Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses?

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Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses?
Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses1977.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byI. Robert Levy
Written byMike Callie
Mike Price
I. Robert Levy
Produced byMike Callie
StarringJeff Doucette
CinematographyCraig Greene
Music byBob Jung
Production
company
Dauntless Productions [1]
Distributed byNational American Films
Release date
  • August 10, 1977 (1977-08-10) [2]
Running time
73 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$750,000 [3]
Box office$3.5 million [3]

Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses? is a 1977 American anthology comedy film directed by I. Robert Levy and starring Angelyne. It was Robin Williams's film debut, [4] [5] and the sequel of If You Don't Stop It... You'll Go Blind!!! .

Contents

Plot

Sexually-oriented comedy sketches.

Cast

Rerelease and court case

Robin Williams, an unknown comedian at the time, was paid $150 to appear in two short skits (as an attorney, and as a hillbilly with a toothache) that did not make it into the original cut of the film. [3] [6] The movie failed to turn a profit during its initial release, but after Williams became a star on the TV series, Mork & Mindy , producer Mike Callie spent two weeks in December 1978 sorting through the deleted footage until he located the "lost" Robin Williams scenes, reedited the film, and rereleased it with Williams given top billing. [3]

Williams and his management took legal action against Callie and the film's distributor for "false and misleading advertising", and, during a court hearing, Callie agreed to modify the newspaper and TV ads so that they would no longer imply that Williams was the star of the film. [3] The revised credits show the film's original cast, and a still photo of Williams is inserted afterward, with the caption: "And of course... Robin Williams.".

Reception

Variety called it "a juvenile, unfunny screen version of some of the oldest and worst sex jokes in comedy history". [7]

Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film was "lamely directed", and had something that "will insult almost everyone". [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Gross, Linda (November 7, 1979). "Montage of Old Jokes in 'Glasses'". Los Angeles Times . Part IV, p. 22.
  2. ↑ "National-American Opens 'Can I Do It' in Buffalo". BoxOffice . August 15, 1977. 10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Knoedelseder, Jr., William K. (November 2, 1979). "Robin Williams' 'First' Film Role". Los Angeles Times . Part IV, p. 20.
  4. ↑ Leonard Maltin. Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide . Plume, 1995.
  5. ↑ James Robert Parish (11 January 2006). Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops . Wiley, 2006. ISBN   0471691593.
  6. ↑ "Can I Do It...Til I Need Glasses? - History". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute . Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Film Reviews: Can I Do It ... Til I Need Glasses?" Variety . November 14, 1979. 22.


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