The first time I had the opportunity to see this goofy assed film was some years back,on an all night cult films program called 'Night Flight', that was carried by the USA Network. The plot seemed to be something of a Science Fiction satire about an alien invasion of the Earth by a character called 'The Lightning Bug',who planned on destroying Earth with Rock & Roll, and later drugs. Okay...a premise for a cheap.low budget cheese ball of a late night film, I thought. What really got me was the fact that it was (mostly)made up of clips from various movie serials of the late 1930's, to the early 1950's,with new overdubbed dialog (which also included some new footage,also shot in black & white). What makes this film even better is that the script is written by two ex-Firesign Theater members (Phil Proctor & Peter Bergman,who also appear in the film). This seems to be the kind of film that would have benefited from being screened at cinemas that specialized in midnight movies (especially with an audience that is baked to the nines). I'm not 100% sure if this has been released on DVD as of yet, but maybe you can dredge up a used VHS video copy either at a used video outlet (if you can still find one that's still in business---curse you,Netflix!),or maybe even on E-Bay. Happy hunting. Rated PG by the MPAA, this film contains some rude language,drug humour & mature subject matter

How many WTF moments have you experienced with your teevee? One of mine occurred on a Sunday morning the spring of '92, accidentally intercepted a "Ren & Stimpy" episode. My other WTF moment was well after midnight ten years earlier, sneaked some cable behind my parents' backs and caught one of Night Flight's "J-Men Forever" broadcasts. My prank phone calls never were the same, baby."J-Men" is the trippy '70s drug comedy supreme. Prior to "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" and "MST3K," decades before Spike dubbed Japanese game shows, the Firesign Theatre guys went berserk with a pile of Republic serials. The result inexplicably works far better than it should, hilarity ensues and you don't even need to be stoned.Especially amazing is the legendary MGK's performance as The Bug. WARNING: You'll begin talking like him after your second viewing.The movie's now available on DVD, so toss your ratty VHS copies in the trash. Invite delinquent friends, have a "J-Men" party. Just remember to dial *67 before you begin the prank calls. Lots of WTFs to go around.

I grabbed the DVD as soon as it was released. Until then, I only had a well worn VHS copy of an old Night Flight broadcast, so the disc was a welcomed addition to my library. There are a few extras on the disk, one of which is an interesting interview with Commando Cody (George Wallace), who interviewer Proctor insists on calling "Commander".Proctor and Bergman also discuss their making of JMF. One disappointment was Bergman's completely unnecessary comments about the war in Afghanistan and the war on drugs. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a guy who has made a living with his counterculture humor would have such a reflex attitude toward "the establishment", but I wish he had kept his ill conceived beliefs to himself. Funny and creative he is. Intelligent and astute he is not. To make matters worse, the entirety of the Proctor/Bergman dialog is plagued by oft-occurring audio dropouts (the rest of the disk is OK).That said, it's still well worth buying. J-Men Forever is a hilarious movie and is one of my favorites.

This movie is not for every taste...but if you're a fan of Firesign Theatre and Mystery Science Theatre...this may be right up your alley. It has some of the most brilliant puns and plays-on-words ever assembled. It can be compared to Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily?" The difference is "J-Men" was crafted from a number of scenes from different '40's era serials and tied together with several contemporary scenes shot in period looking b/w. I've found 2 reactions to this film. People either love it..or they don't get it. There is so much broad humor in this one...you might miss some of the sly subtle lines..of which there are a ton. It's a hard one to find...but well worth the search (if you're one of those that love it). There's another film called "Hot Shorts" which Proctor & Bergman made utilizing most of the same clips but with different story lines that I believe predates "J-Men". It is also worth seeing...but "J-Men" is the funnier one for my money.