Synopsis
In Harry Shearer's tongue-in-cheek comedy, a waiter at Zanbesu Glen (a chi-chi Northern California resort) uses his movie camera to spy on the annual communal vacation of a group of rich, white U.S. government and business leaders who drink and carouse to excess while plotting their next move on the global stage. His goal? To sell the embarrassing and incriminating footage to the media and expose the "leaders" for what they really are.
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Cast
- Harry ShearerJoey Lavin
- Michael McKeanPorterfield 'Porty' Pendleton
- Alan ThickeAlan Thicke
- Peter MarshallPeter Marshall
- George WendtGeneral Edison 'Pete' Gerberding
- Fred WillardSenator Roger Dickey
- John Michael HigginsWhit Summers
- Ming-Na WenKaty Woo
- Henry GibsonClifford Sloane
- David RascheElliot Chevron
Recommendations
- 63
Boston Globe
Feels conceived and shot on the fly -- like between lunch breaks for Shearer's radio show and his ''Simpson'' voice-overs. - 50
The New York Times
Fitfully entertaining molehill of a movie. - 40
Variety
Despite its intelligence and a great, funny concept for a movie, this "Picnic" never gets past the appetizers; pic lacks the development needed for a full-length feature and, following a hilarious opening sequence, it becomes tiresomely one-note. - 40
L.A. Weekly
A satirist such as Shearer should need a license to go hunting on terrain so rich with easy targets; he tries to bag them all, and it leaves the film to founder in aimlessness. - 40
Los Angeles Times
Does for industrialists, politicians, pro-football owners and lawyers what Christopher Guest's "Best in Show' did for dog owners -- but without the skewer. - 38
New York Daily News
Falls short of the mark, content to shoot fish in a barrel. - 30
TV Guide Magazine
It doesn't meet the minimum number of laughs to qualify as a comedy -- two would have clinched it -- and it's far too asinine to be taken seriously. - 30
New Times (L.A.)
It's utterly frustrating: What could and should have been biting and droll is instead a tepid waste of time and talent.