Needless to say, one of the things I love about this is that it gave Jane Curtin a starring role in a big movie in 1993. She's great! Love that woman. So talented and such great chemistry with Aykroyd. If I'm not mistaken they had actually worked together before.
I agree! The soundtrack did most of the work promoting this movie initially but, in retrospect, it's a sensitive, nuanced look at immigration and how, like you said, many of them have to work incredibly important but unglamorous jobs that most American's wouldn't deign to do! It also shows how immigrants often have to achieve way above and beyond just to be accepted by below-average people who happen to be born in America. Immigration wasn't at the top of people's minds in 1993 the way it is now so thanks for bringing this movie back up!
Well I do believe you've talked me into finally seeing this! And you're right, the trailers and the Subway campaign did this film no favors -- with the trailers even heavily featuring the Subway tie-in gag. It all just seemed like a shallow cash-grab, but I probably should have expected more from a movie written by Aykroyd, which at the very least promises some bizarre ideas brought to the screen.
Has anyone else encountered the accusation from Zippy creator Bill Griffith that the Coneheads were plagiarism by Akroyd of an attempt by Griffith to bring his Pinhead to NBC? He’s pushed it before, and lord knows I don’t know the backstory or backstage politics, but since then I’ve always heard Zippy the Pinhead with Beldar’s voice.
One thing that kept the Coneheads in the culture, apart from SNL reruns on Nick at Nite and Comedy Central, was a made-for-TV animated special that came out in the mide-1980s. It was obviously made as a pilot for an adult-oriented series, pre-Simpsons, but never got picked up. The animated special is pretty much the first half of the live action movie, beat for beat, ending with the birth of Connie. This is where the series would have started, presumably, with the Coneheads resigned to the fact they were stuck on Earth and needed to raise Connie among humans and learn to fit in long-term. I had recorded it on our VCR and watched it many times, leading me to create my own Conehead costume for Halloween in 1989. The Conehead rubber hat-thing was still widely available at Halloween time, often showing up in stands of sporting events, so I know I wasn't the only one holding a torch for them.
I’ve always maintained that Coneheads is quite good and one of the best SNL movies. I’ve noticed in recent years that more people are finally starting to come around to my point of view.
Great write up. In typical Nabin form there is something to appreciate about this much-maligned flop.
When I think of the Coneheads now I think of those Strange Planet comics that were all the rage just before COVID. The joke was that aliens were doing things that humans do, but using overly formal and scientific language, and therefore highlighting how things we take as customary often do not, on the face of it, 100% embody a "logical" existence. Funny the first time, gut-bustingly hilarious the 1000th time, I'm sure we all agree.
Needless to say, one of the things I love about this is that it gave Jane Curtin a starring role in a big movie in 1993. She's great! Love that woman. So talented and such great chemistry with Aykroyd. If I'm not mistaken they had actually worked together before.
I just found out I'm autistic at the age of 42. I hope you find the answers you need.
I agree! The soundtrack did most of the work promoting this movie initially but, in retrospect, it's a sensitive, nuanced look at immigration and how, like you said, many of them have to work incredibly important but unglamorous jobs that most American's wouldn't deign to do! It also shows how immigrants often have to achieve way above and beyond just to be accepted by below-average people who happen to be born in America. Immigration wasn't at the top of people's minds in 1993 the way it is now so thanks for bringing this movie back up!
I'm so glad you've warmed up to this one!! I've maintained that it was underrated since its opening weekend.
Well I do believe you've talked me into finally seeing this! And you're right, the trailers and the Subway campaign did this film no favors -- with the trailers even heavily featuring the Subway tie-in gag. It all just seemed like a shallow cash-grab, but I probably should have expected more from a movie written by Aykroyd, which at the very least promises some bizarre ideas brought to the screen.
Has anyone else encountered the accusation from Zippy creator Bill Griffith that the Coneheads were plagiarism by Akroyd of an attempt by Griffith to bring his Pinhead to NBC? He’s pushed it before, and lord knows I don’t know the backstory or backstage politics, but since then I’ve always heard Zippy the Pinhead with Beldar’s voice.
That's rich considering Griffy swiped his character from Tod Browning's "Freaks."
One thing that kept the Coneheads in the culture, apart from SNL reruns on Nick at Nite and Comedy Central, was a made-for-TV animated special that came out in the mide-1980s. It was obviously made as a pilot for an adult-oriented series, pre-Simpsons, but never got picked up. The animated special is pretty much the first half of the live action movie, beat for beat, ending with the birth of Connie. This is where the series would have started, presumably, with the Coneheads resigned to the fact they were stuck on Earth and needed to raise Connie among humans and learn to fit in long-term. I had recorded it on our VCR and watched it many times, leading me to create my own Conehead costume for Halloween in 1989. The Conehead rubber hat-thing was still widely available at Halloween time, often showing up in stands of sporting events, so I know I wasn't the only one holding a torch for them.
I’ve always maintained that Coneheads is quite good and one of the best SNL movies. I’ve noticed in recent years that more people are finally starting to come around to my point of view.
I never really thought about Coneheads as a metaphor for autism. That's a really fascinating take that makes a lot of sense.
Great write up. In typical Nabin form there is something to appreciate about this much-maligned flop.
When I think of the Coneheads now I think of those Strange Planet comics that were all the rage just before COVID. The joke was that aliens were doing things that humans do, but using overly formal and scientific language, and therefore highlighting how things we take as customary often do not, on the face of it, 100% embody a "logical" existence. Funny the first time, gut-bustingly hilarious the 1000th time, I'm sure we all agree.