It's Pat

File:It's Pat .jpg
**It's Pat** is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Adam Bernstein and written by Julia Sweeney (who stars in the title role), Jim Emerson & Stephen Hibbert. It is based on a skit from NBC's "Saturday Night Live" starring Julia Sweeney.

It was released on August 26, 1994 by Touchstone Pictures.

## Plot

Pat Riley is a chubby, whiny, and obnoxious job-hopper who is searching for a steady foundation in life. Pat encounters Chris, whose gender is also unrevealed. The two of them fall in love and get engaged.

Meanwhile, Pat's neighbor, Kyle Jacobsen, develops an unhealthy obsession with unveiling Pat's gender, and begins stalking Pat.

Kyle sends in a tape of Pat performing karaoke to a television show called "America's Creepiest People", bringing Pat to the attention of the band Ween, who feature Pat in one of their performances; Pat plays the tuba. When Pat learns that Ween intended to only use Pat for one gig, Pat and Chris break up.

Kyle steals the laptop containing Pat's diary and tries to coerce Pat into revealing the computer's password, so he can access the files. Pat's only answer is that the word is in the dictionary. Kyle then begins to type in every single word in the dictionary.

Meanwhile, a gang of thugs who are intent on discovering Pat's gender begin harassing Pat, and Pat becomes distraught over the thugs' androgynous nature. Pat goes to complain to Kathy, a friend who is a therapist and host of a radio talk show. When Pat gives acerbic reactions to call-in listeners, the station fires Kathy and replaces her with Pat.

Kyle ends up going through the entire dictionary until he reaches the last word, "zythum" (an Egyptian malt beer), which is the password. After reading through the diary, he discovers no new information in regards to Pat's gender and finally snaps.

Kyle calls into Pat's radio show, and tells Pat to meet him at the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, stating that this is the only chance for Pat to retrieve the laptop. Pat arrives to find Kyle dressed exactly like Pat.

Kyle demands that Pat strip naked, but Pat runs off into a Ween concert. After Kyle corners Pat on a catwalk, Pat falls, and Pat's clothes get caught on a hook which tears off Pat's pants and lowers Pat in front of the cheering audience (though Pat's genitals are revealed neither to Kyle nor to the moviegoer). Kyle is subsequently taken away by security guards. Pat then runs to see Chris, just as Chris is leaving on an ocean liner.

In an epilogue, Pat and Chris get married. During the end credits, Kathy is now hosting her radio show again and the first caller is none other than Kyle, whose obsession with Pat has driven him to cross-dressing.

## Cast

* Julia Sweeney as Pat Riley
* Dave Foley as Chris
* Charles Rocket as Kyle Jacobsen
* Kathy Griffin as Herself
* Julie Hayden as Stacy Jacobsen
* Timothy Stack as Doctor
* Mary Scheer as Nurse
* Beverly Leech as Mrs. Riley
* Tim Meadows as KVIB-FM Manager
* Phil LaMarr as Stage Manager
* Larry Hankin as Postal Supervisor
* Kathy Najimy as Tippy
* Jerry Tondo as Sushi Chef
* Mitch Pileggi as Concert Guard
* Ween as themselves

## Production

The film was written by Julia Sweeney, Jim Emerson (Sweeney's friend from their days with The Groundlings) and Sweeney's former husband, Stephen Hibbert.

While at the Groundlings, Emerson suggested that the character Pat should be made androgynous.

Three months before the film's release, Sweeney commented on her initial reluctance to do a film based on Pat:

"*I resisted it completely. I just didn't know how we could make it last for two hours. But 20th Century Fox was really keen; our producer was really keen. So we thought, OK, we'll write the script. And after three months, we fell madly in love with the script. Unfortunately, Fox did not*."

Touchstone Pictures decided to produce the film after Fox bowed out. Quentin Tarantino revealed that he was an uncredited writer on the script.

## Box Office

"It's Pat" opened at #19 at the box office, grossing $31,370 during its opening weekend with a domestic gross of only $60,822.

The film opened in only three cities (in 33 theaters) and due to the poor performance, it was pulled from theaters after its opening weekend.

## Reception

"It's Pat" has a rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 2.2/10.

Variety magazine called it "*shockingly unfunny*", noting that Julia Sweeney had "*perversely turned the relatively harmless TV character into a boorish, egotistical creep for the bigscreen*."

Steve Crum of the Kansas City Kansan called it a "*one-joke Saturday Night Live-based comedy*."

Joe Leydon of Variety called it "*shockingly unfunny*."