VHS comedy era comedy Hall of fame III (1977-1989)

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)

I didn't think I had seen this movie, but as I was watching it, some scenes looked familiar, so I must have seen at least part of this movie before now. I didn't think this was a great movie, but it was good, and it's probably my favorite of the Steve Martin movies that were nominated in this HoF. I haven't seen most of John Candy's movies, but I thought he and Steve Martin made a pretty good "odd couple" pair.

The movie started out okay, but it didn't take long for the situations to get predictable. Once the concept of the movie, where everything goes wrong for Martin's character, while Candy's character seems to take most things in stride, it's easy to figure out what's going to happen to them before it happens. That didn't make it a bad movie, but it took away some of the humor. (Although it's hard to find much humor while watching Martin's character going through so much misfortune.)

There were some highlights in this movie. The most obvious one was Martin's tirade about the rental car. While I don't normally use that kind of language, he pretty much said what most people would like to say to the woman if we were in his situation.

However, there was a major plot hole in the movie. If they had just waited at the airport, or just taken the hotel for one or two nights and then gone back to the airport, they probably would have been home by the next day or two. There clearly wasn't enough snow on the ground throughout their trip to keep the airport closed for that long.

But if you overlook the plot hole and the predictability, and just try to enjoy the movie, it's an enjoyable movie. And the ending was so good that it makes the whole movie worth watching.
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The Princess Bride

Vizzini: I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains.
Man in Black: You're that smart?
Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Man in Black: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons.

Third watch for me. First time I didn't like it and for years everyone kept telling me how awesome it was so I watched it again and it was okay. Third time's a charm right?

It must be. I officially like this movie but I can't say why it's getting better. Watched it with my BH the other night and she loved it even though she didn't want to watch it (fantasy ain't her favorite). Maybe her enjoyment had a bit of an affect on me? Who knows.

I don't think it's the funniest movie start to finish but it has some very funny moments. The battle of wits is one of those moments and is one of the scenes I've always liked. I also got a kick out of floppy Westley at the end. A little slapstick perhaps but what's wrong with that in a comedy. I cannot emphasize enough how spot on the casting is and once again Rob Reiner does a fine job directing it all. If there's a knock it would probably be Billy Crystal. I liked what he did but I can see where some might think that his performance didn't fit.

Simply put, The Princess Bride is a charming little swashbuckler.



Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
However, there was a major plot hole in the movie. If they had just waited at the airport, or just taken the hotel for one or two nights and then gone back to the airport, they probably would have been home by the next day or two. There clearly wasn't enough snow on the ground throughout their trip to keep the airport closed for that long.
I don't travel much (hate flying) but once your flight is cancelled aren't you pretty much screwed especially during the week of Thanksgiving? They only showed O'Hare once, in near blizzard conditions, which is why they landed in Wichita. Their trip was through places that didn't get the all the snow.




The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk is not the best written film in this HoF, and it's not the best acted or even best filmed...But so far it takes the cake for making me laugh out loud the most times. Yes it's stupid...like a Will Ferrell movie, but I like Will Ferrell.

For me The Jerk worked because it was just Steve Martin doing the dumbest things one kind think of and for some reason that made me laugh. Especially the whole gas station scene was funny. I loved how he was soooo stupid that when Jackie Mason tells him he can stay in a backroom, he thinks it's the men's room. OMG, and there's a dude in there taking a leak and here's Steve Martin all excited about how he's going to decorate the men's room with shelves and furniture. Then he looks at the bathroom stall and exclaims, 'this must be the kitchen' ..then he opens the bathroom stall door and in a happy go lucky way says, 'no'. Ha.



Is Bernadette Peters a peach or what? I love the applique jewelry, I mean that's actually pretty cool and stylish if you think about it. To bad she didn't wear that ensemble to a nicer restaurant, one that didn't have snails on the plate!
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Parenthood

I liked this movie quite a bit. I didn't know if I would like it or not, as Steve Martin in his wackier roles I'm not a fan of. But he wasn't in a wacky role here, and I quite enjoyed that. I liked that the movie was not overly sentimental (except maybe at the end), and that the characters were well written.

Wow, the director had to juggle a lot of different storylines at the same time, this is a really complex plot! Steve Martin of course plays the Dad that just doesn't know how to get to his kid, and Tom Hulce and his dad have another storyline. And there's the troubled family where the parents are divorced and the daughter decides to get married in high school.

It's not a realistic movie plotwise, or maybe even thematically wise, but it works for what it is and I really enjoyed it.

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Real Genius

Real Genius isn't what I'd call a love it or hate it film but rather a like it or don't like it movie. It's corny, it's dated but it's one of the movies that I will always turn on for a bit if I'm channel surfing and come across it.

It's not the funniest movie, by a long shot, but it is one that I've enjoyed since I first saw it 30+ years ago and I think it actually has a pretty decent story - a group of college kids are under pressure from their professor, who is under pressure by the DoD, to build a portable death ray.

I don't laugh at this as much as I used. It still has its moments, mostly coming from Dr. Hathaways sarcasm. Lines like "You're laborers, you should be laboring. That's what you get for not having an education" or when a student tells him he's been doing shock treatment to cure his stutter and Dr. Hathaway tells him to "up the voltage" still make me laugh. He's such a condescending a-hole that I find him funny at times.

The only character that annoys me a little is Jordan. Thankfully, she gets easier to handle as the movie moves along. Initially, though, she's way too much. Also, I don't think Vals' Chris is terribly funny but I like him and he does get off a good one occasionally. His scenes work best when it's just him and Hathaway going after each other.



Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

This is such a great movie. I really like it. I love animation, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the ultimate fusion of animation and live action. It must have been so breath taking to watch in 1988, because it's still jaw dropping to see it today. It simply doesn't get old, seeing a world of animated color matched with the 1947 Hollywood look. The acting is great, and I love Roger Rabbit and Jessica Rabbit - cute couple!

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A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

I betcha think I'm going to gush over Jamie Lee...Actually what caught my eye, was the fish! I've had tropical fish since I was a kid and I had great fun stopping the movie during the opening title credits and identifying the fish they showed! I knew them all too

Time flew by while watching A Fish Called Wanda and that's always a good thing. I'm actually not a big fan of Jamie Lee Curtis, she's fine here...then again all the cast does a great job, especially Kevin Kline. Kline is a natural born comedian and dominates the scenes that he's in. The last film I seen Kline in was the Errol Flynn bio pic The Last of Robin Hood. I liked it even if the critics didn't.

The biggest laughs for me came from Kevin Kline taunting Ken (Michael Palin) about his stuttering. Technically that shouldn't be funny in these days of Woke/PC culture, but I laughed! Especially the taunting while stuck in cement bit, as Ken drives a steam roller towards him, ha! What I didn't laugh at, was the killing of the three dogs. Sure no real dogs were hurt, but I just didn't think any of that was funny. Let's see I need to end this on a light note so...


Didn't that scene inspire a humorous Swedish IKEA commercial?









A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

I betcha think I'm going to gush over Jamie Lee...Actually what caught my eye, was the fish! I've had tropical fish since I was a kid and I had great fun stopping the movie during the opening title credits and identifying the fish they showed! I knew them all too

Time flew by while watching A Fish Called Wanda and that's always a good thing. I'm actually not a big fan of Jamie Lee Curtis, she's fine here...then again all the cast does a great job, especially Kevin Kline. Kline is a natural born comedian and dominates the scenes that he's in. The last film I seen Kline in was the Errol Flynn bio pic The Last of Robin Hood. I liked it even if the critics didn't.

The biggest laughs for me came from Kevin Kline taunting Ken (Michael Palin) about his stuttering. Technically that shouldn't be funny in these days of Woke/PC culture, but I laughed! Especially the taunting while stuck in cement bit, as Ken drives a steam roller towards him, ha! What I didn't laugh at, was the killing of the three dogs. Sure no real dogs were hurt, but I just didn't think any of that was funny. Let's see I need to end this on a light note so...


Didn't that scene inspire a humorous Swedish IKEA commercial?




Coincidentally, just finished re-watching this for the first time in 31 years.

My memories of seeing it in the theater were clouded by the fact that this was one of the movies someone brought an infant to and which cried through most of it - the parent kept taking the child out, but would come back in for more crying to commence. The audience was not happy.

Anyway, much agreed. One lesser character I really enjoyed was John Cleese's wife in the film - I thought she was great (especially in that scene where she repeats Kevin Kline's completely made-up on the spot name with perfect diction on each concocted syllable - and the looks on both Kline's & Cleese's faces when she did it).



The trick is not minding
Rented Annie Hall, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and bought Planes,Trains and automobiles for Black Friday. Will be watching and reviewing them this week



The trick is not minding
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Steve Martin and Michael Caine worked great together, both cast as con artists in a city not big enough for the both of them. At least on its surface.
Look a little closer and you see it’s more about the aging sophistacated and suave Caine protecting not just his territory, but also his ego. Here is a brash, young pretender (played with delight by Martin, who’s only occasionally over the top with his antics)
Caine sneers at the thought of his notoriety .
“He can’t be that good if he’s in the paper.”
After failed attempts to get rid of him, they come to a bet. Who ever cons a heiress out of $50,000 wins with the loser leaving town.

Caine is great here, and even gives his role a bit of depth with little touches of dignity and even a dash of integrity, as you see later on.
Martin is his usual blur of energy. More physical in his manner with his comedy, but it suits him better here then, say “The Jerk”.
And the heiress, played so innocently by Glenne Headley, is perfectly cast as their beautiful target.
Watching her I am reminded instantly of Judy Greer, not just in looks but in acting.
If they ever choose to remake this (again, as The Hustle with Anne Hathaway was based of of this and indeed, this itself was a remake of a David Niven film) Greer would be my vote for playing the heiress.

3 1/2 *’s




Back to the Future (1985)

Loved this one and I'd seen it before but not for the longest time. It just flows perfectly and I was always interested. The cast is great and the premise is way cool!


Wow, that was a short review, especially for me! I'm done watching the noms, good choices everyone.




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Who Framed Roger Rabbit?


Not one of the funniest movies in this HoF but it is one of the best movies in this HoF. I'm still amazed at how seamless all this is. To make a movie like this this good on your first attempt is really kind of mind boggling. What makes Roger Rabbit so good is that the script doesn't take a back seat to the animation. The story fits perfectly with the animation so that the animation never feels exploited. Even when the biggest names in toon history show up they never overstay their welcome. In the wrong hands this could have been an interesting novelty and not much more.

Bob Hoskins does about as good a job as you can as Jack Daniels, er Eddie Valiant. I mean, how do you prepare for a role that's never been done before? I don't know but he figured it out. He plays it straight gumshoe for 95% of the movie which is all he needed considering the chaos going on around him. Charles Fleisher does a good job of voicing Roger and Kathleen Turner, arguably the sexiest voice of the 80's, was the ONLY choice for Jessica.

I think the funniest moment of the film is the opening cartoon. After that it gets a few good lines in here and there ("Is that a rabbit in your coat...."), some of the cameos are pretty humorous (the Dueling Ducks) and the weasels are great but it doesn't need to be that funny because it's that good. If there is one knock I have it's that Roger can be a bit annoying but he's supposed to be so is it really a knock?

For some reason Zemeckis films always fall through the cracks for me. All he does is pump out good movie after good movie and I'm always glad to rewatch them they're just never movies I think of rewatching. Glad to have seen this again after such a long time.




Who Framed Roger Rabbit?


Not one of the funniest movies in this HoF but it is one of the best movies in this HoF. I'm still amazed at how seamless all this is. To make a movie like this this good on your first attempt is really kind of mind boggling. What makes Roger Rabbit so good is that the script doesn't take a back seat to the animation. The story fits perfectly with the animation so that the animation never feels exploited. Even when the biggest names in toon history show up they never overstay their welcome. In the wrong hands this could have been an interesting novelty and not much more.

Bob Hoskins does about as good a job as you can as Jack Daniels, er Eddie Valiant. I mean, how do you prepare for a role that's never been done before? I don't know but he figured it out. He plays it straight gumshoe for 95% of the movie which is all he needed considering the chaos going on around him. Charles Fleisher does a good job of voicing Roger and Kathleen Turner, arguably the sexiest voice of the 80's, was the ONLY choice for Jessica.

I think the funniest moment of the film is the opening cartoon. After that it gets a few good lines in here and there ("Is that a rabbit in your coat...."), some of the cameos are pretty humorous (the Dueling Ducks) and the weasels are great but it doesn't need to be that funny because it's that good. If there is one knock I have it's that Roger can be a bit annoying but he's supposed to be so is it really a knock?

For some reason Zemeckis films always fall through the cracks for me. All he does is pump out good movie after good movie and I'm always glad to rewatch them they're just never movies I think of rewatching. Glad to have seen this again after such a long time.
Sam here regarding Zemeckis. I’ve seen 3 of his films and I’ve liked all of them.
My ranking:
1. Back to the Future
2. Roger Rabbit
3. Cast Away



I think Zemeckis really delivers the goods. I'd say on average I've liked his movies more than most well known directors.

This is what I've seen in ranked order.
Cast Away
Allied
The Polar Express
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future
Back to the Future Part II
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Forrest Gump
Contact

All of those were great to at least good for me.
Romancing the Stone Been way too long since I last watched this to rank it.
Did you review Cast Away? I really enjoyed that movie (even though it’s my “least favorite” Zemeckis.



This is what I've seen so far from Zemeckis and none of them are bad:

Contact

Back to the Future

Cast Away

The Walk

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Romancing the Stone

What Lies Beneath

Death Becomes Her

Forrest Gump

Flight


I think he gets a little lost because he doesn't tackle what are considered really hard hitting dramas. His movies are easy to digest. Spielberg was kind of in the same boat then he did The Color Purple and later Schindlers List which kind of bumped him up into that greatest, "serious" director talk.



Did you review Cast Away? I really enjoyed that movie (even though it’s my “least favorite” Zemeckis.
No I didn't review it. I've only seen it once years ago, but...it's one of the few films that staid with me and that's because of the themes of loneliness and surviving. I really need to see that film again.



Did you review Cast Away? I really enjoyed that movie (even though it’s my “least favorite” Zemeckis.
No I didn't review it. I've only seen it once years ago, but...it's one of the few films that staid with me and that's because of the themes of loneliness and surviving. I really need to see that film again.
I just watched it recently and I agree with everything you said. Also, maybe my favorite Tom Hanks performance? At least his most impressive. Talk about a tough acting role.



The trick is not minding
Did you review Cast Away? I really enjoyed that movie (even though it’s my “least favorite” Zemeckis.
No I didn't review it. I've only seen it once years ago, but...it's one of the few films that staid with me and that's because of the themes of loneliness and surviving. I really need to see that film again.
I just watched it recently and I agree with everything you said. Also, maybe my favorite Tom Hanks performance? At least his most impressive. Talk about a tough acting role.
Tom Hanks best performance is Philadelphia hands down, with Forest Hump and Saving Private Ryan coming in a close second as third.