Is Hollywood out of touch? In 1993, Fay Sommerfield investigated as much for the newsmagazine show she anchored, That Time of the Month. So goes Sex, Shock & Censorship in the 90’s, a made-for-Showtime parody of then-topical targets — mostly among the entertainment industry itself — and presented under the guise of a major network’s then-ubiquitous shows like PrimeTime Live and 20/20. Sommerfield is played by Shelley Long (The Brady Bunch Movie), which dates this special as much as its subjects.
Knowing it’s written by Michael Barrie and James Mulholland, the duo behind 1987’s hysterical sketch film Amazon Women on the Moon, I hoped for something of a satirical close sibling. Initially, I got just that from a pair of fake movie trailers spoofing yuppie-paranoia sex thrillers and killer-babysitter horrors, both cleverly featuring a shot of the great Dan Hedaya (Clueless) shouting through the phone. Occasional cutaways to movie critic Malcolm Maltved allow Paul Benedict (Waiting for Guffman) an impressive showcase for a simultaneous impersonation of Leonard Maltin and Michael Medved.
Faye’s visit to the producer of these pictures (Peter Jurasik, Problem Child), however, falls as flat as day-old Tab. The same goes for a cringeworthy, Ebonics-laden profile of Spike Lee-esque director Butch Jones (MADtv’s Phil LaMarr) of Kiss My Black Butt Productions, as well as a Last Temptation of Christ parody called The Last Supper. It’s flat-out awful, with Jesus (Murphy Brown’s Robert Pastorelli) and his apostles at a mob-style Italian restaurant, where they re-enact some of Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma’s greatest hits.
As Sex, Shock & Censorship shifts its eye and arrows to television, things don’t improve. The one exception is Thinkin’ About Tomorrow, an over-the-top politically correct sitcom about an über-liberal suburban nuclear family. For example, when her young son cheers John Wayne murdering Native Americans, Mom (Newhart’s Julia Duffy) turns off the tube and scolds, “No more pre-Lawrence Kasdan Westerns for you.”
Otherwise, The $49.95 Club, a mix of televangelism and QVC, holds potential, but never achieves it. Ratman & Frisky channels Ren & Stimpy’s cartoon vulgarity with a mouse basically played as a gay-baiting Howard Stern. The best that can be said about the Martin Mull-hosted game show Love Thy Neighbor is that it foretells ABC’s Wife Swap. And who thought a spoof of HBO’s sex-comedy series Dream On was a good idea? It’s not, but has one amusing touch, as a receptionist (Playboy model Lisa Boyle) dances topless, yet the nipple pixelation can’t keep up with her gyrations. The less said about the Vanilla Ice-esque music video by white rapper Stinx on Ice (Alex Winter, Bill & Ted Face the Music) … well, I’ve already said too much.
With National Lampoon’s Favorite Deadly Sins director David Jablin at the helm, Sex, Shock & Censorship moves at a surprisingly sluggish pace for an hour crammed with so many segments. Long makes a terrific host throughout, but her comedic gifts only go so far against weak material that wastes the talents of Robert Hays, Paul Bartel, Curtis Armstrong, Kenneth Mars, Nora Dunn, Tracey Walter, David Naughton, Chris Lemmon, Greg Evigan, Stacey Nelkin, Kimberly Beck, Prof. Irwin Corey and, debatably, Artie Lange. —Rod Lott