Americathon

Year releasted: 1979

by Nathan Rabin
June 7th, 2000

Some speculative fiction astonishes generations with its uncanny prescience. Director Neal Israel's 1979 debut, Americathon, will not. But as a profoundly Californian dystopian fantasy in which even a massive national depression is viewed as a minor bummer, it certainly has its own unique sensibility. Based on a play by Firesign Theatre vets Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman, and rooted in that group's decidedly '60s sensibility, Americathon takes place in a 1998 only a hack comedy writer could have envisioned. It's a world in which Israel (the country, not the director) and its Arab neighbors are powerful allies, and where a Native American (Chief Dan George) is the wealthiest man in America. Into this phantasmagoria of easy irony wanders advertising whiz Peter Riegert, who attempts to save America from debt by holding a mammoth telethon hosted by pill-popping drag performer Harvey Korman. Alas, duplicitous presidential aide Fred Willard has covertly ensured that Riegert can only book ventriloquists (and their dummies), leading to what's probably the only montage sequence in history involving Korman and a series of bad ventriloquists. But while Israel and company impress with their ability to foretell just how heavily America would one day rely upon Harvey Korman, Americathon's other predictions are notably off-target. An early scene featuring an ancient, soulless Beach Boys toiling away 30 years after losing all inspiration certainly doesn't mirror reality, nor does John Ritter's portrayal of millennial president Chet Roosevelt, a dim-witted, party-hearty political lightweight coasting on his family name. Thank God.