SimonJack Dan Aykroyd and fellow writers from TV's long-running "Saturday Night Live" wrote this Sci-Fi comedy. Aykroyd had a way with subtlety in his comedy, and would slip in sensitive matter at times. It wasn't in- your-face mockery or blatant poking, but gentle treatment that was amusing. It would usually dawn on the audience that there was a gentle, humorous poke or statement that would make one smile. It's often easy to miss the subtle with so much more of the obvious attacks of humor.I think we see a lot of that in Coneheads. Their outlandish appearance with those long, pointed heads, makes us laugh initially, and then chuckle a few more times in the film. Yet, the human beings on earth – in America where they land and take up residence, seem oblivious to their appearance. I think that's a jab at reality. The message is that we're supposed to be accepting of people who are different. OK, but here, it's as though no one notices the obvious differences in the Coneheads.I remember a charity program that my work establishment held each year in the late 1980s and early 1990s. We picked a single charity each year to benefit from a few events during one week – a dance, a lunch or dinner, a fair. At the outdoor picnic fund-raising fair one year, a table had T-shirts that read, "Love sees no color." I understood what they intended, but it struck me as wrong. It seemed to deny the reality of our nature – our vision. As such, it suggested indifference. Rather, love should notice differences and accept them, not deny them. Because denying differences, or turning a blind eye, denies the person. I talked with people at the table about it and after a short time, they had new T-shirts that read, "Love sees all colors." That was a more truthful and much better message about acceptance.Of course, the presence of the Coneheads is anything but subtle, and I think that's a big piece of the humor. It pokes fun at the societal mores of the time that deny natural senses. And, this film has more subtleties. The way the Coneheads speak with rearranged sentences and choice words is hilarious. We know what they are doing as writers and actors, and yet it's very funny. But it doesn't seem to be out of the ordinary with the people they encounter.Then, there's Beldar's skills that show his advanced knowledge. He drives a taxi and yet he has so much knowledge and inventive skills. Think about many immigrants over the decades. Skilled craftsmen, professionals, even doctors have come to the U.S. to flee persecution or oppression, and they wind up in everyday blue-collar jobs. I think this film had a lot of social messaging intertwined in the sci-fi humor. Or, maybe it was designed as a social commentary with the sci-fi and humor as the medium. Anyway, the comedy of this film is much better than many of the IMDb reviewers seem to think. Yet this was a highly successful box office film in 1993. When I first saw it in the theater back then, a sizable audience seemed to enjoy it no end. At least, judging from the comments and laughter I heard leaving the theater. Perhaps mankind is losing its sense of humor and cognitive abilities with our growing dependence on anti- social media.

talisencrw Though this isn't the very best movie made from Saturday Night Live skits and characters (that would be a tossup between 'The Blues Brothers' and the two 'Wayne's World' entries), this is definitely top-tier and in the best five ever made. Laraine Newman and Jane Curtin were very underrated as comediennes, and the unsung heroes that held the cast together during its excellent run of the early days.What's hardly ever talked about, when it comes to movies based on SNL skits, is how important the supporting players are. 'Coneheads' undoubtedly has the strongest supporting cast of any of them, and while director Barron has hardly become a household name in terms of movies (only this and 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' really hit the radar), his prowess on some of the greatest music videos of all time (ie., Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing', Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' and A-Ha's 'Take On Me') was picture-perfect for the comedic set-pieces here. Definitely worth at least a watch, here in the 21st-century.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com Dan Aykroyd is known for making good comedy films. Whether it's The Blues Brothers (1980) or Ghost Busters (1984), Aykroyd had something during his prime that made people gravitate towards his comedic films. Along with performing with other cast members of SNL, this particular title was an actual skit ten years before in 1983. My question is, who thought it would be a great idea to make it a movie a decade later? Was the skit that memorable? That's taking a large gamble. The story is about a group of aliens with cone shaped heads that crash land and have to conform to life on earth. It's not even close to an original concept (except for the conehead aspect), but it does have some have positive ends to it.Playing the coneheads are Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Michelle Burke - all three of which have faded from today's contemporary films. Their acting isn't bad but the personalities either come off as too dry or too familiar. Aykroyd plays his role like the shadow of Raymond Stantz from Ghost Busters (1984), with fast dialog and vocabulary that is either never heard of or too scientific for most viewers. Curtin plays her role to match Aykroyd but rarely will audiences feel a connection to them. Burke's role is possibly the only connection that most audiences would have, considering she sounds normal and not like her robotic parents. Even then, her character arc isn't developed fully.Even more surprising is not only was this idea from SNL, but the writers behind this movie including Dan Aykroyd, were from SNL. I'm not sure how these guys created a screenplay that has obvious continuity errors and issues that aren't addressed. For example, why does Michelle Burke's character have normal teeth while her parents have pointed teeth? Or, how is that everyone that the coneheads run into are totally fine with their deformed craniums? Is everybody this accepting here on planet earth? Surely someone would make a buzz over it; considering that the head of deporting illegal immigrants, Gorman Seedling (Michael Mckean) wants to send them back to where they came from. How come he's the only character who finds them abnormal? Comedy works when people notice and react to strange events. But in this film, rarely do people react at all to the conehead family as if they were aliens. This creates a disconnect in the audience. Also, how is this film rated PG? There is some sexual humor in here that I don't think is suitable for a PG rating.Neglecting this though, there are scenes that do have their moments. Particularly the life style that the coneheads live is cooky. Helping with some of these chuckle moments are the special and practical effects. Some of it is noticeably and other times it's not. Overall that element was OK. Adding to some of the nostalgia of this 90s film is the large cast of the "in crowd" stars. Celebrities like David Spade, Sinbad, Drew Carey, Jon Lovitz, the late Chris Farley, Jason Alexander (with a full head of hair) and even Adam Sandler have appearances. Some have bigger roles than others, but it's commendable enough just to even see them. The music provided by David Newman was heard but it was forgettable. There weren't any tunes that really stood out. It's by no means bad - it's just average for a comedy.The main leads try their best to give their characters charm, but the comedy only seems to work when other well-known faces are on screen. This leaves the in between scenes with nothing to remember them by, making only a part of the film worth a watch.

D_Burke "Coneheads" is yet another film based on a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch. At the time of its release, it was the third SNL-based movie created following "The Blues Brothers" (1980) and "Wayne's World" (1992). While not as funny as the aforementioned films, it is only a notch below them. Worse SNL movies were to come (i.e. "It's Pat: The Movie" (1994), "A Night At The Roxbury" (1999)), but "Coneheads" stands today as a very funny mix of comedy and science fiction.The early Saturday Night Live sketches vaguely explained how the Coneheads came to Earth. Most of its humor came from the fact that the humans, or "blunt skulls", never suspected the Coneheads to be aliens from another planet, despite the oh-so obviously large foreheads. The fact that their last names are "Conehead" never seems to counter Earthlings' obliviousness, either. This movie takes some of its humor from the humans' obvious lack of observational skills, but it's really Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtan's consistent disappearance into these character that really makes the movie funny. They talk in monotone voices and spew out complicated alien jargon without missing a beat, and they use the film's special effects to their advantage.I also liked how, because the last Coneheads sketch was 14 years prior to this movie's release, the movie started from the beginning, explaining how Beldar (Aykroyd) and Prymatt (Curtan) landed on Earth in modern-day America, and worked their way from a hotel room to the projects to the suburbs. While I missed Laraine Newman as Connie (although Newman does make an appearance as Laarta, another Conehead in a later scene), it made perfect sense to have a younger, teenage Connie (Michelle Burke) with an American accent. Although the subplot where she begins dating 29-year-old mechanic Ronnie (Chris Farley) still seems creepy to me, considering her character was supposed to be 15 or 16, I thought Burke added a really nice touch to what could have been a Dan Aykroyd impersonation.The main conflict of the film served as an interesting analogy to illegal immigration, but had some definite plot holes. You find out in the film that Beldar and Prymatt land on Earth accidentally, and stay not because they want to, but because a rescue ship will take seven Zerl's to reach them. According to a site I found using Google (www.tvacres.com/languages_scifi_conehead.htm), one Zerl is equal to approximately 2.17 Earth years, thereby making their stay just over 15 years. Based on that fact, a giant plot hole emerges when INS agents and antagonists Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean) and Eli Turnbull (David Spade) don't age at all over that time period.Also, near the end, the rescue ship finally comes for the Coneheads, and it seems to take about a day to travel back to Remulak, their native planet. Although I thought the home planet in this movie was among the coolest parts, I still could not get over that plot hole. Why it took over a decade and a half to bring a ship over, yet it didn't take that long to go from Earth to Remulak and back, is never explained, and weakens the story a bit.However, other parts in the film otherwise made me laugh. The best parts were when the Coneheads interacted with humans in the outside world. Also, perhaps better than any other SNL movie to date, having numerous former and (then) current Not Ready For Primetime Players in various roles large and small served as a great tribute to "Saturday Night Live". There were also a few cameos from then-unknown stand-up comedians who would go on to be big stars (Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Carey, Eddie Griffin)."The Blues Brothers", "Wayne's World", and "Wayne's World 2" (1993) were hard movies to top, but "Coneheads", while not great, is pretty funny, and miles away from the notoriously bad SNL movies that were to come. It suffered mostly from its story line, but otherwise used special effects wisely to effectively elicit laughs. It's a good movie to watch after you have consumed mass quantities and want to get a good laugh while you digest.