BEER

US, 1985, 83 minutes, Colour.
Loretta Swit, Rip Torn, Dick Shawn, David Alan Grier, William Russ, Kenneth Mars.
Directed by Patrick Kelly.

Beer is a spoof of the advertising industry. The original title was The Selling of America. There are many humorous sequences of commercials, ideas behind commercials in Madison Avenue, the exploiting of people for a product. Loretta Swit is the hard-hitting ideas woman. Kenneth Mars, once again, is the eccentric owner of the beer product. Rip Torn is a veteran western director.

The film is humorous overall, has a hilarious send-up of Phil Donahue by Dick Shawn - but, as with so many satires, the jokes are hit and miss.

1.Enjoyable satire? Advertising as a target? Beer and its impact on American men?

2.New York settings, the world of advertising, the world of commercial-making? The world of the three men in the advertisements? The desert trip and crash? The use of film techniques? Musical score?

3.The original title, the final title?

4.The opening with the Knorbecker meeting? Knorbecker and his beer, dealings with advertising firms? His intimidating Harley and the other members of the firm? His wanting success for his product?

5.B.D. and her firmness, at the meetings, Harley and his chairing the meeting, firing people? The cliche ads for beer? B.D. and her programme, persuading Knorbecker? Her relying on Buzz? The situation in the bar, the robber and the three men? Her exploiting the situation? Getting them and persuading them, persuading the robber and bailing him out of jail, the filming of the commercials?

6.The satire within the commercials, the macho image? The exploitation of the three men, the black and the white, the Italian background? The change of pace, the introduction of sex? The chauvinist attitudes? The talk show imitating Phil Donahue, and the anger about the ads? Her concern about the crash, the various ways in which to exploit the hero's death? The finale and trying to edit the crash and rescue film for an ad?

7.The three men: Merle from out of town, the Texan, his car being stolen, in the bar? His affair with B.D? Frankie, being sacked from the job, the Italian family background, the mother, the godfather? His macho image? The girls and his impotence, going to confession? Elliott and his legal background, not getting promotions, the irony of his being a black (and the black shoe polisher)? Family, Mary? His image in the advertisements? B.D. telling him he ought to be more black, his imitating the black comedian and his jive? The thief and his moroseness, the hold-up, the action in the bar, the accident of his being knocked out? His becoming a buddy of the men?

8.Buzz, the westerns, his filming the ads? His laconic remarks? Memories of the stars? His going on the trip, the crash, the going through the desert, the men as weak, his filming them, their rescuing him? The irony of the funeral preparations? Trying to edit the film?

9.Knorbecker and his reactions, exploiting the situation? Harley and B.D. and their self-congratulations? The other executive who opposed them?

10.The finale with Elliott and his upset, going out, going by accident to the gay bar, the others going to rescue him? The fight and the police - and the irony of Knorbecker enjoying the gay company and making gay ads?

11.A spoof on the American way of life, advertising, the mentality behind commercials? Successful comedy?