Having searched for this movie high and low, I actually found it when I least expected, playing on the Sundance Channel very early in the morning one day. Why I searched endlessly for a small vanity project that Chuck Barris that was made during the last waning years of the TV show, I haven't a clue. The film is simply put horrible. The scripted part that deals with a week that is. Of course the highlight of the film is seeing the real performers that were "too hot for TV" or rejected for some reason or other. That part is still horrid, but campy bad which was enjoyable in it's own way. Now that I saw what I sought after for so long will I watch it again in my lifetime? Resoundingly NO!! Do yourself a favor and just watch the MUCH MUCH better "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" or find old copies of the actual show. The girl act where there just lick popsicles provocatively was fun, but having to endure seeing Jay P. Morgon flash the audience has in all likelihood made me sterile. In hindsight, I'm so very happy that this was massive flop, for if it was a massive hit, there could have been a "The $1.98 Beauty Show Movie" and THAT my friends would surely have brought upon the Apocalypse.

My Grade: D

If you haven't seen the gong show TV series then you won't like this movie much at all, not that knowing the series makes this a great movie.

I give it a 5 out of 10 because a few things make it kind of amusing that help make up for its obvious problems.

1) It's a funny snapshot of the era it was made in, the late 1970's and early 1980's. 2) You get a lot of funny cameos of people you've seen on the show. 3) It's interesting to see Chuck (the host) when he isn't doing his on air TV personality. 4) You get to see a lot of bizarre people doing all sorts of weirdness just like you see on the TV show.

I won't list all the bad things because there's a lot of them, but here's a few of the most prominent.

1) The Gong Show Movie has a lot of the actual TV show clips which gets tired at movie length. 2) The movie's story line outside of the clip segments is very weak and basically is made up of just one plot point. 3) Chuck is actually halfway decent as an actor, but most of the rest of the actors are doing typical way over the top 1970's flatness.

It's a good movie to watch when you don't have an hour and a half you want to watch all at once. Watch 20 minutes at a time and it's not so bad. But even then it's not so good either. ;)

Basically this is just a fictional tale of Chuck Barris going crazy trying to keep the "Gong Show" on the air and appease the censors at the same time.

Those sections of the movie are drivel--unfunny, really stupid and tedious with pointless drama thrown in.

But when they show unedited acts from the "Gong Show" this movie takes off.

The acts are sick and crude--and absolutely hilarious. My favorites are a version of the "Vatican Rag" (with one guy dressed as a priest and three other guys as nuns acting out the song) and some teenage girls sucking on popsicles that are--um--a very unusual shape and color. All the acts are good, but these two stand out.

I'm shocked that this isn't available in video or DVD! It bombed at the box office but so did "Ishtar" and I see tons of those available! Hopefully with the Chuck Barris movie being released soon this will be rectified.

Not a good movie but a very fun good-bad movie. And you get to see Jaye P. Morgan's breasts!