Likely to appeal mostly to the over
40 crowd, “The Best of Fridays” brings
to DVD for the first time 16 episodes of the short-lived subversive sketch
comedy series that from 1980 to ‘82 set out to give Saturday Night Live a run for its funny. Noteworthy for jump-starting
the careers of cast members Larry David
and Michael Richards, the Los
Angeles-based Fridays mirrored its New York
As with SNL, the sketches are the real meat of Fridays,
and though they sink as often as they swim, many remain pop cultural
signposts of enormous nostalgic value. “The Best of
Fridays,” which includes over two
hours of cast and writer reunion interviews, is the only place to find a
jaw-droppingly elaborate, 15-minute Rocky
Horror parody lampooning the Reagan administration, entitled, of course,
“The Ronny Horror Show,” featuring the late president in drag. Or how about a mash-up of Star Wars and Woody Allen, featuring Larry David as Han Solo and Michael Richards as Darth Vader, entitled “Star Wars Memories”? Yes, if you're of a certain age bracket, this collection is an instant trip in the way back machine to a time that you've all but forgotten, mostly because you were high on so many drugs - another topic Fridays revels in and is famous for.
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| Larry David as Han Solo |
