''The Underground Comedy Movie'' is a 1999 film directed by and starring

Vince Offer Offer Shlomi ( he, שלומי עופר; born April 25, 1964), better known as Vince Offer or Vince Shlomi is an Israeli-American infomercial pitchman, director, writer, and comedian. Offer's first major work was the 1999 comedy film ''The Underg ...

. Alongside short comedy sketches it features music by

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on ever ...

and

Guttermouth Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Rude Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including perfor ...

, among others. It is considered by some as one of the worst films of all time.

Synopsis

The film mainly consists of skits featuring celebrities in various roles, based on concepts Offer had originally performed on a

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

show he had hosted. Skits included

Gena Lee Nolin Gena Lee Nolin is an American actress and model. She is best known for her television appearances on ''The Price Is Right'' and ''Baywatch'' in the 1990s. During the early 2000s she played the lead role in '' Sheena''. Career In 1994, she became ...

posing as

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, supermodels loudly using the restroom, and a superhero named "Dickman" who dressed in a

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

costume and defeated his enemies by squirting them with

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Sem ...

Cast

;Supermodels Taking a Dump * Barbara Snellenburg as Supermodel #1 * Rebecca Chaney as Supermodel #2 ;Bat Man * Gloria Sperling as Old Lady * Sam Costello as Security Guard *

Chris Watson John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 186718 November 1941) was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia, in office from 27 April to 18 August 1904. He served as the inaugural federal lea ...

as Rhymer *

as Batman ;Boobwatch * Karen Black as Mother * Brian Van Holt as Lifeguard ;Virgin Hunter * Lightfield Lewis as Virgin Hunter * Barbara Snellenburg as Virgin ;Gay Virgin *

Ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

as Gay Man * Michael Clarke Duncan as Gay Virgin ;I Hate L.A. *

, David Rotter, and Danny Rotter as Singers * Jeffrey Jaeger as Transvestite ;The Godmother *

Michael "Wheels" Parisi Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

as Godmother *

Joey Buttafuoco Joseph A. Buttafuoco (born March 11, 1956) is an auto body shop owner from Long Island who had sex with a minor, Amy Fisher. Fisher subsequently shot his wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco, in the face. Tabloid news coverage labelled Fisher the "Long Is ...

as Sonny *

as Fetus Salesman ;The Adventures of Dickman *

Peachy Keene "Peachy" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins and the third single released from her second album, ''On A Clear Night''. The track features a guest appearance by Neil Finn playing electric guitar. The single was released o ...

as Lesbian #1 *

Melanie Pullen Melanie Pullen (born 1975) is an American photographer who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Early life and early inspiration Pullen was born in New York City and raised in the West Village. As a child her family consisted of writ ...

as Lesbian #2 * Rebecca Chaney as Lesbian #3 ;Watts Up Talk Show *

as JJ Cool *

Morgan Alvet Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singe ...

as KKK ;Psychology Today * Zoska Myock as Patient *

as Psychologist ;Beautiful Girl With Old Man * Barbara Snellenburg as Beautiful Girl *

George Smity George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

as Old Man ;Miss America Bag Lady Pageant *

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

as Host * Rebecca Chaney as Co-host ;Flirty Harry *

Tony Vera Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

as Bad Guy *

as Flirty ;Porno Review *

Bobby Lee Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on '' MADtv'', and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series ''Splitting Up Together'' alongsi ...

as Chinese Man *

Paolo Scandarisi Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American ...

as Arnold Swollenpecker * Sam Costell as Mailman *

as Vincenzo Butafungu * Sam Mactaggert as Spanky Shvatsa *

Joe Shapiro ''Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man'' is a tell-all book written by American psychologist Mary L. Trump about her uncle, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and his family. It was published by Simo ...

as Man-goo Man/Tutu Girl ;Jury Making Right Decision * Jerry "Mongo" Brown as Black Juror #1 * Ella Mae Davis as Black Juror # 2 * Mike Boito as White Juror #1 * Lightfield Lewis as White Juror #2 ;Marilyn Monroe *

as Marilyn * Sam Costello as Bystander #1 *

as Bystander #2

Production

Although the film was released and screened in 1999, Offer was bankrupt by 2002 and home video distribution plans were shelved. Offer, who had previously been a successful vegetable chopper salesman and businessman, resumed selling vegetable choppers at swap meets to support himself and raise money to complete his film project. Within a few months, he had earned enough to resume production, and the movie was finally completed, released, and marketed entirely on late-night infomercials that Offer paid for with his earnings from the swap meet vegetable chopper sales. The film has reportedly sold in excess of 100,000 copies.

Reception

According to

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

, ''The Underground Comedy Movie'' played on one movie theater screen on May 16, 1999, earning $856. The film earned less-than-favorable reviews, receiving a 33% from

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 6 reviews. The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' said it "may be the least amusing comedy ever made." Lawrence Van Gelder of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' offered a scathing review, describing the movie as "a series of sketches built around subjects like

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinat ...

defecation Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...

, alienation,

urination Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ...

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

, casual brutality, and mockery of the unfortunate." Van Gelder added that tasteless or offensive material can be funny in the right hands, but that Offer "makes the common mistake of equating the recognition of comic potential for comedy itself. For the successful, talent bridges the gap, but, here,

alent Alent plc is a supplier of surface treatment plating chemicals and electronics assembly materials. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Platform Specialty Products ...

is absent."

Lawsuits

The film was the subject of several lawsuits filed by Offer against others. On September 23, 1998, Vince Offer filed a suit against

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

and the co-directors of '' There's Something About Mary'',

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

and

Peter Farrelly Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and romantic comedy ...

. Offer claimed that 14 scenes in ''Mary'' were lifted from his film. The Farrellys released this statement: "We've never heard of him, we've never heard of his movie, and it's all a bunch of baloney." The case was dismissed with prejudice on a motion for

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. Summary judgments may be issued on the merits of ...

by order of the court in 2000, and 20th Century Fox was awarded $66,336.92 in attorneys' fees. In 2000, Offer successfully sued

Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...

for $4 million, claiming that Smith had agreed to be in his movie, but backed out in 1996 over fears that appearing in the movie would be detrimental to her career.Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com – WENN – 23 October 2000
/ref> In 2004, Offer sent out a press release through prnewsonline.com announcing his intention to sue the Church of Scientology. In 1997, while production was ongoing, the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...

had allegedly begun a large-scale

smear campaign A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individual ...

against Offer and his film (Offer was a Scientologist at the time)."Filmmaker Sues Church of Scientology"
/ref> The director claimed the Scientologists' "

Celebrity Centre Church of Scientology Celebrity Centres are Churches of Scientology that are open to the general public but are intended for "artists, politicians, leaders of industry, and sports figures". The Celebrity Centre International was established in ...

" in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

labeled him a "criminal" (based on the rules of Scientology) and threatened his Scientology friends in the movie business with "condemnation" punishment that could be lethal to their careers if they did not write malicious reports against Offer.

Sequel

In June 2010, it was revealed that Offer had completed filming of scenes starring

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

and model

Joanna Krupa Joanna Krupa (; born April 23, 1979) is a Polish-born American model and actress. She is known internationally as the host and head judge of Polish '' Top Model'' as well as for appearances on reality television shows ''Dancing with the Stars'' ...

for a follow-up movie.Lindsay Lohan Shoots Paparazzi with Guns in Comedy Sketch
/ref> The film was released in 2013 with the title '' InAPPropriate Comedy''.Someone Thought It Was a Good Idea to Spend Money On This
/ref>

References

External links

Underground Comedy 2010
– official promotional site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Underground Comedy Movie, The 1999 comedy films 1999 direct-to-video films 1999 films American independent films American comedy films Scientology-related controversies in film Sketch comedy films 1990s English-language films 1999 directorial debut films 1990s American films