The Sex O'Clock News

My review was written in September 1986 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

Romano Vanderbes' "The Sex O'Clock News" arrives very late in the cycle of tv skit comedies, popularized a decade or so ago by "The Groove Tube" and "Tunnelvision". Pic achieved a regional theatrical release in August 1985 and is now available in home video stores.

While including the usual acted-out parodies of familiar tv commercials and newscast banter, Vanderbes differs from previous films in this genre by emphasizing the use of newsreel and other existing footage, redubbed and rendered comical by being taken out of context. Unfortunately, the laugh quotient is rather low. For example, a supposed wrestling match between Joan Rivers and Liz Taylor unflatteringly has footage of the Magnificent Moolah as Taylor. Footage from the feature "Hell's Angels Forever" is used to present a Hell's Angels comedy hour, programmed against Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show".

Doug Ballard and Lydia Mahan rise above the vulgar material as the anchors for KSEX Evening News. Although most of the feature revolves around sex jokes, there are a few segments of reasonably effective social satire, including a game show involving capital punishment for the losers.