10 Michael Keaton Movies You've Never Even Heard Of
3. Rabbit Test
What is it?: At the risk of too many boating references in one article, the ship cast off on Keaton's career in this 1978 misfire. Keaton's big screen debut was in a film boasting some quality names but which nevertheless failed to come together the way it should have done. Rabbit Test focused on one of the great, largely-untapped comedy premises - that of a pregnant fella. The title is a medical expression, referring to an exercize involving urine and of course rabbits that has passed into healthcare history, and is far too disgusting to be mentioned on a family website. Who helmed this tale named after such a crude procedure? The answer is a surprise and yet makes perfect sense - the late, great Joan Rivers. Billy Crystal became the guy with the morning sickness and some bizarre cravings. Keaton's involvement stretched to a small role as a mute seaman. From this unlikely springboard came Billy Blaze (Night Shift) and Bruce Wayne. Again, images of his moment from Rabbit Test are as hard to come by as, well, a dude with a bun in the oven. So here's a vintage snap of the star circa 1987, apparently nursing a headache.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
