"That's Adequate" is a very funny, satirical romp that no one ever saw. It went to Sundance in 1989 followed by a very, very limited release in New York and L.A. theaters in early 1990. It came, it went...rapidly.
I first heard of the film when I saw Bruce Willis talk about it briefly in a television interview. He didn't say much except that it was a spoof on documentaries chronicling a fictional movie studio and that he was playing himself. My local video store at that time carried every movie, so I rented it and what I watched, was a very funny stab at the mockumentary. This was long after "This is Spinal Tap"...but long before the mockumentary went mainstream via Christopher Guest.
The film centers around the rise and fall of Adequate Pictures, a low-budget film studio, which is hosted and narrated as a documentary by Tony Randall (playing himself). The studio owner Max Roebling (a hysterical James Coco), is interviewed by Joe Franklin (also playing himself) and they discuss the cheating, double-crossing, and corruption Max endured to make his ridiculous films such as "Einstein on the Bounty," "Little Elroy Meets Baby Frankenstein," and "Slut of the South."
To write a full review would just give it all away, but the celebrity roster on this film is huge including...Robert Downey Jr., Richard Lewis, Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Robert Townsend, Stuart Pankin, Peter Riegert, Robert Vaughan, Marshall Brickman, Susan Dey and yes, Bruce Willis. The gags and the dialogue are silly but so much fun here from late writer/director Harry Hurwitz. This movie should've been bigger.
You're only bet is to track it down on VHS which is long out of print, but not highly sought after...do yourselves a favor, if you're a huge movie buff, and a big fan of this genre, check this film out...you will appreciate this film's humor...which is smart, sharp and risqué.
