It's so frustrating! There are times I want to rent something like "Hannibal" the first day it's out but know even Blockbuster will be copyless. What's the alternative? I sometimes go camp (not literally) and watch some idiotic esoteric flick that I haven't seen in 20 years and dismissed the first time as mere cinematic fodder because the original truly is a classic.

We all know the story here. Ape meets girl. Ape gets girl. Ape loses girl. So I won't bore you with plot details.

When this movie debuted it had the usual hype attached to it. Why remake a classic? Because it's there, because director John Guillermin thought we needed escapism, because egomaniacal producer Dino DeLaurentis had the funds. The writing here obviously was meant to be clever and "Inner-Hollywood" but comes across as merely foolish: "Who do you think went through there? Some guy in an ape suit?" I almost laughed out loud at this one: "Let's not get eaten alive on this island.....mosquito spray!!" And did all scriptwriters during that time really think we were really into astrology? I suspect their thinking that Jessica Lange's idea of both Kong and Jeff Bridges being Aries would be subtle humour.

By today's standards "King Kong" is almost infantile in its special effects, but for its time they were great! Kong's mechanical hand should have been given top billing. Rick Baker is the real star here as an ape badly in need of an orthodontist. He so good that you almost wish he and the bra-less heroine could manage the logistics of their relationship. His eyes are so charismatic I suspect he must have occasionally forgotten he was in that gorilla suit.

Jeff Bridges plays the title role as the iconoclastic and moralistic Professor Prescott. He has all the characteristics of the typical 70's cinematic hero: anti-establishment ("I just donated your check to the SPCA"), the only one in the film with any brains, ("You need so much excitement it's almost like dope."), long hair.

This is Jessica Lange's film debut. She has none of the innocent qualities of Fay Wray. Instead they gave her the 70's hip name "Dwan" and she comes off as a sort of cross between Jean Harlow and the Virgin Mary. ("You d- chauvinist pig ape!") The waterfall scene with Kong is almost R-rated and she appears at times actually torn between Bridges and Kong. ("Don't let me go Kong, or they will kill you!")

Charles Grodin (yes, he has made other films besides bad Beethoven sequels) overdoes it as the oil-seeking Petrox (oh puhlease!) engineer turned promoter (in other words, the bad guy). ("Look what the 'Put a tiger in your tank' did for Exon. Imagine what a giant ape will do!") He should have taken a few lessons from Leslie Nielson in how to perform subtle comedy, for he reeks of simplistic overstatement.

In all good conscience, I can't recommend "King Kong" when the original is still available (unless you want a follow up to the remake of "Godzilla").

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older