Put the fun in funeral with this flick
Hearse Queen | northern california, usa | 05/16/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this film since I am a former mortician, and I'm always dying for funny funeral home comedies. Brothers Sam Grimm (Christopher Atkins)& Max Grimm (Perry Lang), inherit a combination mortuary & mortuary school from their recently deceased uncle which is worth millions. Only catch is, they have to graduate from the school before they can collect on their inheritance, and there's many an obstacle on their way to graduation. The film pokes fiendish fun at the funeral industry, touching on all the major touchy subjects, i.e. necrophilia, price gouging, bad embalming, and ambulance chasing, etc. I dont want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but a highlight of the film involves Wolfman Jack, and the band Radio Werewolf singing "1960 Cadillac Hearse", which is a killer song! It also features the comedic team of Paul Bartel (playing Paul Truscott) & Mary Woronov (playing Mary Purcell), whom you might remember from the hilarious films, "Rock & Roll High School", and "Eating Raoul" as Mortuary School employees. If you like morbid comedy, I think you'll like this flick."
Ah...Career Choices
The Final Word | 08/10/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I ofen picture the Christopher Atkins of today sitting at his local Starbucks, watching all the young professionals pass him by unrecognized.
He must wonder at his fallen star. He had limited talent, but he was engaging and energetic and was capable of serious work. He just made the wrong choices early on. Or was guided in the wrong direction by his handlers. We'll never know. But we will bear witness to the choices that tanked his career beyond repair. This is one of them. I would rather spend ninety minutes sitting through a root canal than have to watch this drivel over again. And that's not to say there wasn't ample talent here. This included the likes of Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov, a couple of cult actors from the seventies and eighties, responsible for the wonderfully mordant Eating Raoul, totally wasted here. The script stinks. The acting stinks. Nothing works. If you want to see this concept work, go get The Loved One from 1965 and see genius trump trash.
Or better still go visit your dentist, just DON'T SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED CASH ON THIS TRIPE!!!"
"Mortuary Academy: The Original "Six Feet Under"
Chip Miller | Palm Springs, CA | 03/31/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I am partial to this dark, dry comedy, fashioned somewhat as Eating Raoul Part Two" meets the classic 60's pic "The Loved Ones." Considering it's ocassionally tasteless gags, the film received excellent reviews on it's screening at the 89 Cannes Film Festival. With the death of many of it's stars -- Cesar Romero, Wolfman Jack, Paul Bartel, and several supporting actors, there is a certain air of surreal aloofness to the characters. I actually have a cameo in the movie as an ambulance attendent during an accident scene. I developed the storyline and screenplay from my growing up the son of a mortician and living over a funeral home. I Co-Produced the movie and perform a song in the opening credits as a mock Beachboys rock band. And I agree totally with Hearse Queen's recent review of our little cult flic as well as her comments on that great Radio Werewolf tune. Gather a few of your insane friends, a cold six-pack, turn off the lights, and laugh your butt off. Chip Miller, Filmmaker"