Viva Knievel!

"One fine day, a man came to town, the king of the road with a helmet for a crown..." Vanity piece for Knievel is not as consistently entertaining as the best of the 'howler' genre but has its moments; drug baron Nielsen's crazy scheming, Buttons and Kelly as the least likely 'tough' guys ever, and the legendary opening as Knievel breaks into a convent in the middle of the night (and the lame shall walk again!) Kelly really gets the fuzzy end here, in a pitifully sad and overblown performance.

Goofy fun.

At the beginning this looked as if it would be an incredibly enjoyable guilty pleasure, a ridiculous ego project for Evel Knievel, but it gets to the point that its lameness is no longer enjoyable but merely a chore to get through, especially with its over padded runtime. Neither does it help that the late Leslie Nielsen, who I do love, is the least threatening drug baron you could have in a film.

"Viva Knievel!" is a vanity project where a cast of seasoned stars surrounds the out-of-shape Knievel, playing himself as an action hero. The superhero narrative unfolds like a 70's TV production. None of it works, and if you like Gene Kelly, don't watch this film.