Tunnelvision....Uncensored and Free

DISCLAIMER - My blog is an attempt to show respect to films some small minded, intellectually dishonest hipsters automatically label "bad". There is NO film I discuss here that I believe to be bad at all.  The title of the blog comes from a discussion that took place some years ago when I was trying to explain the appeal of these films. The title is not meant to suggest I think these films are bad in the least.  Remember - ART IS ART!

Like a bad penny (RIP to the penny by the way) this blog keeps rolling back around. I think this may be the 3rd time I've dusted off the domain name. I've never retired from the blog because I lost interest in defending maligned or little known genre movies. Just sometimes life got away from me, usually because of my bad decisions. So, let's see how long before I screw something else up and the blog fades away again. Luckily, now that I've gotten old, I'm hoping the next time the blog goes into some kind of hiatus will simply be because I dropped dead.

From 1974 until 1987, a series of films were created predicated on the gimmick of being a standard broadcast day of a television station. This format meant the film didn't have to be a linear story but was a series of clips and skits somewhat similar to variety shows that were particularly popular in the 60s and 70s but with a bit of an edge. A similar approach would also be applied to late night television in 1974 with the premiere of Saturday Night (eventually Saturday Night Live) with Lorne Michaels ripping off Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.

The first film I became aware of using this specific premise was The Groove Tube released in 1974, but unseen by me until the summer of 1978 when 11 year old me watched it at the Star-Vue drive-in along with Flesh Gordon. I'll just let that sink in for a bit but believe me it explains a lot about how I turned out.

Of course, four years later the brilliant minds that would give the world Airplane and Police Squad would produce The Kentucky Fried Movie. Another classic of the "broadcast day" genre, but perhaps a little less political (not entirely, it just isn't as pronounced) and of course, unlike the Groove Tube, it was Chevy Chase free. But, that can't be said of the film that dropped in between the two, and one I only became aware of in the last year thanks to the treasure trove that is Tubi Side note: Tubi is the online version of what the USA Network used to be in the mid-80s. A provider of bat shit insane media that gave us the likes of Commander USA and Night Flight. And not just the 80s. USA had classics like Up All Night, Duckman and Campus Cops. The network was a fever dream for someone like me. Hopefully Tubi won't suffer the same fate as the USA Network. Fuck, does the USA Network even still exist? And if it does...should it?

But, I digress.

The film that dropped in between The Groove Tube and The Kentucky Fried Movie was Tunnel Vision (sometimes noted as Tunnelvision). In tone and execution, the film has more in common with The Groove Tube than Kentucky Fried Movie...right down to a Chevy Chase cameo. 

The film was written by Neil Israel and Michael Mislove. Israel would go on to write or direct some of the biggest comedy hits of the 80s such as Police Academy, Real Genius and Bachelor party, as well as the less known, but under appreciated Moving Violations, with John Murray doing his best to mimic his older brother Bill. And he did a damn good job in my opinion. Sharing co-director responsibilities with Israel was Brad Swirnoff, who directed only one other picture after this for some reason.

The film opens with a congressional hearing in 1985 to discuss the nationwide ramifications of the Tunnel Vision network. The network was denied permission by the FCC to air, but in a landmark Supreme Court case, Tunnelvision is allowed to broadcast free and uncensored. Evidently it is so appealing to the masses (after a rough decade for the United States) that people have simply stopped going to work so they can watch the network all day. This is to the chagrin of several US Senators, the two most prominent played by Billy Jack alums Howard Hesseman as Senator McMannus and Beans Morocco (credited here as Dan Barrows) as Senator Polanski. 

The congress members begin showing a typical broadcast day for Tunnel Vision. And it is at this point, should you decide to view the film on Tubi, that I advise anyone with a thin skin or no sense of humor to turn it off and move on to something on the Hallmark channel, because shit is about to get real people. I pride myself on two things - my sense of humor and my sick sense of humor, and there are a couple of spots in this film where I said out loud (to myself...I live alone) "What the...". So, you've been warned. Don't come crying to me when you are presented with ideas or words you don't like. I didn't like some of the stuff I heard either, and I survived. I can't believe I have to write that, but these are the times we live in.

Because of the format of the film, it's a bit difficult to go into any serious details about a plot, other than to say the film is essentially being presented as evidence by the Senate committee about the generally deplorable programming of the network. And, of course, I don't want to spoil the laugh (or shock) you may get from many of the bits in the film. I can say that, in today's intellectual and political climate, there are at least three to four points in the film that make me surprised it is available to stream anywhere at all. Certainly the Dr. Manuel Labor Spanish class is a segment that could push buttons for some, but you have to admire the sheer gusto with which Ron Silver dives into the bit. The gimmick, performed by someone with less talent or middling comedic timing would make the sketch cringe worthy (well, cringier perhaps). And, the fact that at least one of those bits, the Ramon and Sonja "sitcom", was meant to be shocking and offensive at the time, as clearly indicated by the show's opening theme song, and that it was included nevertheless does go to show how we have regressed as a society in some ways (at least in our willingness to laugh at things that are offensive). Other bits showcase a television show about male pregnancy, a concept likely to not be undertaken by a comedy film today, a sitcom about Charles Manson called Charlies Girls mixing the Manson family with Charlies Angeles only a decade after the Manson murders must have caused some groans in the theater at the time. But, ultimately, that is what comedy does. Even to the extent that "too soon" is the payoff for some jokes or how the great Norm MacDonald would make people laugh at 9/11 jokes - "I walked through blood and bone in Manhattan looking for my brother...he was up in Northern Canada."

Moving on a bit as there is no distinct plot per se to discuss, let's look at the cast of this film, because it is stunning.

There are a number of future SNL and SCTV members in this film. From SCTV this film has segments that feature Joe Flaherty and John Candy. Strange to see John Candy so young and then realize that in less than 20 years he would be gone. But, both comedians make it abundantly clear why they are remembered today and likely will be for decades to come. Admittedly, Joe Flaherty does not always get the same attention as John Candy, but any comedy or Rush fan will always miss him. 

Turning to the SNL side of things, there is the aforementioned Chevy Chase, playing Chevy Chase. No, I don't mean acting like a douche nozzle, I genuinely mean he plays Chevy Chase. He was probably paid for 30 minutes of work in blow and hookers. Playing Sonja in the aforementioned Ramon and Sonja is original "Not Ready for Prime Time" player Laraine Newman - who goes in hard in her portrayal of Sonja. Additionally, former Minnesota senator Al Franken and co-writing partner Tom Davis also provide some reliable laughs. I'm not a huge fan of Franken's politics or his time in the Senate, which is, nevertheless, an impressive position on anybody's resume regardless of which side you support, but he has always had proper comedy chops and I think to that regard his political career has overshadowed his comedy skill. But, he is(was?) a good comedian even when he was crapping on my side of the aisle. I mean, funny is funny. If you can't laugh at yourself then you're taking everything way too seriously.

But, it isn't just the future superstars in the movie that are impressive. Genre favorite and Joe Dante regular William Schallert is featured in a bit that was likely hilarious half a century ago and now feels just a little too close to home now. But, the beauty of his segment is that Schallert, already a seasoned Hollywood character actor, happily plays along. Kenneth Tobey did the same thing for Joe Dante a decade later in Gremlins 2, a film as self-referential as Tunnelvision.

So, if your skin is thick and you are looking for equal part laughs and groans of astonishment, I can fully recommend this film. As of November 2025, Tunnelvision remains on Tubitv.com so, if this short write up made you interested in the film, you can still catch it there until someone with absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever discovers its there...and then who knows.