The Groove Tube

• Director: Ken Shapiro
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Comedy
• Movie Type: Media Satire, Satire
• Main Cast: Alex Stephens
• Release Year: 1972
• Country: US
• Run Time: 75 minutes

Plot

Channel One was a New York-based comedy group which presented short satirical sketches concerning television. What set this group apart was that they performed in front of genuine TV cameras, while the audience watched on TV monitors strategically placed throughout the theater. Many of the best, and most censurable, Channel One sketches were assembled by the group's mentor Ken Shapiro and released to theaters as the feature-length The Groove Tube. Shapiro himself stars in several of the sketches, most notably as "Koko the Clown," a kiddie-show host whose idea of "Make Believe Land" consists of smoking a joint and reading passages from Fanny Hill. Most of the Channel One players will be unfamiliar to audiences of the 1990s, save for Richard Belzer and Chevy Chase, the latter offering a most unusual rendition of "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover." The Groove Tube was originally rated X, thanks to such bits as "Safety Sam," wherein the audience is offered cheerful anti-VD advice by a talking penis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Review

While not the most artistically successful sketch comedy, The Groove Tube, is easily the most willfully offensive. Those who are not bothered by such onscreen antics as a talking penis, the freestyle sex Olympics, and lots of nudity will probably laugh consistently. Gleefully vulgar, The Groove Tube is a film that teenagers can bond over because it sets out to upset the establishment with copious amounts of sex, drug, and scatological humor. Like most sketch comedies, the material is very hit-and-miss. Director Ken Shapiro hosting a very adult kids show, a news anchorman dealing with some oddly named world locations, and a parody of the old "let your fingers do the walking" ad campaign stand out as the pieces that best achieve a balance between vulgarity and pop-culture smarts. While some of the objects of satire and the drug references may date the film, The Groove Tube should remain a touchstone for comedy fans as it contains the first film work of Chevy Chase. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Cast

Richard Belzer - The Dealer; Chevy Chase - Geritan/Four Leaf Clover; Berkeley Harris; Bill Kemmill - Butz Beer; Buzzy Linhart - The Hitchhiker; Victoria Medlin - Mouth Appeal; Mary Mendham; Bill Paxton; Jennifer Welles - Geritan; Lane Sarasohn; Ken Shapiro - The Dealer; Richmond Baier - The Hitchhiker; Paul Norman - Mouth Appeal; Alex Stephens - Butz Beer

Credit

Linda Taylor - Animator, Pat O'Neill - Animator, Ken Shapiro - Director, Buzzy Linhart - Musical Direction/Supervision, Bob Bailin - Cinematographer, Ken Shapiro - Producer, Lane Sarasohn - Screenwriter, Ken Shapiro - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Amazon Women on the Moon; And Now for Something Completely Different; The Boob Tube; Dynamite Chicken; Is There Sex After Death?; The Kentucky Fried Movie; Brand X; 2076 Olympiad; The State: Skits and Stickers; Mr. Mike's Mondo Video; National Lampoon's Movie Madness; The Kibbles and Bits of Hellorama; National Lampoon's TV: The Movie; Loose Shoes

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