The Groove Tube

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The Groove Tube
The Groove Tube.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ken Shapiro
Written byKen Shapiro
Lane Sarasohn
Rich Allen
Produced byKen Shapiro
Starring
CinematographyBob Bailin
Edited byGary Youngman
Distributed byLevitt-Pickman
Release date
  • June 23, 1974 (1974-06-23)(New York City) [1]
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200,000
Box office$9.4 million [2]

The Groove Tube is a 1974 American independent comedy film written and produced by Ken Shapiro and starring Shapiro, Richard Belzer and Chevy Chase. It features the song "Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield in its opening scene.

Contents

The low-budget movie satirizes television and the counterculture of the early 1970s. The film was derived from sketches shot on videotape and shown at the Channel One Theater on East 60th St. in New York, a venue that featured R-rated video recordings shown on three television sets, which was a novelty to the audiences of the time. Compilations of sketches from these presentations were taken on tour to college venues, and based on audience responses, the best-received sketches were restaged on film with most of the original actors reprising their roles. The news desk satire, including the signature line "Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow," was later used by Chase for his signature Weekend Update piece on Saturday Night Live , although in the film he does not appear in that segment.

Randa Haines, who later directed Children of a Lesser God , was script supervisor. [3]

Sketches

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 13% based on 8 reviews with an average rating of 3.80/10. [4]

Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote, "It is indeed wild, and often hilarious. But much of it is blandly dull." [5] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and stated, "Television is such a ripe subject for satire that a new comedy film roasts the medium quite well without taking a poke at such natural targets as bigot-led situation comedies, educational kiddie shows, station editorials, or the 'happy-talk' news format." [6] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Silly, sophomoric and scatological 'The Groove Tube' undoubtedly is for much of its 75 minutes. But so gleeful and zany is it in its sheer outrageousness that the result is virtually nonstop hilarity." [7] John M. Dower of The Washington Post said, "There are sequences in 'The Groove Tube' that are absolutely inspired, and, unfortunately, not describable in a family newspaper; there are others that make you wonder how the same perceptions could think them funny or amusing or even conceivable." [8]

The film was reissued in 1975, 1976 and 1977, and as of July 1, 1977, had grossed $28,572,438. [9]

See also

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References

  1. "The Groove Tube - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute . Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  2. Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 291. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  3. "The Groove Tube". AFI Catalogue of Feature Films. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. "The Groove Tube". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  5. Thompson, Howard (June 24, 1974). "The Screen". The New York Times . p. 25.
  6. Siskel, Gene (August 2, 1974). "'Tube' roast is food for the satiric soul". Chicago Tribune . p. 5, Section 2.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg
  7. Thomas, Kevin (June 27, 1974). "Scattergun Spoof of Video". Los Angeles Times . p. 13, Part IV.
  8. Dower, John M. (April 23, 1974). "'The Groove Tube': 'A Good Try'". The Washington Post . p. C7.
  9. "The Groove Tube $28,572,438 (advertisement)" . Variety . November 9, 1977. p. 13.