elshikh4 It's remarkable that the favorite subject for the rising trend of parody movies in the 1970s end, and the 1980s start, was the disaster movies. Just remember (The Big Bus - 1976), (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! - 1978), (Airplane! - 1980), and (Airplane II: The Sequel - 1982). Though, I deem it natural because of what the disaster movies caused of satiety during the whole 70s decade. Plus, some real disastrous experiences that came in the late 70s such as (The Swarm - 1978), (The Concorde ... Airport '79 - 1979), and (When Time Ran Out - 1980), which were parodies of themselves already ! As you see, The Big Bus took the initiative to mock at that genre, which inaugurated yet another genre. And while it isn't Airplane, it has the seed of its fresh craziness. For instance : the matter of the lead being accused of "eating" people, the cemetery scene, and the bar fight; which's the movie's best moment.Originally, it seems as if Airplane took a lot from this movie, like : the character of a pilot with a troubling past, who's needed suddenly to save the day. How his ex-girlfriend is on the same ride. Or how they come back to each other in the end. Let alone a scene where the stewardesses demonstrate to the riders what to do while the trip is in danger ! The bus was huge with fabulous design. The running gag of the bus's singer was super. And since the first time I watched him years ago, till now, I believe that Joseph Bologna is one the most underrated comedians ever. That guy was great. He could do cracking comedy with the littlest efforts. It's a shame that he wasn't a star in many movies or TV shows as he should have been.Director James Frawley has many funny bones, and bad luck as well; because he didn't direct more movies. However, his comic energy can be felt in countless TV episodes of shows like Columbo, Magnum P.I., Tales of the Gold Monkey, and Vengeance Unlimited. Or a movie like The Muppet Movie (1979). Now, to the negative points. And the first one comes to my mind is Stockard Channing. MY GOD, who thought of hiring her in a leading role in a comedy ??? She looks like an awful version of Elizabeth Taylor, and I don't like Elizabeth Taylor in the first place ! Channing has no beauty, no talent for comedy, so why she's here anyway ??!!The characters on the bus were few, and even fewer of them were interesting. David Shire's music is all the time excited, maybe for parodying the music of other disaster movies, but eventually it didn't work for me. Some of the jokes didn't hit the "funny" mark, like when all the riders had to wear bizarre costumes in the end. And some of them weren't utilized smartly, like the idea of how the evil guy lives in a metal cocoon. Or attaching the scientist father into the ground against his well, which while being creative, it was used laconically. Speaking of laconic things, the end is, with fabricated defeat for the evil guys, and such an incomprehensible surviving for the good guys (I still don't know how the lead saved the bus over the cliffhanger !). Add to that, extremely dull ending shot, and you'll get why this good movie feels not so good for many viewers. It is short, and runs out of clever ideas nearly halfway through it. But for the most part, it's a wonderful comedy, little ahead of its time, and the true disaster is that it isn't any famous.

merklekranz Seeing the interesting cast of mostly character actors, I was expecting more laughs from "The Big Bus". Even though it tries hard, nine out of ten jokes misfire, and are just plain silly or stupid. Another problem is the same joke is worked to death, for example the Diablo Pass incident, or the doctor caring for his patient in the parking lot. Other jokes simply go on for far too long and become tedious. The nuclear bus visuals are impressive, but overall the characters seem more like they are doing stand up comedy, than playing in a movie. A very frantic finish is the best part of the film, but even that cannot save "The Big Bus". - MERK

clabkeloh "The Big Bus" seems to be getting better as it ages: what was once par-for-the-course screwball comedy is morphing into grand, high camp.Camp with real style, too. An amazing cast of big actors pull out all the stops; mugging for the camera and delivering the most insane lines in earnest deadpan. I remember the mania for disaster movies that occurred when I was a kid and "The Big Bus" hits the nail on the head aping all the great moments of an overblown genre. Plus you have to see the bus to really appreciate the absurdity. I recommend seeing this film just for the fun of seeing a colossal double-decker, articulated passenger bus that has a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a formal dining room, and a piano bar complete with a brilliant schmaltzy singer. A little lower-key than the 'Airplane' movies...but well worth it simply to see the A-List cast having fun. A Note: the dinner scene can never be accurately described, it must be seen to be believed.

kgac Saw this movie when it was new, couldn't stop laughing at the parodies on the other current disaster movies, as well as at the visual and audible puns contained. I gave it a "7" score, because the laughs turn into groans, and you can't take anything seen or heard seriously. The whole flick is sort of one giant bad (and that's good) pun!!! Either"Car and Driver", or "Road and Track", at the time, did a test drive feature on the bus - biggest problem was that it couldn't get under the access bridge over the track, so couldn't do full laps. Yes, this was in an April issue. I suppose a little more web-searching will turn up the identity of the magazine and probably a source for a copy of it!