The Gong Show Movie (1980) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

 

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Holy sh*t!


I would never...ever....have believed this would make it to any format.


In fact, this is the first format this film has ever appeared on. I don't believe it was ever on VHS. Definitely not on DVD.


Horribly, bad movie.


And you know what? I'm in! I am a huge fan of The Gong Show.

Oh, the popsicle twins...

I happened to be in Buffalo when that aired. I talked about it to friends in Indy when I got home. They didn't believe me.

I'm in.

schan1269 said:

Oh, the popsicle twins...

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Still two of the most jaw-droppingly unbelievable minutes ever on TV.

Ordered. Can't believe it. Are there any extras or interviews? Please! Please! I watched this every day as a kid on my lunch break from school.

warnerbro said:

I watched this every day as a kid on my lunch break from school.

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As did I. Too bad the movie only captures a few short minutes of actual footage from the show.

Truly bizarre. I played this to an empty theater for two weeks back in 1980. The (very) few people who came to see it hated it, which I imagine would have pleased Barris.

Yeah, even as a huge Gong Show fan (and I mean HUGE) --- I really hated this film.

I'm still trying to figure out how people could complain about the Popsicle Twins episode on the east coast. If there was such a problem with the episode from the beginning, wouldn't they have banned it before it aired?


Also, how did they solve the problem with the episode in the other time zones, after it aired on the east coast? Did they put a rerun in its place?

This ought to be more fun than the time Homer Simpson and Barney Gumble were on The Gong Show:

I *believe* the Popsicle Twins just went over the heads of the censors so it was never something immediately questioned.

My friend Jeff and I auditioned for The Gong Show in 1976 or 77. We did a soft-shoe routine to the dance break from the song Hello, Dolly (we used the movie soundtrack). They didn't let us finish. There was no gong at the audition, but there might as well have been. We were sad.

Was Chuck Barris at your audition, Kevin?

Ronald Epstein said:

Was Chuck Barris at your audition, Kevin?

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Yes, but he was in and out. He seemed very preoccupied and acted like he had had a lot of coffee. As I recall, there were four or five people seated at a folding table, and they seemed more involved in their paperwork than in the auditions. There were tons of people there. It reminded me of the first scene in Gypsy (the Uncle Jocko auditions) but with ten times more people. It was a circus!!!

Vahan_Nisanain said:

I'm still trying to figure out how people could complain about the Popsicle Twins episode on the east coast. If there was such a problem with the episode from the beginning, wouldn't they have banned it before it aired

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The story goes that, taking a page from the book of Mae West, they would put truly outrageous things in front of the censors as "loss leaders," figuring that the censors would ban the outrageous stuff (that they never intended to be in the show anyway) and let the spicy stuff they really wanted alone (as it would seem tame by comparison.) The Popsicle Twins were one such outrage. No one, from Barris on down, could BELIEVE that they actually passed this through. You can see the "I can't believe we are going to get away with this" glee in his eyes when he's introducing them. He knew what was about to happen and probably knew that America was about to lose its collective shit.

KPmusmag said:

Yes, but he was in and out. He seemed very preoccupied and acted like he had had a lot of coffee.

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Yeah, ummmmm "coffee." Lots and Lots of "coffee!"

Aesop Aquarium was my personal favorite!

Loved this show!!! Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr, Artie Johnson, Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine, etc. and Chuck Barris who I always thought was hilarious! Too bad they didn't just string four of five episodes together of the game show itself and release that as a feature length film.

t1g3r5fan said:

This ought to be more fun than the time Homer Simpson and Barney Gumble were on The Gong Show:

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It's the other "Bait Brothers"! I remember their real-life counterparts bizarre act from when I was watching the daily reruns on USA Network back in the '80s. Wish I had a VCR hooked up to the dish then!


Let me add my name to the list of people who thought this would never see the light of day on home video. Heck, I was gobsmacked when it turned up on at least two different cable networks in recent years (as I recall, on TCM in 4:3 and on HBO Comedy in 16:9).

My prayers have been answered!