Slapstick (Of Another Kind)

Plot synopsis:
The People's Republic of China is severing relations with all other nations. They have mastered the art of miniaturization, and have shrunk all their people to the height of 2 inches. The ambassador of China, Ah Fong (Pat Morita), announces during a press conference that the key to all knowledge can be found from twins.
Caleb Swain (Jerry Lewis) and his wife Letitia (Madeline Kahn) are called "the most beautiful of all the beautiful people" by the press. However, when Letitia gives birth to twins who are called "monsters", the family doctor, Dr. Frankenstein (John Abbott) informs the parents that the twins won't live more than a few months. The Swains decide to allow the twins to live their short life in a mansion staffed with servants, including Sylvester (Marty Feldman).
Fifteen years later, the twins (also played by Lewis and Kahn) are still alive. They have large heads and appear to be mentally retarded. Their parents, who have not seen them in all those years, receive a visit from the former Chinese ambassador who informs them that their children are geniuses who can solve the world's problems.
The parents, along with the US president (Jim Backus), pay the children a visit. They reveal themselves to be well-behaved and intelligent, explaining that they acted "stupid" around the servants because they were simply emulating them.
A series of tests reveal that there is a telepathic connection between the twins, and their intelligence is only functional when they are together. Furthermore, when their heads are touching they reach a level of intelligence that has never been surpassed.
Their parents, fearful that incest may be prevalent, separate the two. They become despondent without each other, and the Chinese ambassador appears again to tell them to seek each other out. Once united, a spaceship appears and reveals that they are really aliens who were sent to Earth to solve all of the planet's problems. However, their alien father (voice of Orson Welles) reveals that Earth cannot handle their intelligence and returns them to their home planet.

Tags: fantasy, satire, sadist

Review:
Misfired comedy of the unfunny kind.
This movie is so tragically bad; that you feel sorry for those involved.
Adapted from a Kurt Vonnegut story, with some big name talents in the cast, the story is destroyed by a lame script, no slapstick or any comedy of any kind, and stars given nothing to work with.
Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn play aliens who have a message for the world, and encounter evil everywhere--a depressing premise to start with.
Versatile Pat Morita is wasted on a mean-spirited, stereotypical little loudmouth character that isn't the least bit funny--only irritating.
Marty Feldman, Orson Welles, and Jim Backus have parts they probably hid from their resumes too.
One recurring joke is that excrement is a new fuel source; this sad attempt at humor was as close to a laugh as you get.
The film has only one worth while moment: a touching scene near the end where you actually get a chance to feel something for the two characters who have been mercilessly hurt throughout the movie.
An unfunny comedy that will just leave you feeling empty..
2ND WORST MOVIE OF ALL-TIME (Next to Gigli).
With huge talents such as Jerry Lewis & Madeline Kahn I thought this movie was going to be gas, sitting in my favorite chair ready to laugh...NEVER DID.
Movie made me ill, The directors & producers of this film should be arrested for letting this "VOMIT" on the screen.The concept of having Jerry Lewis as a space alien could have been funny (See Visit to a Small Planet) which wasn't that funny either, but it wasn't crap like this.
I've seen bad movies, like "Manos Hands of Fate", "Gigli", "Plan 9 From Outer Space", and many other terrible films, but with the exception of "Gigli", this is the worst movie I have ever seen, I truly had to take Maalox after this one.
How in the Hell did they get The KING of Comedy, Jerry Lewis, and one of the funniest ladies to ever live Madeline Kahn to star in this bag of Dung?They must have owed favors to the producers or something, because this movie really bit the big one.Pardon My French, but It Sucked!.
How bad was this movie?
Recently I've been re-reading the Vonnegut catalog.
I picked up Slapstick and started reading it again when everything clicked.
The horrible movie I saw on cable as a kid was based on this book.
I never connected the two because of how the movie takes the book, shreds it, puts a hollywood sheen on it, dripped slime on it, then pooted it out unto the world.
I have very vivid memories of my mother watching this film and commenting on how horribly sad it was.
I responded that the book was sad.
She then responded that the book was good.
It's just another example of the old connundrum, Vonnegut books don't translate well to film..
Sacrilege of great Vonnegut novel.
Despite the consensus that Jerry Lewis hasn't been funny in decades, I opted to watch this painful farce out of my reverence for the great book which 'inspired' it.
Lewis and Khan play Wilbur and Eliza (giant, ugly twins who are a genius collective genius when together, but idiots when apart) and their aristocrat parents terribly.
All the best portions are ultimately lost due to a cop-out screenplay which aims to get laughs from caper-style bumbling and mess-making by over-aged comedians sadly better suited to telethons.
Read the novel -it's brilliant; Wilbur becomes the last (and tallest ever) President of the United States just before a plague kills off the majority of its population (wildly suspected to be due to inhalation of microscopic Chinese).
His recollections of his better years and falling-out with Eliza are signiature bitter-sweet Vonnegut.
The best part of the movie was Pat Morita as a prototypical 3" Chinaman ambassador..
I got this movie really cheap at blockbuster and we watched it a few years ago.
When I first saw this movie I thought it was the worst movie possible.
Not only was the acting and the story and the jokes HORRIBLE but it gave me a headache to watch.
I have not read the book and supposedly that is good, I don't see how it could be with a story like that though.
There was nothing good about this movie.
I don't see how it is possible to make a movie like this and believe that in any way it will be successful or even entertaining.
I cant even imagine how people were at the premier of this movie..
"Slapstick of Another Kind" is a surprise to watch.
After all, I've never seen it included on a list of the worst movies ever made...but clearly it deserves to be there.
Obviously SOMEONE thought the film was god-awful, as the studio shelved it for two years before ultimately releasing it!
This is because this film is super- bizarre, totally unfunny and an awful chore to watch.
And, as far as entertainment goes, I think it's preferable to stare at vomit for 90 minutes than watch this movie.When the film begins, there is a really crappy outer space scene where disembodied beings talk about sending twins to the United States to help them out.
In fact, it's insultingly awful, as the film appears to make fun of the intellectually challenged.Later, the President of the United States arrives in Air Force One (powered by chicken crap) because the Chinese tell everyone the twins are 'America's greatest resource'...and things don't go very well during the visit.
A god-awful mess of a film that NEVER should have been released and marks one of the lowest points in cinematic history.
While almost no one has seen Jerry Lewis' "The Day the Clown Cried" (as he refuses to allow it to be released because, presumably, it's THAT bad), it cannot be as awful as this film he and Madeline Kahn made- -presumably because someone was holding them captive or threatening to shoot their families.Air Force One, apparently, isn't the only thing running on chicken crap!.
I don't have much to say here except that I don't understand this movie's ultra-low rating.
It's a decent sci-fi comedy with lots of funny things and plenty of laughs.
The whole deal with the Chinese as the smartest people in the world is a hoot.I'm sure the original Vonnegut novel (which I haven't read, but would like to) is better, but as it is, the movie isn't bad.
Granted, a lot more could have been done with the concept, and they never really did get around to solving "the gravity problem", but I still enjoyed the movie a great deal.
It was a bit long-winded in places, and it may not be an immortal classic, but for fans of sci-fi comedy, it's definitely worth watching.7 out of 10..
This film by the great Jerry Lewis rates in my top three worst films of all time.
At least that way, you will associate some laughs with the movie!
The Great man looks tired and distracted and the once razer sharp "slapstick" Lewis built his career on is ironically that of another kind.
One might think that with time and the "honing" of ones skills, and the hindsight that allows one to look back and see what "works" and what does not, Lewis should never have, or have been allowed to have, made this movie.
I had to see this movie because I had no choice.
I was taking a trip in a bus and they put this movie on the bus's TV.
I never get asleep on a bus specially when there's a movie playing but in this case I better tried to sleep because I couldn't stand watching this movie.
The worst movie I've ever seen.
Great Cast Wasted in Awful Film.
Slapstick of Another Kind (1982) 1/2 (out of 4) Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn play a married couple who give birth to a twin boy and girl (also played by Lewis and Kahn).
It turns out that an alien took control of the pregnancy to try and force these two kids to teach the world something because when the twins but their heads together they become super smart.Wow, what a complete and utter misfire this thing turned out to be.
It's rather shocking to see how awful SLAPSTICK OF ANOTHER KIND is and it's even more shocking to see Lewis on The Tonight Show in 1984 trying to sell the movie.
It's easy to see why they didn't spend too much time on that show discussing this movie because it's quite awful and even Lewis didn't do a very good job at selling it.
The film was released in Europe two years before it's American debut but I doubt even this thing could fool fans over there.There are all sorts of problems with this movie including the fact that it just looks downright cheap and poorly produced.
I mean, there are some below-the-belt jokes that I personally didn't find offensive but it's funny to think that anyone would have read them on the script and thought that they would have worked.
What's even worse is the fact that I only laughed twice throughout the running time.How does a movie with Lewis, Kahn, Marty Feldman, John Abbott, Samuel Fuller, Pat Morita and Merv Griffin go so terribly wrong?
It certainly proves that no matter how great a cast you get if the screenplay is bad your movie is going to turn out the same way.
Both Lewis and Kahn get an A for effort but there's just nothing here for their talents.
Feldman is completely wasted in his role but I will say that Abbott gets a couple decent moments as Dr. Frankenstein as does Fuller as Colonel Sharp.SLAPSTICK OF ANOTHER KIND tries to mix comedy and sci-fi but it's really an awful picture from start to finish..
I stumbled on a mention of this movie after Jerry Lewis died.
Based on a Vonnegut book, I expected something different and was not disappointed in that respect.
It really impressed me as something that they just threw together in real time, just figuring out what to do next in between shooting scenes.
I'm extremely surprised at caliber of some of the name involved in the project, Jerry Lewis (two roles!) and Orson Welles?!?!
I give them some credit for trying to make a film out of the crazy book Slapstick, even though it is a colossal failure and only covers the beginning of the novel.
A few scenes remind me of typical Tom Green comedy schtick, nothing but noise and mess, but just noise and mess doesn't make something funny, it's just infantile.
I watched it yesterday and I think it is like trying to get the smell of burnt milk out of your nose, the ridiculously bad scenes just hang around in my memory.
I went looking for something about what Kurt Vonegut himself must have thought of this film adaption of his novel Slapstick.
I could find nothing attributable to him, but I sure found plenty of people who thought this film was horrid.
I have to say I agree.If someone like Steven Spielberg had made Slapstick it probably would have turned out something like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind or Cocoon.
It should have been a fantasy like those two films.
But someone possibly Jerry Lewis saw the title and was taken with it.
And we got a slapstick version of Slapstick.Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn play a wealthy married couple who have fathered a pair of grotesque looking boy and girl twins also played by Lewis and Kahn.
Previously they've tried with two other twins in China which has now progressed technically far beyond the rest of the planet.
Time to even the odds.The Chinese under the leadership of Premier Pat Morita have solved their population explosion and in turn all the problems that has brought with it.
President Jim Backus of the USA wants to do the same thing for America.
Can Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn be the answer?The secret is that together they're at an intelligence level light years beyond anyone human even Stephen Hawking.
Useless apart and together they can outsmart the world, what to do?Maybe some day someone will do this novel over again in the proper genre..
al.This is not the BEST parody film, but one of the better ones.
Kurt's novel is rather poignant in places and is captured in the film rather well.Worth renting if you are a Lewis, Vonnegut, or Kahn Fan!.
(Spoilers.)If I may quote Crow T.
Robot: "This is the movie that has everything...
all wrong!" Unfortunately, this turd of a movie was never on MST3K, which is surprising, because this is one of the worst I have ever seen (and I've seen "Omega Code" AND "Nightmaren on Elm Street part 2").
First off, this movie takes a huge steaming dump on it's source material, Kurt Vonnegutt's clever and hilarious book 'Slapstick', filming only the first chapter or so, leaving out 90% of the story and slapping on an clumsy "ending" that continues the strained attempts to turn this into "E.T."/"Close Encounters".
The parts of the story that are present are screwed up and toothless- for example, in the book Wilbur and Eliza end up snuffling each other's crotches while taking the IQ test.
To make matters worse, they cast the imminently unlikable Jerry Lewis in the lead.
He always stinks, so it's no shock to see him acting terrible (in two roles!), but this movie also features the ususally not-sucky Madeline Kahn (also in two roles)!
Kahn and especially Lewis are just two old to play the parts- you know, in a movie called Slapstick, you think they'd cast actors capable of doing actual slapstick.
Marty Feldmen, Pat Morita, and Sam Fuller are watchable, at least, but even they can't rise above the terrible script.
Jim Backus puts in an appearance as the president, probably so he could say he was in a movie worse than "Angel's Revenge".All the blame rests squarely on writer/director Steven Paul.
This movie is just incompetently made.
Instead of blocking scenes, Paul decided he'd have people just run around to "wacky" music for minutes on end.
During the terrible ending where Wilbur & Eliza leave under cover of night, their parents drive up and wave goodbye.
Not only are the shots of their parents lifted from previous scenes in the movie, they're shots of DAYLIGHT.
It's amazing to think this movie got made.
Didn't the actors read the script?
Didn't anyone suggest that they put jokes in this alleged comedy?
Didn't Kurt Vonnegut have a heart attack when he saw the final results?
What kind of world do we live in?!?!?.
Unfilmable Novel/Unwatchable Movie.
Kurt Vonnegut's very funny novel translates to a miserable movie and a very excruciating viewing experience.
Is it the casting of Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn in dual roles?
A real case of the un-filmable being filmed (and the results are dire).
The supporting cast is a half-hearted assemblage of talent that should know better: Jim Backus; Pat Morita; the voice of Orson Welles.
Vonnegut is clearly not the easiest author to adapt to the movies.
His books bend time and space and require a lot of thought that the makers of this movie in particular just do not capture.
To quote a famous critic..."if it were any more of a dog, it would shed!".
It was entitled "Slapstick of Another Kind", and it starred Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn.
After all, a Slapstick comedy starring Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn had to be good.When I started watching it, I was shocked at what I saw.
It seemed to be trying to be a comedy, but it wasn't.
You see, it is set in a future where the average IQ is 1, unruly children are sent to military school and there forced to read books with blank pages (if they look away, they get an electroshock), cars run on chicken manure, and the Chinese have all shrunk themselves to two inches tall and fly around in UFOs that look like fortune cookies.
Adding to this craziness, Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn's characters, two giant, hideous twins, are born to to a wealthy (and supposedly beautiful) couple (also played by Lewis and Kahn), and turn out to be aliens who are idiots unless they literally put their heads together, in which case they are smarter than Albert Einstein.
The characters, especially Lewis and Kahn (as both the parents and children) have makeup jobs that make them look like they are made of wax.As if it were not enough that Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn signed up for this piece of trash, the cast also includes Marty Feldman, Jim Backus, Merv Griffin, and narration by Orson Welles.
Orson Welles, the man who made "Citizen Kane" and "The Third Man", and who created the "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast that terrified America, lent his golden voice to "Slapstick of Another Kind".
As if it were not enough to disgrace the dignity of living actors, director Steven Paul (who went on to produce such masterpieces as "Ghost Rider", "Bratz", and "Baby Geniuses 2") went a step further - he put in a pair of Laurel and Hardy imitators.The horrible attempts at humor make the movie even more unbearable than it already was.
There were horribly unfunny jokes about the Chinese, castration, the economy, and too many other things to mention.
all throughout the movie, it was completely unfunny - except once.
In one scene, a character asks the butler (played by Marty Feldman) where some other characters are.
That's the only time in the movie that I laughed, and that joke probably only seemed funny because it the rest were so bad that it seemed funny in comparison.After I finished watching the movie, I felt cheated out of my money.
I will give the movie some credit where it's due.