IMDb linkI don't see many comedies. There are two reasons: the first is just mechanics;I'm not in charge of writing the Netflix queue. Second, most comedies are not that great. How many times have I seen a movie preview for a comedy and thought, "well, I think I just saw every funny line in that movie." With that said, I truly love comedy.
As my TiVo will tell, the summer hiatus has been good for me. The stored dramas are staying stored; I don't think I can care about another dead body on CSI or watch another orange-clad detective on CSI Miami. Why does the costumer put everyone in orange? It's not the new black.
Oh, wait. I'm supposed to be writing a movie review!
Anyway, I love comedies but tend to watch television sitcoms instead of movies. In 22 minutes, they tall a lot of throwaway jokes and it makes me laugh. I had kind of a bad day and this movie's been on my TiVo for months, so I watched it.
It was hilarious. As a former soap opera (what's the PC term now? Daytime serial drama?) watcher, the jokes were hilarious. They even had good sight gags- one character, Bolt (of course named something silly), never wears anything but spaghetti string tak tops and tight workout shorts. He also has the requisite glistening skin. The only costuming that fell flat was the tweetie bird reference.
Kevin Kline simply shines in his role. I fell in love with his comedic style during Dave, and it is alive in this earlier film too. His intelligent deadpan is brilliant. Sally Field's trumped-up overacting is great also. I can't even look at Garry Marshall without laughing because he's so funny. The "play within a play" style of the movie delivers comedy, irony, and a dash of self-deprecation that is so necessary in a campy film like this one.
I laughed out loud more times than I can count. I know the movie is fifteen years old but it is worth watching. And a note to current comedy directors: look! No stupid jokes about genitalia nor scatology! A movie doesn't have to be disgusting to be funny!
[rate 4]