Somewhere in "Americathon" there is a great movie that has been buried in mediocrity. The unbelievably clever idea of a national telethon to save the country from bankruptcy could have been turned into a classic comedy. Unfortunately a phenomenal cast is mostly wasted by the cartoon-like script. This leaves the viewer feeling cheated, because what you get is not quite a musical with some comedy, nor is it a comedy with some music. High in concept but dull on delivery, "Americathon" is just too lame. The only real highlights are Jay Leno's prizefight with his mother, Zane Busby's interaction with John Ritter, and the Beach Boys song that opens and closes the film. What "Americathon" needed was a director like Paul Bartel. Paul Bartel was willing to take chances (see "Eating Raoul") Neil Israel played it way too close to the vest and lost. - MERK
Review of Americathon
