Leonard Part 6 (1987) Reviews

Let me tell you the premise of this movie and comment down below if you think it sounds like an attempt to be a good movie. “Leonard Parker (Bill Cosby) comes out of retirement from owning a restaurant, reenlists in the CIA and fights the evil Medusa Johnson (Gloria Foster), her gang of animals (trout, gorillas, ostriches, etc.), and her henchmen dressed in bird costumes. With the help of an Albanian fortune teller, he uses butter, ballet shoes, and hamburger patties to fight the enemies and prevent said villain from taking over the world.” Just by reading the synopsis, you can tell that, despite his disownment from the movie and announcements for fans to not see it, no one said no to Bill Cosby when he uttered his pitch to the executives at Columbia. Saying that no one would’ve thought it was a good idea is not even enough to describe how absolutely fascinatingly bizarrely awful Leonard Part 6 is. None of the jokes work, the direction is terrible, and the weapons of choice and villain’s plot are beyond nonsensical, even by Cosby’s standards at the time. Half of the time I couldn’t comprehend her evil plan because I was distracted by the buttes of insanity and ludicrous screenwriting decisions building up simultaneously. The worst and most shameful injoke in the movie is when Leonard asks for a sandwich and a Coca-Cola in response to his daughter Allison’s (Pat Colbert) engagement to 66-year-old Giorgio Francozzi (Moses Gunn). Isn’t it hilarious because Bill Cosby was the spokesman for Coca-Cola, which owned Columbia at the time, and now he’s holding the bottle for all the few people in the theater to somewhat chuckle at? Leonard Part 6 should live as a demonstration on how not to make a comedy, a parody, a riveting action picture, or any film whatsoever.

(1/2 Flying Ostrich out of 5)