Coneheads

"Coneheads" is the perfect kind of movie to have on killing time late at night, or when you just want to veg and not think about anything. The humor in the movie is simple to understand and easy to laugh at. Adam Sandler's cameo in the movie was great. Sinbad has a cameo too that he turns into many laughs. This movie was fun to watch. Of course there are many jokes about how these people have cones for heads, but that is the title of the movie, so no complaints warranted there. Dan Aykroyd really loves his Beldar character, and it shows here as much as it does in the many Saturday Night Live skits about the Coneheads.

Remember the "Coneheads" on SNL(Saturday Night Live)? Well, they are back! This time on the big screen. Beldar(Dan Ackroyd) and Prymatt(Jane Curtain) are on Earth planning to commit world conquest. But, when they settle on the planet they decided to live their lives there instead. They have such strange diets, and they claim themselves they are from "France". The government however don't think so. They later give birth to a daughter named Connie(Michelle Burke). She has a little trouble fitting in, until she meets Ronnie(Chris Farley, 1964-97). I liked the Subway scene where Connie puts away a sub which made Ronnie's mother look like an amateur. Looks like he found his dream girl there. When they go back to there planet, Beldar used his talents from Earth to stop a monster, while singing Soft Cell's "Tained Love". Great cast, silly plot, this movie is good for all SNL fans. Some say it was rather late, I would say, "Who Cares?" 2.5 out of 5 Stars!

I've never watched a microsecond of SNL so I watched this as just another film. It's not Gone with the Wind, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's a small scale comedy. It isn't 90 minutes of side splitting belly laughs, but it's mildly amusing throughout and there are a number of pretty good jokes. Flicking through the twenty or so movies my cable channel is offering me this evening, I'd prefer Coneheads to any of them. That doesn't make it a masterpiece, it just makes it a solid little comedy that will leave you more cheerful at the end than you were at the beginning. For those who like their comedy to be cutting edge with constant sarcastic political barbs, you should look elsewhere. (Is this why some reviewers don't like it - maybe they were expecting political satire ?) This isn't satire, it's mild smiley humour a la Ghostbusters, and none the worse for that.

Coneheads is one of the best "Saturday Night Live" movies. I was expecting a light comedy but what I got was a whole lot more. Following a similar plot to the skit, Coneheads is the story about the Beldar Conehead family who crash on earth during a scouting mission for planet conquest. While here, they dodge the INS, have a child and discover that life on Earth is quite good.

This is where the movie shows its heart. It could have been a movie of comedy bits but by the end, it is about happiness in a stable family, which is quite refreshing in these days of depressing movies about divorces and unmarried couples. It is nice to see Beldar be a father figure to his daughter rather than the "Let Your Kids Be Who They Are" mentality of these days. The direction of the film in excellent, setting up many nice visual gags and shots that are very impressive for a comedy film. And at times, the film feels "epic" as you see the family on the run from the INS, to moving to the suburbs to returning to their planet.

There are great performances throughout the film and the many cameos are perfect. Look for funny scenes from Jan Hooks, Adam Sandler, Michael Richards, and Garrett Morris. Michelle Burke makes a nice debut as Connie Conehead and I expect to see more of her in the future.

On the surface, this seems like a dumb movie and it has received many poor reviews. But if you sit back and let it take you on an adventure (and if you can keep up with the way the Coneheads use different words for common items) you will be pleasantly surprised.

Coneheads is one of the best conversions of an SNL skit to the big screen. Granted, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin were funny on SNL as Beldar and Prymat, but the movie has given them the chance to show how funny they can be as these two aliens from "France"! All the SNL cameos are great too! If you don't like this film, you should be sent to "Narfal the Garthok!!" :)