''When Nature Calls'' is a 1985 spoof comedy written and directed by Charles Kaufman and starring

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominee

David Strathairn David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John Do ...

in an early performance. The film was distributed by Charles Kaufman's brother,

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featur ...

, of

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

(sister Susan Kaufman worked as an art director and their father Stanley appeared as an actor in the film).

Content

The film is packed with visual gags, non sequiturs, fake previews for non-existent movies, and, one of the film's more notable sequences, an obscene stop-motion montage involving food products. The (loose) plot of the film follows a man (David Orange) who, fed up with the hassles of city living, decides to move his reluctant family into the woods, only to find out that they're in way over their heads with outdoor living. The video box proudly claims that the film includes the most romantic scene between a woman and a bear shot on celluloid.

Cast

The film features cameos from such notable people as baseball legend

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

, professional wrestler

Fred Blassie Frederick Kenneth Blassman (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Elliot ...

, comedian

Morey Amsterdam Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' from 1961 to 1966. Early life Amsterdam was born in Chicago ...

, and Watergate icon G. Gordon Liddy. It also features appearances from

Gates McFadden Cheryl Gates McFadden (born March 2, 1949) is an American actress and choreographer. She is usually credited as Cheryl McFadden when working as a choreographer and Gates McFadden for acting work. She is best known for playing Dr. Beverly Crusher ...

, William Smith,

James Eckhouse James Hays Eckhouse (born February 14, 1955) is an American actor, best known for playing Jim Walsh on ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. He also directed three episodes of the show. Career Before his part on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', Eckhouse had sm ...

Billy Beck Billy Beck (born Frank Billerbeck; May 26, 1920 – June 29, 2011) was an American clown and character actor. Career Beck began his career as a clown at the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris, France, in the late 1950s, and appeared in sm ...

, Susan Pratt, and

Jerome Preston Bates Jerome Preston Bates is an American theater, film and television actor, director and playwright. Bates was born in Augusta, Georgia. The family moved to the New York/New Jersey area when he was six but returned to Georgia when Bates began hig ...

Reception

Troma boasts ''When Nature Calls'' as one of the company's best comedies. The response from Troma fans has been largely positive as well, with most comparing it to such early Troma comedy classics as ''

The First Turn-On! ''The First Turn-On!'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment. It was the last in a series of four "sexy comedies" that helped establish Troma as a film studio, starting with 1979's ''Squ ...

'' and ''

Squeeze Play! ''Squeeze Play!'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman. Plot A group of New Jersey women, upset over their boyfriends' tendency to pay more attention to softball than their love lives, decide to beat them at their own game. ...

''. Reception

External links

* 1985 films 1985 comedy films American independent films Troma Entertainment films American comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub