Funland (1987)

Very disappointed :(

From my favorite movies..

Absolutely Fantastic

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

There are definitely several shining moments in "Funland", including some very "dark comedy", and an absolutely terrific Humphrey Bogart imitation by Robert Sacchi. David Lander is great as the delusional clown "Bruce Burger", the lovable "Funland" mascot. "Funland" reminds me of several others films, including in no small way, "Death to Smoochy". The problem is not the acting or the actors, which seem appropriate for the limited budget, it's the story line, which is quite scattershot, flipping between comedy, drama, and thriller. One thing it is not is a horror film, and anyone seeking splatter will be sorely disappointed. In summary, the whole movie does not amount to much, but there are some hidden gems in a very muddled story. - MERK

The evil mobster outfit the Di Mauro family take over the amusement park Funland after they bump off jolly nice guy owner Angus Perry (a solid and engaging portrayal by William Windom). When the Di Mauro clan fires loopy and unhinged clown Neil "Fred Burger" Stickley (well played with demented aplomb by David Lander of "Laverne & Shirley" fame) from his job, the already bonkers Stickley loses what little sanity he has left and vows revenge. Director Michael A. Simpson, who also co-wrote the wacky script with Bonnie and Terry Turner, mines a very quirky and inspired line in often amusing and occasionally downright surreal dark humor: Funny comedic highlights include the park's black employees being forced to work at a watermelon stand, Stickley's priceless eulogy at Perry's funeral, some hilarious PA announcements, a crazy rap song and dance routine in the park cafeteria, Stickley's conversations with Perry's ghost and an imagined Humphrey Bogart (veteran Bogie impersonator Robert Sacchi, who also hams it up in a second part as ruthless Mafia capo Maurio Di Mauro), an outrageous strip drag number, and several Klu Klux Klan members going to Funland wearing their infamous white hoods and robes. Moreover, we also get extremely broad, yet still sidesplitting caricatures of homosexuals and Italian-Americans. This film further benefits from sound acting from a capable cast, with stand-out contributions by Bruce Mahler as amiable executive Mike Spencer, Clark Brandon as the brash Doug Sutterfield, Jill Carroll as the sweet Denise Wilson, Mary Beth McDonough as the snippy and abrasive Kristen Cumming, and Terry Beaver as the smarmy Carl Di Mauro. Kudos are also in order for William Vanderkloot's crisp cinematography and the cool rockin' soundtrack. A real hoot.

David Lander (Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley) plays Bruce Burger, an angry clown who talks to himself. Need I say more? Although I'm an old man and a lot of people reading this probably think "Laverne and Shirley" is a lesbian porn, I'll go on anyway. When the owner of Funland dies, a mob family buys the park and makes some changes that the parks clown doesn't approve of. After talking it over with his favorite puppet, he takes matters into his own hands. Don't get the wrong idea, this is meant to be a comedy although it's packaged more like a horror film. It's not a bad dark comedy if you can get past some of the bad acting but it did keep me mildly amused.

Understandably some people view this movie as a waste of time, but one man's trash is another's treasure. Funland was the creation of a couple of Saturday night live writers - and it shows. Some sections appear to be nothing more than skits filling out the storyline . . . and while some jokes work, some don't, but it's often in the eye of the beholder. Promo posters make it look like a psychotic clown on the rampage but Bruce Burger is the unwitting protagonist trying to save the one thing he believes in. When a mob family take over an amusement park and fire the mentally unstable resident clown he retreats to the closed down wax museum. Here the film takes a bizarre turn as he finds companionship with Marilyn Monroe, Bogart and his hand puppet Peter Pepperoni. They all come 'alive' sometimes preaching tolerance and other times revenge. He's also visited by the murdered ex-owner who wants him to stop the mob destroying the park they both love. Watch out for Bruce's hilarious descent into madness (complete with scantily clad angel of death) when the cafeteria men start rapping and a poster advertising the new roller-coaster, 'Man's Biggest Thrill Is Coming'.