This South African film was an unexpected worldwide hit in the early 1980s. It has a great opening 30 minutes, as it tells the story of the peaceful Bushmen, living happily as hunter gatherers in the Kalahari desert and oblivious to the modern world (even though the great modern cities of South Africa are located just a few hundred miles south of where they live). One day, a white pilot flying in a small airplane throws an empty Coke bottle into the desert. The Bushmen find it, and believing it to be a gift from the Gods, create many ingenious uses for it. However, since there is only one of it and is coveted by all the tribe, it creates all sort of bad feelings, like greed and jealousy. As the narrator implies, the Coke bottle has been an instrument through which the peaceful Bushmen has been contaminated by the modern world. So the elders of the tribe decide they should banish the bottle, and ask one of their hunters to go to the end of the world and throw it away. His trek begins, in which he will meet with many other, supposedly more civilized beings, including a white scientist, a female white journalist and some nasty African rebels. This part of the movie is not so great. It's heavy on slapstick, but is not really funny. Interestingly, this film was even accused of racism at the time for the way it portrayed the brutal African rebels (South Africa was then under apartheid and this was one of the rare films from that country released internationally).

Imagine a movie in the 80's depicting Africans as primitive people without being racist or disrespectful. That alone was a huge challenge in those sensitive times and this movie did it. It is a mockery of civilization along with a silly "G" rated love story/comedy-basically two plots in one movie loosely tied together. I first "heard" this movie when I somehow got a TV signal on my radio. I was in Army barracks and I liked nature shows so I listened without visual for a while at this odd narrative coming through the speakers. For a while I thought it *was* a nature show but I had never heard one so silly. Later I found out how unpopular it was with critics and "cool" people so after buying it I put it in the closet with my old Carpenters album and Dr. Demento video cassette only to be taken out when I was alone and wanted a little guilty pleasure from something I truly enjoyed after sitting through numerous fart jokes and other stuff that strained a laugh.

Okay, The Gods Must Be Crazy (TGMBC) isn't just about (a) Coke (bottle.) But, it certainly pushed things into place.The very first time, and only other time, I've seen this before last night, was in first run theatres, which had to be in 1984 when I was 10. My father took me to see this, and even though a lot of it went over my head, what stuck with me was his deep laughter throughout the entire feature. And it was contagious; I was laughing hard, because he was. I was having a great time, like he was.Fast forward, nearly 30-years later, to my follow-up viewing. Wow. This was hard to get through. Now, that said, it is funny, and purely innocent – it's almost 100% slapstick comedy and basically G, if not for the native nudity. Also, despite the incredibly low budget, it was inventive and obscenely original.I say it was a chore to watch again – and I probably will never see this another time, due to the pacing and age. The movie was made on/around 1980 and definitely did it broadcast that year. TGMBC took so long to get through and was not a short movie as it probably could've been.Well, TGMBC did insert many story lines that VERY nicely came together. Even with small resources, the many stories and characters did intrigue me. It was so 1930s screwball comedy, but with a non-typical setting (Africa) and unknown actors.TGMBC tells the tale(s) of a 100% isolated African Bushman who must rid his tribe of a Coke® bottle that the Bushmen wrongfully thought was a gift from their gods when it was merely thrown out of a passing plane. He takes it upon himself to take the eventually labeled: "evil" object to the edge of the Earth and drop it off. Which, I guess, means they still believe the Earth's flat?Meanwhile, renegades invade the land and a poop-specialist, a school teacher and the government gets involved to take down said rebels. I literally summed up an almost two-hour comedy, but it's more fun to watch how all these stories intersect and pan out.Only…the core of the screenplay, that faithful, "bad" Coke® bottle's own story kinda gets the rush treatment in the end. Perhaps, because they ran out of what little funds they had…?Obviously, it's not to be taken seriously – it is slapstick comedy all-around, after all. But, it is interesting enough with the Out-of-America setting and multiple story lines that were very well crafted. In addition, the narrator, which I loved by the way, tells many interesting stories and thoroughly educates me on the land, culture and animals I am unfamiliar with.And finally, the lead Bushman, Xi, or Xixo depending on who you trust, was awesome in this. A perfect performance, and stand by that.I would recommend The Gods Must Be Crazy with the recommendation that you know what you're getting yourself into.

"The Gods must be crazy" is a whimsical satire of human nature set in Africa where a tribe leader, Xi(Nlxau) is enjoying a relatively happy life when a Coke bottle is thrown from a passing plane and is thought to be a great gift from the gods. Soon the people find many uses for the magical object and begin to fight over it.Xi takes the bottle to stop the fighting among his people who previously did not argue over property ownership, but shared everything in a communal society setting. Xi starts out on a journey to find the end of the earth in order to throw the evil a Coca Cola bottle into the abyss. Xi wanders into civilization for the first time in his life and encounters warring factions and all other forms of modern day man. This is a beautiful film with a positive message and will definitely bring a smile to your face.