Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Groove Tube Blu-ray Movie Review

The Most Hilarious, Wildest Movie Ever! *

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 24, 2021

The late Ken Shapiro's landmark independent comedy The Groove Tube, now just a few years shy of its 50th birthday, was a notorious fixture in smaller cinemas in the mid-1970s; based on skits originally shot on videotape and shown at New York's Channel One Theater, it served as a collection of greatest hits re-filmed with many of the original actors including Shapiro, Richard Belzer, and Chevy Chase. It's easy to see how goofy material like this obviously inspired the exponential growth of sketch shows with Saturday Night Live and its followers including SCTV, In Living Color, The Kids in the Hall, and MadTV, even while it was preceded by imports like Monty Python's Flying Circus and Benny Hill. While The Groove Tube is therefore quite literally "your father's sketch comedy" and clearly shows its age in some respects, this brand-new Blu-ray from Hen's Tooth Video makes now as good a time as any to get (re)acquainted.

Despite its sleek 75-minute running time, The Groove Tube isn't a bulletproof lineup of gut-busting hilarity... but the good news is that the pros still outweigh the cons. 18 sketches are here, ranging from blink-and-you'll-miss-it to just over 10 minutes; highlights include "Koko the Clown" (a mock kid's show in which the title character asks all adults to leave the room), "The Geritan Girl" (a Geritol parody, seen above), "Kramp TV Kitchen" (a disastrous recipe for 'Fourth of July Heritage Loaf'), "Let Your Fingers Do It" (a Yellow Pages parody), "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" (a head-slapping musical performance), "Safety Sam" (a penis speaks out against VD), and "Just You, Just Me" (another musical performance, this one filmed on the streets of NYC). Most of these highlights come right near the beginning and end, which leaves good-not-great material like "Butz Beer", "Uranus Corporation", and "Democratic Mumbles" left to fill in a few gaps; while hardly anything special, they're quick enough not to slow momentum too much.

The worst detour is "The Dealers in Wasted", which resembles a failed TV pilot that's only kinda entertaining; sadly, it doubles as The Groove Tube's longest sketch. Elsewhere, "Channel One Evening News" mostly spins its wheels and lands with a thud, while "The Hitch-hiker" and "International Sex Games" offer little more than peek-a-boo nudity. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but both are minute-long concepts stretched way too thin.)

However... if you saw and enjoyed this little slice of American cinema during its original run, chances are you'll still find it hilarious from front to back. Although decades of more polished sketches have easily overtaken even the film's best bits, it's still worthwhile based on its unique place in pop culture history, back when bite-sized comedy wasn't anywhere near as omnipresent as it is now. Newcomers, on the other hand, should proceed with caution, especially if they aren't familiar with at least half of what the film gleefully, profanely lampoons; if they're lucky, they might find 1/4 of this stuff funny. Any way you slice it, though, The Groove Tube's relative obscurity has made it a rare gem on home video, where it seems that Hen's Tooth Video last issued the film on DVD back in the year 2000. The boutique label has returned 21 years later with a fully remastered version on Blu-ray whose transfer takes advantage of the movie's filmic roots.

The Groove Tube Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Undoubtedly the highlight of this new Blu-ray edition, Hen's Tooth Video presents The Groove Tube with a terrific 1080p transfer that clearly made use of pretty good-looking source material. Although details about the restoration were not specified (and I don't have the old DVD for a direct comparison), this is a very purist-friendly picture with loads of natural film grain and colors that, while very specific to 1970s cinema, are nicely saturated with surprisingly bold primaries. Image detail is quite good, although a small portion of these skits was obviously shot on either lower-quality stock or kept in less pristine condition -- these showcase much rawer black levels and a flat overall appearance. Other skits like "International Sex Games" are purposely distorted and will likely never look good. But during its best-looking moments, The Groove Tube shares visual similarities with films shot on a much larger budget and this makes it an impressive Blu-ray indeed. There's no doubt that die-hard fans are going to be very happy with this one.

The Groove Tube Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Running a not-too-distant second is the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix, which wrings all it can from the source material and, at the very most, gets the job done. Some of the more staged bits such as "Koko the Clown", "Kramp TV Kitchen", "Safety Sam", "International Sex Games", and "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" -- which all include either direct camera addresses or voice-over narration -- sound perfectly fine. On-location material is limited to its original recording quality, which is low-budget in every sense of the word. But taken for what it is, this lossless mono mix is a capable effort that, even with its source shortcomings, is probably several notches above the old DVD release.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature, which is appreciated.

The Groove Tube Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and a descriptive insert... remember those? Unfortunately, though, no bonus features of any kind have been included. Something like this absolutely screams for a retrospective or audio commentary, but no such luck.

The Groove Tube Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ken Shapiro's The Groove Tube is a landmark sketch comedy film that may just have been directly responsible for Saturday Night Live and its many followers. Although some of this material is painfully dated and a few bits were never funny, it'll likely hold up fine for die-hard fans. Hen's Tooth Video delivers a solid movie-only Blu-ray highlighted by a surprisingly good A/V presentation; unfortunately, no extras are on board. Recommended to the right audience.

* Maybe