Leonard Part 6
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| Leonard Part 6 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Paul Weiland |
| Produced by | Bill Cosby |
| Written by | Bill Cosby (story) Jonathan Reynolds (screenplay) |
| Starring | Bill Cosby Tom Courtenay Joe Don Baker Moses Gunn Gloria Foster |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Jan de Bont |
| Editing by | Gerry Hambling |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 18, 1987 (USA) |
| Running time | 85 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Gross revenue | $4,615,255 (USA) |
| IMDb profile | |
Leonard Part 6 is a 1987 comedy film, directed by Paul Weiland and starring Bill Cosby, who also produced the film and wrote its story. The movie also starred Joe Don Baker and Gloria Foster. The movie was filmed in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America.
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[edit] Synopsis
Bill Cosby plays Leonard Parker, a former CIA spy. According to the opening sequence of the movie, the title refers to the idea that this film is actually the sixth installment of a series of films featuring the adventures of Leonard, as parts one through five were locked up in the interests of world security.
The movie starts with Parker being re-recruited by the CIA to save the world from an evil vegetarian who brainwashes animals to kill people. The film ends with Leonard infiltrating the vegetarian base, fending off the vegetarians with magic meat he received from a gypsy, freeing the captive animals and flooding the base using dish soap. He escapes by riding an ostrich on the roof of the building, with the ostrich flying him down, reminiscent of Joust, the video game.
[edit] Criticism
When the film was released in 1987, Bill Cosby said he was so disappointed with it that he publicly advised people to not waste their money to see it. [1] Cosby attributed most of the movie's problems to first-time director Weiland, whom he felt was too young and inexperienced, although Cosby himself was producer and writer of the story.
The movie won three Golden Raspberry Awards, for Worst Actor (Cosby), Worst Picture, and Worst Screenplay (Jonathan Reynolds and Cosby). It was nominated for two more Razzie Awards, for Worst Supporting Actress (Foster) and Worst Director (Weiland). For the 2005 Razzies, it earned a nomination for the Worst "Comedy" of Our First 25 Years category. A few weeks after the ceremony, Cosby accepted his three Razzies (becoming the first person to do so) on Fox's The Late Show. He requested that the three Razzies he earned be specifically made out of 24 carat (99.99%) gold and Italian marble.
The film has been a mainstay on the IMDb's bottom 100 list of the worst films.[2] Despite this, it is also considered somewhat of a cult classic. Enough of a cult classic that Columbia Pictures (now owned by Sony), released the movie on DVD on April 26, 2005.
[edit] Popular culture
- The Roots wrote a song entitled "Leonard I-V", the eighth track on their debut album, entitled Organix. The lyrics of the chorus include a repetition of the phrase "Where did Leonard Parts One to Five go?"
- The movie was mentioned in an episode of Family Guy. When an "animated" Cosby hypnotizes Stewie, Stewie responds "And I like pudding. And Ghost Dad was the best movie I've seen since Leonard Part 6."
- In an episode of Animaniacs, a video copy of Leonard Part 6 is used as a weapon, an exploding 'bomb'.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Leonard Part 6 (1987) - Trivia
- ^ IMDb Bottom 100
- ^ Animaniacs: May 1996. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
