Who payed the critics

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The set-up for this film may seem cruel to some, as unsuspecting bit player and comic "Scary" Perry Caravello is fooled (by many, many people) into believing that he is the star of a cop film called Windy City Heat. They actually film the entire movie with him believing that he's the star!! His two buddies, the jealous and bullying Don Barris and the dimwitted and stoned Mole are cast as the secondary leads and actual director Goldthwait portrays the film's director. As you can imagine, Perry was chosen to trot off on this entirely filmed, seemingly endless snipe hunt because he is a charmingly guilable target, endlessly patient with the indignities heaped upon him, forever losing his temper and shrieking in a shrill voice yet never really asserting himself. And oh, what indignities they are! Poor Perry is thrown repeatedly into a dumpster filled with manure, made to drink countless beer, milk, and pizza smoothies before his big love scene with the luscious Susan B Anthony (which he is then barred from when Goldthwait insists on a stunt double), denounced as "scary fairy" by Carson Daily, and nearly killed by Mole during a prop mishap which then leads to Perry being left tied to a chair and forgotten about by the entire crew. So much more. Two scenes in this had me laughing as hard as anything I've ever laughed at in my life. The first is when Perry is presented with the vile piece of junk that is supposed to be the action figure of his character. It's so misshapen and repellent it looks like a voodoo doll. And Perry's indignant reaction is perfect. I was rolling on the ground laughing.The second is the final, frantic race to the film's big opening. The way the movie throws roadblock after roadblock at Perry as he tries to make it on time is brilliant. The intersection of a drunken, metal head limo driver (named Travis Bickle of all things) and a trip to a convenience store that nearly turns into ménage trios between Perry and twin belly dancers is so brilliant in the way that it stacks madness on top of madness. Loved it!

Having taken some time to re-watch and ruminate over Windy City Heat (I've seen it four times and counting), explaining the enduring appeal of it is still tricky. First of all, it's funny. It's blindingly funny. It's tip a cow then kick a duck up the arse funny. It's also fantastically original in it's conception and treads heavily where few might dare to tread at all. The mark in this; possibly the most elaborate prank ever, is the fabulous Perry Caravello. Arrogant, sexist, homophobic and gullible. He is hilariously short tempered yet naive and lovable. Our catalysts and instigators are Don and Mole who according to the film have been messing with Perry for over a decade now. The setup is to have Perry, an aspiring actor and comedian in Hollywood, audition for a part in a film and win it. They go on to shoot the actual film over the course of a week, only it's all part of the setup and every scene is just another opportunity to provoke Perry's wrath while the cameras are rolling. There is physical comedy, humiliation, and provocation. It's great. When watching the film you will recognise names and faces. The in-jokes are endless. Perry gets none of the references. I do get twinges of pity for Perry as he falls for joke upon joke. Half the jokes are just to sell or justify a previous joke or fabrication. Some of the setups seem so contrived that it's hard to believe anyone would fall for it, but Perry sees no problems. It's humour is maybe a little cruel and sadistic in spirit, which in turn provokes thought on edgy comedy as an elaborate web of ethical dilemmas. Fortunately, any uncomfortable doubts about what you're watching are put to bed when you understand the relationship of Perry with Don and Mole. Perry is working, making some money and gaining the fame his so craves. Though it's clear someone like Perry can be (and has been!) taken advantage of in a town like Hollywood, I'd go as far to say Perry is protected by Don and Mole and there's obviously some affection there. The underlying fascination of WCH has percolated to the depths of my subconscious and left me quite frankly, obsessed. If there were ever a film cult I was part of than this is it. It is continued now with the excellent ongoing podcast (The Big Three podcast) and the unfolding drama and windups over facebook and other online forums. WCH triumphs where a film like I'm still here totally failed. There is no holier than thou Hollywood smugness. It is well planned and improvised and thick with gags from the most base to the marvellously subtle. It runs hand in hand with An idiot abroad as the most hilarious and startlingly real tragi-comedy out there. Comedy on film is often about levity and escapism but on the other end of that spectrum lies WCH, something that's real and engaging, provocative and most importantly, deeply and lastingly funny.

I love the idiots on IMDb who post the movie plot synopsis as if they need to interpret a movie so anyone who watches it will know ahead of time what they are watching. For what purpose...? Understanding? Enjoyment? Scientific advancement?Makes no sense.If you want to comment on a movie, comment on what you got out of it, because movies ---like books, or any thing artful for that matter---- are purely subjective experiences. I have no wish to explain the details of the plot of Windy City Heat. It would serve nothing useful for me to do so. It's got actors, a movie supposedly being filmed, funny plot developments, imagined and real betrayals, situational stuff, sophomoric humor.And the whole thing is friggin' hilarious! This movie works extremely well as a comedy because you never know exactly where it's going to go, and even after it gets to where it has arrived you don't know if it's going to stay there, or why it got there in the first place. And you don't care. It's friggin' hilarious!Basically it's "The Three Stooges Meet Dumb and Dumber" in a Hollywood soundstage. None of it smacks of reality, yet it has that "I-know- people-this-stupid-so-it-seems-half-real" feel about it. I love this movie in all its crudity and ignorance. It truly is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen!! I couldn't help myself laughing at it. Or stop laughing after it was finished and I thought back to scenes.But spare me the total BS of the reality of this 'prank' on Caravello--- -the whole movie is simply that---it's a movie. Enjoy it! Tell your friends about it! They'll love you for it. A great comedy movie!!!

You know, I hate to have to reduce my criticism of a movie into the simple phrase, "It's mean." But "Windy City Heat" is so terrible that I really can't find a better way to describe it. It's mean, and it's a bad movie because it is mean.As you probably know already, the plot revolves around Perry Caravello, a struggling actor (and an unlikeable personality) who desperately wants to be a celebrity. A couple of his "friends" devise a scheme to make him think he's part of a big-budget action movie and they film the results as Perry continues to swallow all the lies he's fed.The movie is supposed to be funny because it's an impressive prank that's being pulled on an incredibly stupid, gullible, and unlikeable person.Instead, it's incredibly unfunny and depressing because it's a malicious prank. "Windy City Heat" could only be less funny if the premise was that two guys kidnapped Perry's wife and made him think that she was dead for 11 years, then constantly filmed him while setting him up on "dates" with cross-dressers.Perry isn't a likable person, but that doesn't excuse what the movie does. What they've done is taken a man's dream, strung him along for eleven years while building up false expectations, and then played them up for cheap (and I mean REALLY CHEAP) laughs. You'd think that if they were going to be such jerks, they might try to come up with something funny to do to him---but instead, all they can come up with is sixth-grade, juvenile humor. Like putting him in a room with an over-the-top gay stereotype, or pretending that they're going to dump feces on him.There's really only one group of people who could possible think this movie is funny: total ***holes. If you yourself are a complete jerk, then maybe you'll laugh at this. If you think something as stupid and annoying as "Crank Yankers" is funny, then you'll probably like this.But if you are even remotely human, then you'll probably just end up feeling depressed at the idea of this movie. Whether the movie is real or not doesn't change its badness---even if Perry was in on the joke for the whole movie, the concept of torturing a guy like this is simply not funny.If you want to know whether or not you'll think this movie is funny, think about this premise: A man dying of AIDS is told by his brother and father that he will be cured if he spends the next two weeks letting people sodomize him with broomsticks on camera. If you think that idea sounds like it would be hilarious, then by all means watch "Windy City Heat." But if you think it sounds cruel, disgusting, and just plain stupid, then stay away from this movie. And congratulations on not being a cynical, mean-spirited jerk.