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{{short description|1978 film by Joan Rivers}}
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{{Infobox film
'''Rabbit Test''' is a [[1978]] [[comedy]] [[motion picture]] about a nobody guy who rockets to [[celebrity]] status after a cheap one-night stand leaves him [[pregnant]].
| name = Rabbit Test
| image = Rabbit_Test_(1978)_poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Joan Rivers]]
| writer = Joan Rivers<br />Jay Redack
| starring = {{Plain list |
* [[Billy Crystal]]
* [[Roddy McDowall]]
* [[Joan Prather]]
* [[Alex Rocco]]
* [[Doris Roberts]]
* [[Michael Keaton]]
}}
| producer = [[Edgar Rosenberg]]
| music = [[Pete Carpenter]]<br />[[Mike Post]]
| cinematography = [[Lucien Ballard]]
| editing = Stanford C. Allen
| studio = Laugh or Die <br />[[Melvin Simon|Melvin Simon Productions]]
| distributor = [[Embassy Pictures|AVCO Embassy Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|1978|04|09|ref1=<ref name="afi" />}}
| runtime = 84 minutes<ref name="nyt"/>
| country = United States
| language = English<ref name="afi" />
| budget = $997,000<ref name="baumoel">Baumoel, Lois (April 17, 1978). "Joan Rivers Says Teamwork Helped 'Rabbit Test' Meet Tight Schedule". ''[[BoxOffice (magazine)|BoxOffice]]''. SE8.</ref>
|gross = $4.7 million<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/293/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=293|isbn= 978-0-8357-1776-2}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref>
}}


'''''Rabbit Test''''' is a 1978 American [[comedy film]] about the world's first [[male pregnancy|pregnant man]], directed and co-written by [[Joan Rivers]] and starring [[Billy Crystal]] in his film debut.<ref name="Rabbit Test">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87516/Rabbit-Test/full-credits.html|access-date=April 19, 2016|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|title=Rabbit Test}}</ref>
Directed by [[Joan Rivers]], Rabbit Test is about a night class teacher- Lionel Carpenter (played by [[Billy Crystal]])- who has the worst luck with woman, remaining a [[virgin]] until his brash cousin Danny returns from the army and sets him up with the only woman desperate enough to sleep with him. Afterwards, Lionel starts feeling nauseous and throwing up, eventually doing so over one of his [[immigrant]] students- Segoynia. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gives him an excuse to ask her out for the evening (after she's cleaned up, of course), and he ends up at her family home, where her mother works as a fortune teller.


This was the only directing effort by Joan Rivers, who also plays a nurse in a brief scene, while her daughter [[Melissa Rivers]] also has a bit part. Rivers' husband, [[Edgar Rosenberg]], was producer. It was the only theatrical feature to be scored by the team of [[Mike Post]] and [[Pete Carpenter]]. [[Michael Keaton]] made his feature film debut in a small non-speaking role.
It is here that it is revealed by Segoynia's grandmother (played by [[Roddy McDowall]] in [[drag]], of all things) that Lionel is the world's first [[pregnant]] [[man]]. The rest of the film is an almost non-stop barrage of pathetic gags- such as the sideplot of Lionel being forced to flee from both the public eye due to harrasment and from the army, as the president is afraid of what effect the widespread ability for men to conceive, carry and bear children will have on the population boom.


The title is a reference to the Friedman test, commonly known as the [[rabbit test]], a medical procedure used for several decades in the 20th century to determine [[pregnancy]].
A failed attempt at [[Mel Brooks]] style humour means [[Joan Rivers]] offends just about everyone- most of the jokes are about religion, those that aren't fat jokes. This is most obvious in the ending sequence, which is based around the Nativity, where Lionel goes into labour. The camera shoots to heaven where God announces to the veiwers the successful delivery: "Oh my god... it's a girl!"


==Plot==
The cover consists of Joan Rivers pointing at the bulge of pregnant Billy Crystal. This was Joan River's first attempt at direction, Billy's first starring role and is widely regarded as one of the most unfunny comedies ever produced. Most who see this film quickly ask themselves 2 questions: 1- how exactly did he get pregnant? and 2- why wasn't this movie ever included in the worst film lists?
Lionel Carpenter ([[Billy Crystal]]) is a night-school teacher who has bad luck with women. He remains a virgin until his brash cousin Danny ([[Alex Rocco]]) sets him up with a one-night stand. Soon after, Lionel starts feeling nauseated and [[vomits]], eventually doing so onto Segoynia Savaka ([[Joan Prather]]), one of his immigrant students. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gives him an excuse to ask her out on a date, and a romance develops.


When Lionel meets Segoynia's fortune-telling grandmother (played by [[Roddy McDowall]] in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]]), she intuits that he is the world's first [[male pregnancy|pregnant man]]. This results in a series of gags relating to his pregnancy and people's reactions to it. One side plot has Lionel being pursued by the Army because the [[President of the United States]] is afraid of what effect the widespread ability of men to conceive will have on population growth.
Rabbit Test's lack of success is due not only to its genuine lack of real humour, but also because its directed like a spoof- so there are a lot of unanswered questions. Whereas Junior at least explained how Alex got pregnant (artificial insemination into a transplanted uterus), in Rabbit Test this area is never delved into; Lionel simply has sex, then the next thing he know's his daughter is playing havoc with his waistline (the film's catchline is: Where can you get maternity jockey shorts?)


In the ending sequence, which is patterned after the Nativity, Lionel finally goes into labor. The camera rises to Heaven, where God announces to the viewers the successful delivery: "Oh my god... It's a girl!"
This film was the second ever to utilise the idea of Male Pregnancy, the first being a sci-fi film ''[[Enemy Mine]]'', the third was Rabbit Test's karmic successor- ''[[Junior (movie)|Junior]]'', made in 1994 and starring [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] (karmic successor in that not only is the plot almost identical, so is the cover ). This film may have initiated the fanfiction term MPreg.


== External link ==
==Cast==
The main cast includes the following:<ref name="nyt"/>
{{Cast listing|
* [[Billy Crystal]] as Lionel
* [[Joan Prather]] as Segoynia
* [[Alex Rocco]] as Danny
* [[Doris Roberts]] as Mrs. Carpenter
* Margaret Adachi as Interviewer
* Adam Anderson as Sobbing Sailor
* John Andersonio as African Chief
* Edward Ansara as Second Newscaster
* [[Billy Barty]] as Lester
* [[Imogene Coca]] as Madam Marie
* [[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]] as First Newscaster
* [[Norman Fell]] as Segoynia's Father
* [[Fannie Flagg]] as President's Wife
* [[Alice Ghostley]] as Nurse Tumm
* [[Roosevelt Grier]] as Taxi Driver
* [[George Gobel]] as President of the U.S.
* [[Paul Lynde]] as Dr. Roger Vidal, M.D.
* [[Roddy McDowall]] as Gypsy Grandmother/Dr. D & C Fishbine
* [[Sheree North]] as Mystery Lady
* [[Charles Pierce (female impersonator)|Charles Pierce]] as Queen of the United Kingdom
* [[Tom Poston]] as Minister
* [[Charlotte Rae]] as Cousin Claire
* [[Jimmie Walker]] as Umbuto
* [[Michael Keaton]] as Sailor
* [[Joan Rivers]] as Second Nurse
* [[Ron Rifkin]] as Dr. Briscoe
}}


==Production==
*{{imdb title | id=0078133 | title=Rabbit Test }}
When all the major studios turned Rivers down for funding, she raised about half the film's $997,000 budget by remortgaging her home and convincing her father to do the same, and raised the other half with a series of investment deals.<ref name="baumoel" /><ref name="franklin">Franklin, BarbaraJane (July 22, 1978). "Standing the 'Rabbit Test'". ''[[Screen International]]''. p. 24.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/56963-RABBIT-TEST |title=Rabbit Test - History |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref> Rivers explained how she got so many cameos on a tiny budget: "We had no money to spare. I made up a letter: 'Dear so-and-so, we'd love to have you be in a part; there is no money, no point in arguing, etc.'" All involved did stints for [[Pay scale|scale]] ($185), with a bonus if the film made over $18 million.<ref name="baumoel" /> Another $1 million was allotted for promotion and publicity.<ref>McDowell, Edwin (June 9, 1978). "TV Talk Shows Leave a Trail of Gold". ''[[The New York Times]]''. D1.</ref>

==Release==
The film opened in pre-release on February 17, 1978, in six cities ([[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Houston]], [[Denver]] and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]])<ref>"Hefty 'Rabbit' Grosses In 6 Prerelease Dates". ''[[BoxOffice (magazine)|BoxOffice]]''. February 27, 1978. 10.</ref> before an official opening in [[Los Angeles]] on April 7.<ref name="afi">{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/56963-RABBIT-TEST |title=Rabbit Test - Details |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref>

==Reception==
''Rabbit Test'' drew negative reviews from the majority of critics.
* [[Roger Ebert]] rated the film 1 star out of 4 and wrote that it "is not a funny movie. It really isn't. It's jammed from wall to wall with eccentric characters and throwaway one-liners and would-be funny signs ('The Christian Science Memorial Hospital'), but it's just not funny. And I know it's not, because I would have laughed if it had been."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rabbit-test-1978 |title=Rabbit Test |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=April 25, 1978 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=May 8, 2019 }}</ref>
* [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and called it a "trivial and tasteless little movie ... It's nothing more than a series of tired ethnic insults and vulgar sex jokes."<ref>Siskel, Gene (April 26, 1978). "'Rabbit': A lot of bathwater but very little baby". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 5, p. 7.</ref>
* [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "Miss Rivers has turned to directing without paying much heed to whether a whole movie constructed from [[one-line joke|one-liner]]s is worth even the sum of its parts. In her case, it's not&mdash;and the one-liners weren't all that sparkling to begin with. When it winds up on television, which is where a movie this visually crude belonged in the first place, ''Rabbit Test'' may improve slightly: Constant commercial interruptions may help distract attention from the movie's continuity problems, which are severe. And the coarseness of its comedy may not seem so insufferable to an audience willing to sit still for ''[[Laverne and Shirley]]''."<ref name="nyt"/>
* ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' stated that "Rivers has taken a slim concept ... and come up with a generally slim feature. To be sure, it contains a few yocks, but the humor—from one liner to one liner—never emerges; it's 84 minutes of forced setups."<ref>"Film Reviews: Rabbit Test". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. February 22, 1978. 19.</ref>
* [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote, "Ostensibly this film, sure to be among the year's worst, is a comedy, but it's really a mystery, the mystery being how a lady as witty and talented as Miss Rivers, who showed such flair with her script for the TV movie ''[[The Girl Most Likely To...]]'', could come up with something so crass and unfunny."<ref>Thomas, Kevin (April 8, 1978). "Joan Rivers' Directorial Debut With 'Rabbit Test'". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part II, p. 10.</ref>
* Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the film a "tiresome farce" full of jokes "which fall flat with dreadful consistency."<ref>Arnold, Gary (May 2, 1978). "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/05/02/joan-rivers-rabbit-fails-the-test/04bea0a9-51f1-44da-87a5-d85a43738288/ Joan Rivers' 'Rabbit' Fails the Test"]. [[The Washington Post]]. B9.</ref>

Joan Rivers heavily promoted the film by visiting theaters in Chicago showing the film. When she visited the Portage Theater on Chicago's northwest side, she arrived in a limo, told jokes, signed autographs, took photos with fans, and received a standing ovation from theater patrons during her visit.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The film received a 1.7/10 by the judges at its 2018 screening at The Secret Cinema, surpassing ''[[Wild Rovers]]'' (2.3/10) to become the lowest-rated film to be shown there.

Despite the negative reviews the film received, ''Rabbit Test'' was a box office hit, grossing over $12 million in its first four months of release.<ref name="franklin" />

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="nyt">{{cite web |url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078133/fullcredits/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk |title= Rabbit Test' Film Depicts First Pregnant Man Full Cast & Crew | work=IMDb }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title | id=0078133 | title=Rabbit Test }}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|rabbit_test}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=87516|name=Rabbit Test}}

{{Joan Rivers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbit Test (Film)}}
[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:1978 comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy films]]
[[Category:American pregnancy films]]
[[Category:Embassy Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Joan Rivers]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Joan Rivers]]
[[Category:1978 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1970s pregnancy films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:Blackface minstrel shows and films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy films]]

Latest revision as of 07:03, 13 December 2024

Rabbit Test
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoan Rivers
Written byJoan Rivers
Jay Redack
Produced byEdgar Rosenberg
Starring
CinematographyLucien Ballard
Edited byStanford C. Allen
Music byPete Carpenter
Mike Post
Production
companies
Distributed byAVCO Embassy Pictures
Release date
  • April 9, 1978 (1978-04-09)[1]
Running time
84 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish[1]
Budget$997,000[3]
Box office$4.7 million[4]

Rabbit Test is a 1978 American comedy film about the world's first pregnant man, directed and co-written by Joan Rivers and starring Billy Crystal in his film debut.[5]

This was the only directing effort by Joan Rivers, who also plays a nurse in a brief scene, while her daughter Melissa Rivers also has a bit part. Rivers' husband, Edgar Rosenberg, was producer. It was the only theatrical feature to be scored by the team of Mike Post and Pete Carpenter. Michael Keaton made his feature film debut in a small non-speaking role.

The title is a reference to the Friedman test, commonly known as the rabbit test, a medical procedure used for several decades in the 20th century to determine pregnancy.

Plot

[edit]

Lionel Carpenter (Billy Crystal) is a night-school teacher who has bad luck with women. He remains a virgin until his brash cousin Danny (Alex Rocco) sets him up with a one-night stand. Soon after, Lionel starts feeling nauseated and vomits, eventually doing so onto Segoynia Savaka (Joan Prather), one of his immigrant students. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gives him an excuse to ask her out on a date, and a romance develops.

When Lionel meets Segoynia's fortune-telling grandmother (played by Roddy McDowall in drag), she intuits that he is the world's first pregnant man. This results in a series of gags relating to his pregnancy and people's reactions to it. One side plot has Lionel being pursued by the Army because the President of the United States is afraid of what effect the widespread ability of men to conceive will have on population growth.

In the ending sequence, which is patterned after the Nativity, Lionel finally goes into labor. The camera rises to Heaven, where God announces to the viewers the successful delivery: "Oh my god... It's a girl!"

Cast

[edit]

The main cast includes the following:[2]

Production

[edit]

When all the major studios turned Rivers down for funding, she raised about half the film's $997,000 budget by remortgaging her home and convincing her father to do the same, and raised the other half with a series of investment deals.[3][6][7] Rivers explained how she got so many cameos on a tiny budget: "We had no money to spare. I made up a letter: 'Dear so-and-so, we'd love to have you be in a part; there is no money, no point in arguing, etc.'" All involved did stints for scale ($185), with a bonus if the film made over $18 million.[3] Another $1 million was allotted for promotion and publicity.[8]

Release

[edit]

The film opened in pre-release on February 17, 1978, in six cities (Nashville, Rochester, Columbus, Houston, Denver and Portland)[9] before an official opening in Los Angeles on April 7.[1]

Reception

[edit]

Rabbit Test drew negative reviews from the majority of critics.

  • Roger Ebert rated the film 1 star out of 4 and wrote that it "is not a funny movie. It really isn't. It's jammed from wall to wall with eccentric characters and throwaway one-liners and would-be funny signs ('The Christian Science Memorial Hospital'), but it's just not funny. And I know it's not, because I would have laughed if it had been."[10]
  • Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and called it a "trivial and tasteless little movie ... It's nothing more than a series of tired ethnic insults and vulgar sex jokes."[11]
  • Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Miss Rivers has turned to directing without paying much heed to whether a whole movie constructed from one-liners is worth even the sum of its parts. In her case, it's not—and the one-liners weren't all that sparkling to begin with. When it winds up on television, which is where a movie this visually crude belonged in the first place, Rabbit Test may improve slightly: Constant commercial interruptions may help distract attention from the movie's continuity problems, which are severe. And the coarseness of its comedy may not seem so insufferable to an audience willing to sit still for Laverne and Shirley."[2]
  • Variety stated that "Rivers has taken a slim concept ... and come up with a generally slim feature. To be sure, it contains a few yocks, but the humor—from one liner to one liner—never emerges; it's 84 minutes of forced setups."[12]
  • Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Ostensibly this film, sure to be among the year's worst, is a comedy, but it's really a mystery, the mystery being how a lady as witty and talented as Miss Rivers, who showed such flair with her script for the TV movie The Girl Most Likely To..., could come up with something so crass and unfunny."[13]
  • Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called the film a "tiresome farce" full of jokes "which fall flat with dreadful consistency."[14]

Joan Rivers heavily promoted the film by visiting theaters in Chicago showing the film. When she visited the Portage Theater on Chicago's northwest side, she arrived in a limo, told jokes, signed autographs, took photos with fans, and received a standing ovation from theater patrons during her visit.[citation needed]

The film received a 1.7/10 by the judges at its 2018 screening at The Secret Cinema, surpassing Wild Rovers (2.3/10) to become the lowest-rated film to be shown there.

Despite the negative reviews the film received, Rabbit Test was a box office hit, grossing over $12 million in its first four months of release.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Rabbit Test - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Rabbit Test' Film Depicts First Pregnant Man Full Cast & Crew". IMDb.
  3. ^ a b c Baumoel, Lois (April 17, 1978). "Joan Rivers Says Teamwork Helped 'Rabbit Test' Meet Tight Schedule". BoxOffice. SE8.
  4. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-8357-1776-2. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  5. ^ "Rabbit Test". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Franklin, BarbaraJane (July 22, 1978). "Standing the 'Rabbit Test'". Screen International. p. 24.
  7. ^ "Rabbit Test - History". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  8. ^ McDowell, Edwin (June 9, 1978). "TV Talk Shows Leave a Trail of Gold". The New York Times. D1.
  9. ^ "Hefty 'Rabbit' Grosses In 6 Prerelease Dates". BoxOffice. February 27, 1978. 10.
  10. ^ Ebert, Roger (April 25, 1978). "Rabbit Test". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  11. ^ Siskel, Gene (April 26, 1978). "'Rabbit': A lot of bathwater but very little baby". Chicago Tribune. Section 5, p. 7.
  12. ^ "Film Reviews: Rabbit Test". Variety. February 22, 1978. 19.
  13. ^ Thomas, Kevin (April 8, 1978). "Joan Rivers' Directorial Debut With 'Rabbit Test'". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 10.
  14. ^ Arnold, Gary (May 2, 1978). "Joan Rivers' 'Rabbit' Fails the Test". The Washington Post. B9.
[edit]
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