So the concept of a monthly SCTV movie parody tribute is not exactly going the way I planned it, but it's not my fault, I swear. OK, if I knew how to download and embed video onto YouTube or any other download site then it would be my fault, but I can't, so it isn't. I'm completely blameless here, thank you very much. Honestly.Anyway, I'm find that there's plenty of good stuff up there (and lots of SCTV in general) on the YouTubes, but for some reason the most adamant of SCTV downloaders are also not allowing embedding on the many clips they're posting. I can't understand the reasons why (is there some sort of embedding etiquette I should be aware of?), but I think that by doing so a great many folk are being denied a lot of great comedy: PolanyseanTown, the classic GODFATHER spoof, many of the Count Floyd routines and on and on and on. Maudlin's Eleven and Francis Ford Coppola's A Stake in the Heart are nowhere to be found (though you can see them on the Shout Factory DVDs), so if someone wants to put them up there and allow embedding, I sure would appreciate it.
Anyways, this month's SCTV Movie Parody, The Grapes of Mud, comes from the early years of SCTV, back when it was a 30 minute show with a laugh track and Harold Ramis was a cast member. What's interesting about this sketch is that in it you can see how the production of the show worked hard to emulate what it was they were spoofing (production design, camerawork) and how they do so respectfully, too. Honestly, what the hell is so funny about THE GRAPES OF WRATH? It's one of the few films you couldn't possibly spoof successfully, but SCTV was up the challenge and they got it right; ambition was one thing SCTV never had a problem with. I'll admit that the sketch isn't up to the near-perfect standards of some of their later efforts, but you can't deny that it's not funny or ballsy, so enjoy The Grapes of Mud:
1 comment:
Joe Flaherty's acting in this is terrific. It's too bad he never (to my knowledge) got a serious leading role.
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