WELCOME TO WASHINGTON, MR. WITHERSPOON

by Tom Tiede ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 1979

Whimsy, apocalyptic political satire, and porno-farce -- an unlikely and generally unworkable combination, here dished out with more energy than taste by the author of Coward (1968). It all takes place one August day in 1983 when (like in those cutesy 1940s movies) Washington is visited by the visible ghost of John Witherspoon, a signer of the DeClaration of Independence; he's been brought to life by some heavenly presence (named, nauseatingly, ""Mr. Boo"") to save America from its sins. So, while Witherspoon wanders around town being tagged as a nut-case, we see various examples of Washington's madness and evil: the President is a senile maniac who is refusing to take heed of dire warnings about new brinkmanship by the Soviets; the Vice-President is plotting against the President, and a General is more openly attacking the White House lunacies; the Senate is conducting a witch-hunt on the Press (""instances of journalism excess leading to tragedy""); a Congressman accurately and very publicly accuses another Congressman of cuckolding him (Mo Udall comments: ""When prick stands up, brain sits down""); and the director of the Subcommittee on Public Morality, a sexual psychopath, goes around killing women. All of these plots are shuffled and mixed, then sprinkled with dirty jokes, Polish jokes, dumb puns (""Is grape nuts a venereal disease?""), and extraneous dips into euthanasia, lesbianism, and all sorts of hardcore shenanigans. A few bright Dr. Strangelove-ian moments, but mostly scatter-shot foolishness and grossness of the pseudo-hip but essentially juvenile variety.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION