Rabbit Test (1978) DVD Billy Crystal - Joan Rives Directorial Debut

Rabbit Test (1978) Color Beautifully re-mastered – great picture and sound. Aspect ratio 16:9 Anamorphic Approx. 82 min. (Region One – Playable in US, Canada, Mexico, etc.)

Starring: Billy Crystal, Roddy McDowall, Joan Prather, Alex Rocco, Doris Roberts and Michael Keaton.

Produced by Edgar Rosenberg Cinematography by Lucien Ballard Edited by Stanford C. Allen Music by Pete Carpenter and Mike Post Written by Joan Rivers and Jay Redack Directed by Joan Rivers

Lionel Carpenter (Billy Crystal) is a night-school teacher who has bad luck with women. He remains a virgin until his brash cousin Danny (Alex Rocco) sets him up with a one-night stand. Soon after, Lionel starts feeling nauseated and vomits, eventually doing so onto Segoynia Savaka (Joan Prather), one of his immigrant students. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gives him an excuse to ask her out on a date, and a romance develops.

When Lionel meets Segoynia's fortune-telling grandmother (played by Roddy McDowall in drag), she intuits that he is the world's first pregnant man. This results in a series of gags relating to his pregnancy and people's reactions to it. One side plot has Lionel being pursued by the Army because the President of the United States is afraid of what effect the widespread ability of men to conceive will have on population growth.

In the ending sequence, which is patterned after the Nativity, Lionel finally goes into labor. The camera rises to Heaven, where God announces to the viewers the successful delivery: "Oh my god... It's a girl!"

Written and directed by Joan Rivers, starring Billy Crystal in his feature film debut!

Rabbit Test was a box office hit, grossing over $12 million in its first four months of release.