SILENCE OF THE HAMS a film review by Chris Casino
Written and directed by Ezio Greggio, Produced by Ezio Greggio and Julie Corman, Released by Thirtieth Century Wolf.
Cast: Ezio Greggio, Billy Zane, Dom DeLuise, Charlene Tilton, Bubba Smith, Martin Balsam, Joanna Pacula, Stuart Pankin, Rip Taylor, Shelley Winters, Phyllis Diller, John Carpenter, Joe Dante, Mel Brooks, John Landis.
*** out of **** (worthwhile)
As a longtime fan of Mel Brooks and AIRPLANE! type movies, I'd have to say I thought this Italian made production (with suspiciously American actors, spoken in English) deserved a better rep, because although critics like Leonard Maltin panned it, it really isn't that bad.
But I hate professional critics anyway. They never judge movies fairly, and they never give credit to the really good movies, they just think they do. This film is a prime example.
Rookie fed Joe D. Foster goes on his first big case, tracking down a serial killer at a motel with the help of Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza (an absolutely hilarious Dom DeLuise, with two of his sons in cameos), in this parody of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and PSYCHO.
Director/writer Greggio comes up with a reasonably funny farce (his take on the PSYCHO shower scene is a riot), and also gives himself a funny role as the serial killer. If he plays his cards right, he could be the next Mel Brooks. The only real problem with the film is that he can't seem to decide whether he wants to do the movie like Mel Brooks or like AIRPLANE! He kind of mixes them together, and that's not a combination that works extremely well. Other than that, the movie's worth a look. It's pretty funny, and I look forward to many other films from Italian Ezio Greggio.
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