← Back to Reviews
in
My Blue Heaven(1990)
Despite an occasional lull in a story that keeps the stars separated for too much of the film, the 1990 comedy My Blue Heaven is worth a look thanks to a pair of terrific lead performances that almost allow the viewer to overlook the screenplay that's not sure what kind of story it's telling.
Rick Moranis plays Barney Coopersmith, a tight-assed FBI agent whose wife has just left him who has been assigned to protect a criminal named Vinny Antonelli (Steve Martin) who has been flown from Manhattan to the suburbs as part of the witness protection program to keep him alive until he testifies in two different trials. Vinny's wife (Deborah Rush) has left him too and it is this common thread between these two guys that springboards a slow burn of a relationship where both parties learn from each other.
I have to admit that teaming Martin and Moranis was quite inspired and something that I would never have thought of, but it really works here and more surprising is the way it works. Martin definitely plays the more outrageous, cartoon-like character that he can play in his sleep and guarantees laughs, but it is Moranis' work as the nerdy FBI agent who eventually sheds his nerd outer shell that really makes this story worth the investment..
Nora Ephron, fresh off her Oscar-nominated screenplay for When Harry Met Sally, provides a humorous story but the method in which the story is told is a little bit confusing. Martin's Vinny and the all the characters in Vinny's orbit seem to be written and played as a satire, in the fashion of a Mel Brooks comedy, while the rest of the characters we are introduced to, including an uptight ADA, played by the always watchable Joan Cusack, are all played with a pretty straight face and the difference between Vinny and the rest of the characters is often quite jarring and makes staying invested in the story difficult at times.
What's not difficult staying with is the wonderful work by Martin and especially Moranis in the starring roles, that makes this movie a lot funnier than it really should be. Ed Lauter, Melanie Mayron, Carol Kane, and the rubbery body of Bill Irwin also offer comic support to this sometimes hard-to-swallow tale that never takes itself too seriously, even though there are times that maybe it should have. Goldie Hawn is billed as one of the executive producers.
Despite an occasional lull in a story that keeps the stars separated for too much of the film, the 1990 comedy My Blue Heaven is worth a look thanks to a pair of terrific lead performances that almost allow the viewer to overlook the screenplay that's not sure what kind of story it's telling.
Rick Moranis plays Barney Coopersmith, a tight-assed FBI agent whose wife has just left him who has been assigned to protect a criminal named Vinny Antonelli (Steve Martin) who has been flown from Manhattan to the suburbs as part of the witness protection program to keep him alive until he testifies in two different trials. Vinny's wife (Deborah Rush) has left him too and it is this common thread between these two guys that springboards a slow burn of a relationship where both parties learn from each other.
I have to admit that teaming Martin and Moranis was quite inspired and something that I would never have thought of, but it really works here and more surprising is the way it works. Martin definitely plays the more outrageous, cartoon-like character that he can play in his sleep and guarantees laughs, but it is Moranis' work as the nerdy FBI agent who eventually sheds his nerd outer shell that really makes this story worth the investment..
Nora Ephron, fresh off her Oscar-nominated screenplay for When Harry Met Sally, provides a humorous story but the method in which the story is told is a little bit confusing. Martin's Vinny and the all the characters in Vinny's orbit seem to be written and played as a satire, in the fashion of a Mel Brooks comedy, while the rest of the characters we are introduced to, including an uptight ADA, played by the always watchable Joan Cusack, are all played with a pretty straight face and the difference between Vinny and the rest of the characters is often quite jarring and makes staying invested in the story difficult at times.
What's not difficult staying with is the wonderful work by Martin and especially Moranis in the starring roles, that makes this movie a lot funnier than it really should be. Ed Lauter, Melanie Mayron, Carol Kane, and the rubbery body of Bill Irwin also offer comic support to this sometimes hard-to-swallow tale that never takes itself too seriously, even though there are times that maybe it should have. Goldie Hawn is billed as one of the executive producers.