americathon [1979]

taking a break from my cruelest month review series, i'd forgotten about this flick until i saw the trailer for it on a trailer compilation series i'd bought last weekend. starring john ritter as the president of a bankrupt u.s. it is the year 1998 and the country is about to be foreclosed on. there's no more gas and people jog, walk and ride their bikes but live in their cars. the president decides to sell san diego to mexico. but to get real dollars he and his cabinet hit upon the brilliant idea that the best way to raise cash and stop foreclosure is to host a telethon, an americathon.

whooo boy, what a novel idea. the filmmakers are nearly prescient in their vision of a blighted but goofy future. today the economy's imploded, the budget deficit for this year is something around 1.4 trillion dollars and unemployment is the highest it's been in several decades plus we are now being told by experts that we have reached or about to reach peak oil. this flick, rather than being relegated as an artifact of the high inflation, energy strapped, and eco-conscious 1970s now speaks to our time too. perhaps we should all get together and ham it up before the cameras for a little dough so we can raise enough cash to pay our way out of this mess. we can put ourselves up for sale. can we find any takers?