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Richard Belzer, Chevy Chase, Berkeley Harris, Bill Kemmill, Buzzy Linhart ... see more see more... , Victoria Medlin , Mary Mendham , Bill Paxton , Jennifer Welles , Lane Sarasohn , Ken Shapiro , Richmond Baier , Paul Norman (II) , Alex Stephens , Christine Nazareth , Roy Wallace

Channel One was a New York-based comedy group which presented short satirical sketches concerning television. What set this group apart was that they performed in front of genuine TV cameras, while th... read more read more...e audience watched on TV monitors strategically placed throughout the theater. Many of the best, and most censurable, Channel One sketches were assembled by the group's mentor Ken Shapiro and released to theaters as the feature-length The Groove Tube. Shapiro himself stars in several of the sketches, most notably as "Koko the Clown," a kiddie-show host whose idea of "Make Believe Land" consists of smoking a joint and reading passages from Fanny Hill. Most of the Channel One players will be unfamiliar to audiences of the 1990s, save for Richard Belzer and Chevy Chase, the latter offering a most unusual rendition of "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover." The Groove Tube was originally rated X, thanks to such bits as "Safety Sam," wherein the audience is offered cheerful anti-VD advice by a talking penis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

57% liked it

896 ratings

Critics

13% liked it

8 critics

R, 1 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Ken Shapiro

Release Date: January 1, 1974

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DVD Release Date: May 30, 2000

Stats: 65 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (65)

  • ajv2688
    August 30, 2011
    ajv2688
    This movie has some funny moments, but most of them are too drawn out and become boring. The best thing about this movie is that it's so short. Skip this one and see The Kentucky Fried movie instead.
  • alanjayh
    June 2, 2008
    alanjayh
    the original..funny.crass, inventive..a fun watch
  • KassandraVictoriaOrgasm
    June 8, 2011
    KassandraVictoriaOrgasm
    Raunchy humor, but absolutely hilarious. Even better than Kentucky Fired Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon.
  • CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    September 4, 2009
    CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    The rather unfunny precursor to Kentucky Fried Movie. Poop jokes, penis jokes, drug jokes - I guess this was cutting edge at the time. Maybe you didn't have to be funny if you were cutting-edge.
  • julito32
    August 30, 2008
    julito32
    Fan of Amazon Women and Kentucky Fried, but this is just not funny...only standout skit is the Uranus Brown 25.
  • campbell16
    March 15, 2007
    campbell16
    probably one of the funniest movies ive ever seen. hard to believe it was made in 1974. the clown skit alone is worth the watch
  • boxerbabies
    February 18, 2007
    boxerbabies
    Bizarre, and hysterical. I still laugh so hard I cry when they do the story about certain cities in Vietnam. You'll laugh yourself sick.
  • aintlifegrand1228
    January 25, 2007
    aintlifegrand1228
    OH MY GOD! Sue and Shane showed us this in Improv class one day...it's weird and gets weirder but it's funny...and a little shocking.
  • dinahmoehum
    October 5, 2006
    dinahmoehum
    Before kentucky fried movie there was groove tube. Saw this at a drive in, about choked to death when the vd commercial came on the screen. basically a clip movie, before SNL, this one broke new ground, although no one has heard of it. The "drug deal" is very dated and slows the ... read moremovie down. the opening hitching scene is dated too, but reminds us what the country was like in the 60's. great fun to watch!

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Critic Reviews

Douglas Pratt
June 10, 2005
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser

The jokes seem flat and desperate.

Scott Weinberg
April 3, 2005
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

A skit comedy affair in which perhaps 1/4th of the bits actually fly.

Rob Thomas
August 26, 2004
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Welcome to the cutting edge, circa 1974.

Jon Niccum
June 27, 2003
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World

Uneven comedy pastiche

Ken Hanke
February 2, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Witless collection of 'daring' skits. It was very trendy in 1972.

Howard Thompson
May 9, 2005
Howard Thompson, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 19, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Andy Klein
November 6, 2003
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

No review available.

Philip Martin
June 4, 2003
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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