Coneheads

July 4, 2005

Although I didn’t see Coneheads when it first came out, I remember it well. Or rather, I remember how hard Subway whored itself out for the Coneheads movie. Consume mass quantities, indeed.

Surprisingly, Coneheads is one of the better films spun off from an SNL skit. It’s not The Blues Brothers or Wayne’s World, but it’s not It’s Pat or The Ladies Man, either. Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin reprise their Conehead characters from the 70s, but instead of Laraine Newman as their daughter Connie, they get Michelle Burke. Most of SNL’s current cast is on hand to fill out the rest of the roles – Chris Farley as Connie’s boyfriend, David Spade as an INS Agent, Adam Sandler as a crook and Phil Hartman as the head Conehead (um, redundant?). I wonder if Lorne Michaels forces each SNL cast member to sign a contract promising to star in any spin-off film he sees fit? I wonder if they even get paid? Personally, I’m still waiting for the Mango movie.

Watching Coneheads, I kept feeling twinges of nostalgia. The whole film is oh-so-90s, especially Connie’s wardrobe. I remember wearing clothes with flags all over them and black tights and Docs with EVERYTHING. At least I had hair though.

It was also really bizarre seeing Parker Posey and Joey Lauren Adams as Connie’s teenage pals. What are they doing in a mainstream movie? Maybe they wandered in from the Dazed and Confused set…

All in all, a cute movie. Could’ve used a bit less product placement, but I guess Lorne’s got to pay the bills somehow.