San Fancisco Gate reviews DVD debut of "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video"

Mr. Mike is Michael O'Donoghue, one of the more extreme figures of the '70s comedy movement that produced the National Lampoon and "Saturday Night Live." Anyone who remembers the darker and more bitter strain of the Lampoon's satire knows what O'Donoghue was all about. His comic style ran from outrageous to way beyond the pale, and he had such a combustible personality that he terrified some performers at "SNL," where he was the show's first head writer. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 54. This show was supposed to be an NBC special, but the network found it too uninhibited, and it was never aired. It largely vanished after a quick theatrical release. The program alternates the kind of raunchy material that scared NBC with gonzo absurdism and in-your-face naughtiness, such as the "Cat Swimming School" skit. Early "SNL" cast members appear - Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman - along with guests such as Carrie Fisher, Margot Kidder and Sid Vicious. (Vicious is seen singing "My Way," but the sound is blocked because of copyright issues.) Among the bonus features are some "SNL" excerpts, Murray's 1994 eulogy of O'Donoghue and a selection of "Mr. Mike's Least-Loved Bedtime Tales" from the show's second season.

MR. MIKE'S MONDO VIDEO

1979

RATED R

SHOUT! FACTORY

$19.99