Review of Viva Knievel! (1977) by Tim S — 03 May 2013

It's difficult to consider Viva Knievel an entertaining film, much less deriving any entertainment value from it. It's not a good movie, and those that see it will agree with that. It is, however, a bit of a curiosity, mainly because of its star.

The plot of the film itself involves a ring of bad guys looking to kill off Evil Knievel while he performs in Mexico and send back to the U.S. a large amount of drugs in his coffin so that customs and border patrol won't find it.

It's a dumb plot, but there are some great working actors in it. You have Leslie Nielsen, Cameron Mitchell and Marjoe Gortner, but you also have Lauren Hutton, who's absolutely terrible in the movie (mainly because her and Knievel didn't get along) and you have Gene Kelly, late in his career.

Knievel himself is no actor either, and it's strange seeing a fictionalized version of him with a love interest when he was married and had kids in real life at the time. The film does have several unintentionally funny moments, enhanced by the folks at Rifftrax, but if you're looking for a '70's oddity, then look no further.