The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | clown ministry

You are here: Harvey Korman reviews >The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

Editorial review of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas courtesy of Amazon.com

Kids will enjoy the dinosaurs, gaudy prehistoric decor, and cartoon humor of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. The movie begins before Fred (Mark Addy from The Full Monty) and Wilma (Kirsten Johnston from Third Rock from the Sun) Flintstone ever met, back when Wilma was an unhappy rich girl seeking happiness in a less snobby environment. Running away from her smothering mother (Joan Collins!) and an oily suitor, Chip Rockefeller (Thomas Gibson from Dharma and Greg), she winds up at a drive-in restaurant where she meets Betty (Jane Krakowski from Ally McBeal), a waitress who thinks Wilma is actually homeless and invites the runaway to live with her. Our blue-collar heroes, Fred and Barney Rubble (Stephen Baldwin from The Usual Suspects), ask the girls out on a double date, and before long Fred and Wilma bond over bowling. But it turns out that Chip is in debt to a ruthless loan shark and needs Wilma’s money, so he invites the couples to his new casino in Rock Vegas, where he plots nefariously to ruin their blossoming love. The plot holds no surprises and the dialogue is clumsy, but there’s a blithe dimwittedness to the whole affair that makes it curiously inoffensive. Adults will most enjoy the sly performance of Alan Cumming (Eyes Wide Shut) as the Great Gazoo, an alien sent to Earth to observe human mating behavior. Also featuring Harvey Korman as Wilma’s doddering father. --Bret Fetzer

Trivia from The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

John Stephenson, who plays the Showroom Announcer, was the voice of Mr. Slate Flintstones TV movies.
Harvey Korman, who plays Colonel Slaghoople, was the original voice of The Great Gazoo in The Flintstones TV series.
The song that the showgirls danced to, “Rise And Shine,” was used as the beginning and end credits theme song for the first season of the animated series.
The creators of the original animated series, ‘Hanna, William’ and Joseph Barbera, can be seen briefly during the wedding scene at the end of the picture. There’s one quick shot of the two of them together singing along to the Flintstones theme song.
Rosie O’Donnell, who provides the voice of the Octopus Masseuse, played Betty Rubble in the 1994 film.
Harvey Korman did the voice of the Dictaphone in the 1994 film.
On the shelf in Betty’s kitchen is a box of Post Fruity Pebbles, a real-life breakfast cereal derived from the original animated series.
On the jail cell wall is “For A Good Time, Call 867,” a reference to the 1980’s pop song, “867-5309/Jenny.”
The producers opted for the prequel approach in this second film mainly due to ‘John Goodman’ ‘s refusal to reprise his role as Fred Flintstone.
Although several actors from the first live action The Flintstones (1994)movie have roles in this movie, only Irwin Keyes is the only actor to portray the same character, Joe Rockhead.
Jane Krakowski was cast in this film after ‘Steven Spielberg’ met her at an awards show and asked her to do the part.