Dir: Bob Logan, 1990
Serious character actor Leslie Nielson, had resurgence in his career, thanks to filmmaking trio David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ). Giving the Canadian a major part in their hit spoof Airplane! and, subsequently, TV series Police Squad!, gave Nielson his second wind as a actor, albeit a comedy one, and he proudly wore the crown for King Of Spoof.
His 1988 hit The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad!, allowed the Forbidden Planet star to cement his position as a comedy master and, inevitably, a string of parody movies soon adorned Nielson’s, rapidly growing, CV; some forgettable, others fairly entertaining.
Following soon after the aforementioned film, Bob Logan’s parody of The Exorcist is one of the better ones. A side-splitting, laugh-a-minute comedy, Repossessed is a brilliantly funny and a very near the knuckle outing for an actor who is now at the top of his game.
Some of the gags are a little obvious but they still hit the funny bone. The only real criticism of the humour, is the reliance on nudity. For an example, a girl deliberately keeps raising her skirt and exposing her thigh to Nielson’s Father Mayaii. Noticing this, the priest asks her to lower her dress and the girl pulls her top down, revealing her breasts. Clearly, the scene was put in just to get some flesh on show but, as a joke, it’s jarring and doesn’t sit with the overall silliness of the piece.
Up for a laugh, Linda Blair reprises her most famous role as a now adult Regan, albeit under a different name. It’s great that Blair is open enough to poke fun at herself, unfortunately she isn’t a natural comic and tends to go over the top in her possessed character.
Although you can’t categorise Repossessed as a musical, there is a fantastic performance of Devil In A Blue Dress. Mimed superbly by Nielson in a variety of well-known guises, including Elton John, Robert Palmer and Michael Jackson. The original theme song created for the film is addictive and will have you humming it for well over the end of the movie. With a catchy hook (“Re-Re-Re-Repossessed”), you’ll be singing it constantly.
For UK viewers, however, much of the humour may have been lost on its initial release, as the head censor, James Ferman, refused to allow The Exorcist on video, so a lot of the jokes would have gone over the heads of British audiences. To fully appreciate the fact that movie, you need to have seen William Friedkin’s 1973 original, but don’t worry if you haven’t; there’s still much to enjoy.
From the decade when spoofs were firing on all cylinders, Repossessed is a thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious movie that, although not quite as funny as The Naked Gun, will have you revisiting it time and time again.
9/10
Advertisements Share this:- More
