Rare Flix: Queen Kong

Women's History Month and a brand new Hollywood Film coincide for...this silly nonsense.  Today's Film is Queen Kong, a 1976 Parody Film from England.  It makes sense- they already gave us Konga!  This one is a pretty much straight Parody Version of the Classic Film that was already being Remade in the same Year.  Weirdly, this one was apparently blocked for Release in many Countries, since Hustler v. Falwell wouldn't come for another Decade to determine what exactly qualifies as Parody and Fair Use.  At least it is all settled on the Internet now!  This is a straightforward Parody of King Kong, so a Plot Synopsis is kind of silly.  You just want to know if this barely-seen Film is any good or not.  To find out, read on...

In a Cold Open, a man is chased by lady Natives...only for this to be revealed as a Film Shoot.  The Actor quits, leading to more Casting.

The Director- a Lady- goes back to England to find her muse.  Can you see why I wanted to watch this on International Women's Day yet?

They find Ray Fay (get it?), a jerk who pretends to be hurt to steal a King Kong Poster.  META?

She takes him on as an Actor, the group going to a silly-named Island that the Natives (all racially-mixed Ladies) sing about 'Kong Kong Kong, Kong Kong Kong.'

After that, they break the 4th Wall for a 'wave' joke.  Worth it?

They go to the Island to film stuff and see that they have giant props...I mean, objects for a Queen Kong.

Ray is chosen as the sacrifice as the creature shows up to take him.  Other than a silly bit with a dinosaur suit- resembling more what should have been in the Dino Version-, there is nothing new here.

Queen Kong is taken back to mainland and there is a throwaway line about her being forced to wear underwear for the Show.  Who did all that?

Of course, that raises the questions about King Kong's genitalia that nobody wanted to answer...

In a flip, Ray is in love with Queen Kong and actually ends up being 'rescued' by her when the Director hides him.  Hurray?

The biggest change: Ray makes an impassioned speech that organizes all of the women in London and...they just let the pair go.

Sadly, this same thing didn't work recently.  Oh well.  The End.

Silly, silly stuff.  I'll get right to the point with this one: it is really, really dumb.  There are some clever jokes hidden within, but it is mostly just super-stupid.  It is constant puns and sight gags that just make most people roll their eyes.  I love Puns, but there is a limit.  Like alot of this over-the-top Satire from its day, Queen Kong was just too much silly and dumb for me.  Like I said, I have a limit.  These kinds of Films either work for you or they don't.  They do put some legitimate effort into this one, what with the giant-size props and mix of special effects.  As you can imagine, most of the visual effects are fairly unconvincing and just look silly.  I don't think the argument that they were *meant* to look fake could go that far.  At best, the styrofoam Dinosaur parts are made for Comedy alone.  Queen Kong is a rare Film overall due to legal issues at the time.  Is it worth searching out?  If you like big, broad Satire that doesn't aim to be anything more than pure silliness- yes.  If you want a more straight-forward one, go with Konga.  If you hate yourself a little, go with A*P*E.  Here's a weird bit to leave you with: I thought they were copying Airplane in this bit, but...this is actually them mocking Airport 1975 (since Airplane came out in 1980).  It is the Inception of Film Parody Moments!

Next up, a Rare Flick that is all about Witches.  Can its Made-For-TV nature ruin a good thing?  Stay tuned...