GBGoodies 2015 Movie Logbook

Noises Off... (1992)

This is a great movie about a group of disorganized actors preparing for the opening of their stage play. There is so much fun chaos going on in this movie that I laughed from start to finish.

The all-star cast includes Michael Caine, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Carol Burnett, Marilu Henner, and more, and every one of them is perfect in their role.

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The Frisco Kid has been one of my favorite movies for years. I remember watching it with my parents when I was younger, and they laughed as much as I did. There aren't a lot of movies that we all loved, but this was one of them.

I have it on DVD, and I watch it at least once every six months.

Oh, God! (1977)

This is a charming movie about God finding someone to help spread the word about him to the world. It has some very funny lines, and some great scenes, especially the courtroom scene. This isn't a "laugh a minute" comedy, but it's a great movie.

George Burns is terrific as God, and John Denver does a great job as the man God chooses to help him.

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I remember it having so much heart.
I could never figure out why this movie didn't become a bigger hit - I remember seeing it and thinking that this was what Harrison Ford would become known for (as opposed to that "space" movie with the robots he was in).

There's an image I can't get out of my head, but is there a scene of Gene Wilder on a horse in front of a giant moon (or with stars in the background)... something like that?

I think it didn't become a bigger hit because a lot of people just don't get the Jewish humor. If you're not Jewish, you can easily miss a lot of the jokes.

I don't remember him on the horse in front of the moon, but there's a scene with him walking his horse in front of the sun while waiting for sundown before he can ride it, and a scene when he rides the horse over a cliff into the water, but neither scene has a giant moon in the background.

Oh, God! Book II (1980)

George Burns returns as God, but this time he asks a young girl to help him spread the word, and she enlists the help of her friends. This is a good movie, but it's not as good as the first movie.

Louanne is very good as the girl trying to help God spread the word, and her friends are pretty good too.

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Oh, God! You Devil (1984)

George Burns is back in the third movie of this trilogy, but this time he plays a dual as both God and the Devil. In this movie, God and the Devil are fighting to win the soul of a struggling musician, (played by Ted Wass).

This movie is okay, but it doesn't have any of the charm of the first two movies. There are some good scenes, but unless you really need to see all the movies of the trilogy, you can skip this movie.

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Wishful Drinking (2010)

IMDB lists this movie as a documentary, but it feels more like stand-up comedy. This is a terrific movie about the life of Carrie Fisher, known to most of us as the actress who played Princess Leia in Star Wars. Carrie Fisher lays it all on the line, and holds nothing back.

If you're familiar with her family, (her mother is actress Debbie Reynolds, and her father was singer Eddie Fisher), this movie is hysterical. When she brought out the family chart, and went through her whole family, I was .

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To Find My Son (TV Movie - 1980)

This movie is a very touching story about a young, single man who fights to adopt a young, troubled boy. This is a TV movie that I saw many years ago, when it originally aired, and I've been trying to find it again for years. I finally found it (on YouTube), and it's just as good as I remembered it. It's an emotional story that will tear at your heartstrings.

Richard Thomas and Justin Dana are wonderful together.

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The Comeback Kid (TV Movie - 1980)

This is a great TV movie about a minor league baseball player who agrees to coach a team of underprivileged kids, and finds romance along the way. If you've seen the movie Hard Ball (2001) with Keanu Reeves, then you know the basic story. (It's not listed as a remake of this movie, but if it isn't a remake of it, then it's a ripoff.) This movie has its emotional ups and downs, but it's a terrific movie.

It's stars John Ritter and Susan Dey, with Doug McKeon and Jeremy Licht as two of the kids, and they all give great performances. And watch for Patrick Swayze in one of his very early roles.

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Father Figure (TV Movie - 1980)

This is a TV movie about a man who tries to reconnect with his two sons, who he hasn't seen for 8 years, after their mother commits suicide. He grows closer to the younger son, but his older son hates him for leaving them. This terrific movie is an emotional movie that also has a lot of tension.

Hal Linden and Cassie Yates are great, but it's Timothy Hutton who steals the movie with a terrific performance as the older son.

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Freebie and the Bean (1974)

This is one of the funniest buddy cop movies ever made. James Caan and Alan Arkin star as two detectives who are assigned to protect a witness, but their fighting causes destruction and some very funny problems. Lots of action, exciting car chases, and a great ending make this a terrific movie.

James Caan and Alan Arkin make a great team. It's a shame that they didn't make more movies together.

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The In-Laws (1979)

This is one of the funniest comedies ever made. Two fathers are brought together when their kids get engaged. One is a respected dentist, the other says he works for the CIA. But when he gets the dentist involved in a dangerous mission, we start to wonder, is he really CIA, or is he crazy?

This movie has lots of funny scenes, crazy characters, and some great car chases. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are hysterical together, and Richard Libertini adds more crazy fun to the movie.

This movie is a must-see for anyone who loves comedies.

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Divorce American Style (1967)

This movie is a cute rom-com about a couple who decide to get a divorce, only to find out that divorce causes problems too. It's kind of predictable, and it isn't as funny as it probably should be, but it has some very good scenes, and overall it's a pretty good movie, but it's not the best movie for anyone in the cast.

Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds are both very good in the movie, but as a divorced couple, they have very little chemistry together. The supporting cast is very good, and it includes Jean Simmons, Jason Robards, Van Johnson, and a young Tim Matheson in his movie debut.

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The Awful Truth (1937)

In this cute rom-com, a married couple gets divorced because they each suspect the other of cheating, then as they realize that they still love each other, they each try to sabotage the other one's new relationship.

This is a terrific movie with some very funny scenes. I love the scene when the lawyer is arguing with his wife, while he's on the phone with Irene Dunne's character, trying to explain to her that "marriage is a beautiful thing". We even get to see charismatic Cary Grant on the floor playing with the dog, and showing off his gymnastic talent.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne have good chemistry together, but I find Irene Dunne just a little bit annoying in this movie. However the movie is so good, that it doesn't hurt the movie at all. You may also recognize the dog, Mr. Smith, who also played Asta in The Thin Man (1934).

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The Frisco Kid, Real Genius, Freebie and the Bean, and Oh God are all good movies that I haven't seen in a long time.

Oh, God! is a good film. I think you're a little generous with your rating for the sequel. I've not seen the third but it's always looked awful.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

I just watched "The In-Laws" again not that long ago. I think it is pretty funny.

Out of the 3 Grant-Dunne films, "The Awful Truth" is in 2nd place. I kind of place it a little higher on my 1930's list, too. It is a funny movie (though I do understand what makes Irene Dunne become annoying in there). I know a lot of people love the Katharine Hepburn pairing with Cary Grant, but I always liked him better with Irene Dunne. And I always wished that they made more movies together.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

I hadn't seen some of these movies in a long time too, but most of these movies were re-watches for me. I decided to revisit some old favorites.

I thought the sequel was good, but it just wasn't great. That's about the right rating for my tastes, but I may have been swayed a little bit by nostalgia. It took me a while to figure out why one of the kids looked so familiar, until I realized that it was little Ricky Seagull from "The Partridge Family", only a few years older.

I wouldn't call the third movie "awful", but it wasn't good either. George Burns was fun to watch, but the movie just never really made you care if the musician ended up with God or the Devil.