer can be hysterically funny and remain at the usual trailer length. There's some fantastic stuff here and some that do fall a bit flat but all in all, if you are a fan, even just a bit, of the genre, this is a must see, if for not other reason, it's a history lesson of what was, back in the day. If you don't enjoy it, really, what did you lose?
I do believe that some of the segments (I don't know, is SKIT really the right word?) do go on a little past where they should. Even long trailers tend to end before these and we've all see via the internet and TV skit shows that a parody trailer can be hysterically funny and remain at the usual trailer length. There's some fantastic stuff here and some that do fall a bit flat but all in all, if you are a fan, even just a bit, of the genre, this is a must see, if for not other reason, it's a history lesson of what was, back in the day. If you don't enjoy it, really, what did you lose?
It's a history of film
nmetson24 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
What makes this movie special is that it tries to give you a comedic history of film in trailers, starting with silent films and ending with Star Wars. Obviously some of these parodies are more successful than others, but quite frankly it towers above the stupidity of Kentucky Fried Movie and others of that genre by its intelligence. Ira Miller and Royce D. Applegate who both wrote and directed the film were alumni of the great improv theater groups: Second City and the Committee. Their ability to not only craft such a brilliant comedy but also to involve a cornucopia of the best improvisational actors of that decade brings a sense of that lost era to life. These were the actors who changed the nature of American comedy. I cannot imagine how one could explain why this film has become the cult favorite of the twenty-first century except to wonder how soon it will be before the next 'History of Film as Seen Through Its Trailers' will arrive on our screens.
Loose Shoes was perhaps one of the funniest of the comedy revue movies of the '70s I've yet seen!
tavm22 July 2013
Continuing to review movies starring "SNL"ers early in their film careers, we're now still in 1977 with the completion of something originally called Coming Attractions but would eventually be released a few years later as Loose Shoes. Bill Murray, the first to join the show after the departure of a cast member-in this case Chevy Chase, appears in the "Three Chairs for Lefty" segment. He plays a condemned prisoner awaiting execution while studying to better himself. He's funny here but just about every skit-which spoofs various movie preview trailers-has something that I thought was hilarious. Oh, and Harry Shearer is another one who would eventually join "SNL". He's one of the announcers here. Oh, and since I just watched Tunnel Vision, I also have to note the appearances of Betty Thomas and Howard Hesseman from that flick doing their own funny characters (also Lynne Marie Stewart in more of a straight role). Since I grew up in the '70s, I noticed the spoofs on Billy Jack, The Bad News Bears, and Star Wars and laughed myself heartily on those. Then there's the climatic musical number that gives this movie its title which was taken from a now-politically incorrect quote by an administrator of the Ford presidency that was all-out entertaining to me. So on that note, I highly recommend Loose Shoes.
An uneven, but still amusing and enjoyable sketch comedy
Woodyanders18 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This parody of various film genres throughout the decades use the concept of fake trailers with decidedly mixed results. The longer sketches such as the prison parody "Three Chairs for Lefty" starring a pre-stardom Bill Murray fall a bit flat, but fortunately the other segments that work hit the gut-busting bull's eye something nice. Amongst the funnier mock trailers are the rude sci-fi alien invasion spoof "Invasion of the Penis Snatchers," the hicksploitation parody "Welcome to Bacon County" featuring a bunch of obnoxiously friendly rednecks, the biker send-up "Skateboarders from Hell," and the positively sidesplitting "Dark Town After Dark," which boasts a hysterically raunchy Cab Calloway-style dirty blues song. Moreover, the cast of familiar cult cinema faces helps a lot: Sid Haig, Susan Tyrell, Ed Lauter, Buddy Hackett (as himself for a charity organization for kids who constantly pee themselves), Misty Rowe, Louisa Moritz, Walker Edmiston (as a buckwheat-snorting Pa Kettle), Avery Schreiber, Kinky Friedman, Robin Sherwood and Betty Thomas as wild skateboarder mamas, Howard Hesseman, and Britt Leach. A real hoot.
Classic comedy history moment!
wallah12 June 2000
While most of the film could be described as mildly amusing at best, there is a piece of filmic comedy history contained within it for the "Darktown after dark" movie trailer, that makes this film a must see for anyone who appreciates truly great comedy! I guarantee* that when you hear the mock blues song that notes the bad start to the singers day, then not only will the title of this film become clear, but you will be in a state of extreme merriment for quite sometime.
*(Please note that this guarantee is not valid anywhere within the planet called Earth.)
*(Please note that this guarantee is not valid anywhere within the planet called Earth.)
I want something not so loose (SPOILERS)
bellhollow30 November 2004
Warning: Spoilers
I was told by a friend that this was the Kentucky Fried Movie, which of course it was not. I picked this up on DVD at the dollar store (YES, a whole dollar) and then I suddenly remember that this is the movie with Frances the talking pig, Walt Wisney, and the most memorable big band song you have ever heard in your life. A bunch of sketches that some are ho-hum but let me tell you, if you have ever seen Ma and Pa Kettle, then you must absolutely, positively watch this movie. If you don't enjoy satire, or outlandish humor with potty mouth - don't watch this. The movie contains skits I would expect to see on the original Saturday Night Live. So enjoy the show and you'll be singing, "I want ..." It only took me 20 years to find this movie after seeing it on pay cable. And now I have the DVD, lucky me.
Delightful!
FiendishDramaturgy28 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is a low budget production which parodies life's situations. It is a pop-culture-driven vehicle which feels like Monty Python Meets Mel Brooks Meets Benny Hill. While it truly has not withstood the tests of time, it is still a highly amusing film!
There is a skit which parodies the old Ma and Pa Kettle movies, some nice and darkly amusing work at the front meant as a tongue in cheek social commentary on the execution of the death penalty (featuring a VERY young Bill Murray), and ending with an irreverent take on Star Wars.
In between, there's Buddy Hackett (as Buddy Hackett) speaking up for STOPIT, and more!
This is funny if not witty, and entertainingly amusing.
It rates a 7.6/10 from...
the Fiend :.
There is a skit which parodies the old Ma and Pa Kettle movies, some nice and darkly amusing work at the front meant as a tongue in cheek social commentary on the execution of the death penalty (featuring a VERY young Bill Murray), and ending with an irreverent take on Star Wars.
In between, there's Buddy Hackett (as Buddy Hackett) speaking up for STOPIT, and more!
This is funny if not witty, and entertainingly amusing.
It rates a 7.6/10 from...
the Fiend :.
Funny
jodyxweiss10 July 2019
Over A Dozen Films Ripped Off Loose Shoes!
moviemystic9 May 2008
I saw Loose Shoes featuring Bill Murray when it first came out (1980) and enjoyed it, but filed it under the same satiric label as Kentucky Fried Movie and Groove Tube also from that era, and forgot about it.
But I saw it recently, and suddenly realized that over a dozen modern movies (as well as TV shows) totally did RIP-OFFS of the many parody plots from this flick! The writers of this thing turned out to be total psychic geniuses when it came to future entertainment! For instance:
Does a talking pig from the farm going to the big city, like Babe sound familiar? And a bio on Howard Hughes, like Aviator? And Skateboarders From Hell, ala the recent skateboard flick Doggtown And Z Boy? Or how about a western slant to the Wizard Of Oz, like that recent Richard Dreyfus thing? And a Space Odyssey spoof, like the later Space Idiocy starring Leslie Neilsen, plus a Star Wars take-off like the later Spaceballs by Mel Brooks. Add to that a raunchy sequel to the Bad News Bears, like the recent... raunchy sequel to the Bad News Bears, starring Billy Bob Thornton. And the list goes on and on!
But I saw it recently, and suddenly realized that over a dozen modern movies (as well as TV shows) totally did RIP-OFFS of the many parody plots from this flick! The writers of this thing turned out to be total psychic geniuses when it came to future entertainment! For instance:
Does a talking pig from the farm going to the big city, like Babe sound familiar? And a bio on Howard Hughes, like Aviator? And Skateboarders From Hell, ala the recent skateboard flick Doggtown And Z Boy? Or how about a western slant to the Wizard Of Oz, like that recent Richard Dreyfus thing? And a Space Odyssey spoof, like the later Space Idiocy starring Leslie Neilsen, plus a Star Wars take-off like the later Spaceballs by Mel Brooks. Add to that a raunchy sequel to the Bad News Bears, like the recent... raunchy sequel to the Bad News Bears, starring Billy Bob Thornton. And the list goes on and on!
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