Funny Farm
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.89 You Save: $3.08 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.71 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Funny Farm
Movie Review: Great Chevy Chase moments
Summary: 4 Stars
"Funny Farm" is a harmless comedy from Chevy Chase's prime that is easy to watch and like. For me it's had a longevity, and I tend to throw in the DVD a few times a month to run in the background while I'm working. It's the story of Andy Farmer, a sportswriter turned novelist, who moves to the New England countryside with his wife Elizabeth to write the great American novel. The little town they choose is called Redbud, a seemingly quaint Northeastern village. At first glance, everything is beyond perfect. The house and property are spectacular, enough to make any viewer of the film want to pack up their typewriters and move immediately. But slowly the dream crumbles. The movers get lost, the mailman is a psychopathic drunk, a corpse is discovered in the garden, they have no phone to call the police, Andy makes some enemies from the locals, the writing is laboriously slow, and his dog runs away. The Farmers discover they aren't quite suited for country life, despite their valiant efforts to embrace it. This fact reaches its apex when, in a very funny scene, Andy sets the record for the most "lambfries" consumed in one setting at the local diner. Only after breaking the record does he find out they are actually sautéed sheep testicles.
This is the start of a long night for Andy, who, in taking his wife out for a romantic night at Sid's Hideaway Bungalows, presents her with the first few chapters of his novel, insisting she read it right then and there. This whole sequence is classic for any writer, since we've all been there. Andy watches his wife read the first page and, when she doesn't crack even a smile, he feels the need to point out the funny parts that she should've laughed at. He reluctantly leaves her alone to finish it and goes out for wine. Her response upon completion? Tears. She goes on to describe in painful detail why the story (which they've pinned their hopes and dreams on) is an utter disaster. Her diatribe ends with a suggestion to burn it, which he does in a retaliatory fury.
To make things worse, Elizabeth has written a children's book behind Andy's back, which has been accepted for publication. The story? A squirrel from the city ends up in the country and completely out of his element, everything he tries to do turning to disaster. The squirrel's name? Andy. This only adds insult to injury and drives a wedge between them. Andy sinks into depression, and the last straw for Elizabeth is when Andy gives a copy of her manuscript to his publisher, passing it off as his own work (since he hasn't written a thing since the script-burning incident). She leaves him.
Up to this point the movie is pretty good. It has funny moments (if you like Chevy Chase, which I do), good characters, unique story ideas, etc. And then it just derails into that generi-comedy that suffocated many films in this era (like "Real Genius" and "Weird Science" for example, funny films that just exploded into some alternate universe in act 3). Instead of getting a divorce, which will take months to finalize, they decide to ask the citizens of Redbud to emulate Norman Rockwell paintings of "normal" small-town life so that when prospective buyers of their house come to town, they will be so impressed with Redbud they will just have to buy it. In return for this, Andy and Elizabeth will give the town $10,000 plus $50 to each person witnessed doing an act of "Rockwellian" normalcy.
What? How does this even remotely fit in to the rest of the story? First of all, it doesn't do anything for the problem of the divorce or the time frame involved to get it done. Second, they did nothing to establish that there would be any problems whatsoever in selling the house, even without the help of the Redbud townspeople. Lastly, it was completely unnecessary and unbelievable. They simply would've moved back to the city, gotten real attorneys and had their divorce finalized within weeks. End of story. The house would've been sold when it sold, the money divided up in the settlement, whatever. It just didn't make any sense, in reality or in the context of the film.
Even within this bizarre plot twist, however, there are still plenty of funny moments, and eventually we are led to the happy ending. Apparently the façade the Redbudians put on is so good it fools even Andy and Elizabeth back into buying the dream they had abandoned. They decide to stay married and keep the house. Andy gives up his dream of writing a novel and takes a job as a local sportswriter. The end.
Another significant point to mention is the unique structure to the film. Well, that was kind. I suppose other critics might say *lack* of structure to the film, but either way it's unconventional. There really isn't a major act turning point until over an hour into the movie (not counting his uprooting from the city - this would normally occur fifteen to twenty-five minutes into a film), then the Redbud deal finally brings us into the next act, and act 3 is just a couple of minutes of voice-over by Andy. The structure is there, just unusual, and I think it's what makes the movie stand out more than the average 90s comedy.
One more thing. Chevy relies heavily on his patented comedy and you really can't distinguish a difference between Andy Farmer and Clark Griswold. He even uses some of the same lines ("A hundred years ago the settlers didn't need electricity or phones..."). True, this is a problem, but for those of us that love Clark Griswold it's easily bearable.
Lastly, I'll mention the DVD is completely impoverished. There are literally no special features to be heard of. I think you're safe to buy this though; although a fun little movie that's comfortable like an old pair of jeans, I don't really expect to see a special edition of "Funny Farm" coming out anytime soon.
see a special edition of "Funny Farm" coming out anytime soon.
Movie Review: "Cue the Deer..."
Summary: 4 Stars
I've always admired George Roy Hill's gifts as a director, from BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, to THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, to the underrated and underappreciated THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER. In fact I think Hill was one of the top cinematic craftsmen of 70s and 80s Hollywood. And he serves the story of FUNNY FARM well.
You can tell you're in the hands of a master when not long into the story he delivers a classic, almost Lubitsch-like moment that comes when the two transplanted city folk have to spend the night in their new farm house with no furniture (the movers got lost) and nothing to eat except for a few bananas and an apple. The crunch of that apple, with perfect camera placement, comes at just the right place in the story to let you know that no matter what farfetched plot points may be coming along down the road (and there are some), the humor is going to be more subtle, and of a drier, more "throwaway" style, than what you might expect from a typical Chevy Chase vehicle.
And speaking of vehicles, you've gotta love longtime character actor Kevin Conway as the enraged local mailman, who drives his loud, rusty, unmufflered truck past Chevy's new house every day and simply throws whatever letters and junk mail there is at the mailbox. Or the local sheriff who lost his driver's license and has to be chauffeured to crime scenes by the local cabbie. (I told you things would get farfetched.)
Then there's the character of "yellow dog," a large, lethargic labrador retriever (wonderfully underplayed by a big yellow lab) that Chevy and his wife (wonderfully underplayed by Madolyn Smith) bring home after their first attempt at dog ownership (with an energetic Irish setter) fails the moment they let him out of the car. (I don't want to give away the joke or I'd say more.)
My favorite line? Once they decide to sell the house, they realize that what's going to sucker a new owner into buying it from them is exactly what suckered them into buying it in the first place, namely the "local color". So as an eager young yuppie couple, intent on living closer to nature, motors their SUV up the snowy driveway, Chevy peers at them through the curtains, then clicks on his walkie-talkie and says, "Cue the deer..." Sure enough, just as the unsuspecting yuppies get out of their car--their eyes bright, their breath making clouds in the frosty morning air--a lovely, long-limbed fawn scampers right past them and into the woods.
Ahhh. Just like the movie itself, it's absurd, cynical, and wonderfully sentimental all at the same time. A perfect mix. This is not a great film comedy (like THE BANK DICK or DUCK SOUP) by any stretch, but it's quite good in its own, quiet way. And if you're a Chevy Chase fan and wish he'd done more films with an element of quality to them, this is one of Chase's few cinematic turns as a real actor, not just a buffoon.
Movie Review: Would you like Lamb Fries with that?
Summary: 4 Stars
Chevy Chase is normally associated with the Caddyshack, Fletch and Vacation series meaning that his one-shot movies mostly fall by the wayside. Films like Spies Like Us, Nothing But Trouble and Funny Farm have went largely unseen since the advent of DVD in 1997. Neither of these movies have received widescreen releases and have been out of print for years. I was beginning to wonder what Warner had against giving them definitive releases until I discovered an HD master of Funny Farm on the PlayStation Network.
I saw it only once, when I was about 9, and remembered very little. If you're a fan of Clark Griswold then Andy Farmer isn't too far removed. Andy is a sports journalist who retires from the big city to the Redbud, Vermont hoping to enjoy and idyllic, peaceful life and finally write the great, American novel (The Big Heist). When he gets there he and his wife discover that almost everyone and everything is weirder than the last. There are giant snakes in their pond, a dead body buried in their garden, a Sheriff who can't drive, a crazy mailman and a town who basically hate them. And top of all this Andy has severe writer's block while his wife manages to churn out a successful children's novel without really trying.
With careful, measured direction from George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy, The Sting) Funny Farm, based on a novel by Jay Cronley, manages to be a little classier than Chase's usual fare. This makes the lack of a home video version even more puzzling. It has never been released on DVD in the UK, and the 1989 VHS is long gone. If you have access to the PlayStation Network then go for it. I have a funny feeling that Funny Farm and Spies Like Us will probably be released as a Warner Blu Ray Double Feature in the near future, but nothing has been announced so far.
Don't let the mistreatment of this film put you off, it lives up to it's title and is the perfect vehicle for Chevy Chase and his goofy humour.
Movie Review: Pretty good movie but a dull dvd
Summary: 4 Stars
Funny Farm is a pretty good "little movie" even at the time when it came out in 1988 Hollywood was really beginning to stop making simple films like this. You won't find any special effects, nudity, but just a few bad words are found in this film but it is mostly a pretty good clean film that is sure worth viewing. Although the film is delightful it has cracks and holes in it all over the place. First I see Chevy Chase in this film as Clark Griswold it seems like Beverly D'Angelo should be his wife here because Chase's character is just to similar to his role in the Vacation movies. I started to see more of what the film was trying to say near the end but all through the film it constantly has jokes that fizzle and the plot had so much potential. Also the film needed more people in it even though Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith are great we really don't know the other people to well in that town you see them but Who are they? For instance those teenagers who tear down road signs the audience has no idea why they do it or what there names are and what the point is? The film though has it's share of lightness though and the picturing and style of the film is nice to look at. The DVD however is another story it is probably one of the dullest DVD's on the market today no theactrical trailer or anything. This is not the kind of movie I don't think that has deleted scenes laying around in a vault somewhere or I don't think either that for such a small film like this your going to find a half hour show on the making of Funny Farm. It would have been nice but the film is just such a small film I don't think money is put for things like that but on the dvd you get a great movie with a clear picture even though VHS is probably just as good. Buy this it is worth viewing.Movie Review: FUNNY...AND VASTLY UNDERRATED MOVIE
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie doesn't get a lot of love but through repeated showings on the Comedy channel I have grown to really appreciate it. Chevy Chase is a big city sports writer who decides to give up city live and move to the quaint New England town of Redbud, Vermont to write a crime novel. He's accompanied by his wife played by Madolyn Smith.Well in classic Murphy's law, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. They get to their new house and find that their furniture is late arriving, they have no phone, their mailman is a nut who tosses the mail out as he speeds by, and they have a body buried on their property.
Chase tries to acclimate himself to the new townfolk by filling in in a fishing contest...promptly hooking one of his partners in the neck with the fishing hook. In an attempt to remove the hook Chase punches the hapless man to try and knock him out. This prompts one of the other men to say, "you're not knocking him out, you're just beating the Sh*t out of him!"
Throughout, Chase battles the crazed mailman as well as the rest of the nutty townfolk who are like demented members of Hooterville.
Later they decide and sell their dreamhouse and offer to pay the townspeople to act normal for just one day to impress the prospective buyers. They put on a show right out of a Norman Rockwell painting as its now during the Christmas season. funny stuff.
Chase is at his finest as the put upon writer, becoming slightly more crazed himself with everyday he spends in redbud. The townspeople are tremendous.
Pick this one up