Modern Problems
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Movie Reviews of Modern Problems
Movie Review: so bad it's.... well, it's pretty bad.
Summary: 3 Stars
I have a sort of fondness for this ultra weird flick. I haven't seen it in ages, but I still recall Nell Carter as the voodoo priestess, and Chevy Chase doing the lines of cocaine floating in mid-air... It's just ODD! Chevy Chase is manic, and somewhat funny in this, and there are alot of talented actors slumming it here.
I don't recall the visible booms and camera equipment (maybe because I saw it formated to pan-and-scan for cable, whereas the dvd is wide-screen), but, the film is definitely not being shown as an example in film schools. It does fit in the 'so bad it's entertaining' category, though. It's like watching a drug-fueled train wreck.
If you like bad, oddball time-capsule films, or if you just happen to be very high in the middle of the night, and catch this film, it is pretty entertaining... but I can't really recommend it for the casual viewer or 'Chevy Chase fans' (do they exist?).
For the record, this film was made by the same creator of 'The Groove Tube,'a 'cult' sketch comedy movie from the 70's also starring Chase, which is actually worth a look. I suggest renting that if you want to see a dated, druggy comedy, over this one.
Movie Review: A DAB OF DABNEY
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie has a major plus for fans of Dabney Colman. If you've always wanted to get a view of that prodigious posterior without the obstruction of fabric, this movie is for you. It's worth the purchase price!Movie Review: Mean Spirited
Summary: 3 Stars
There are some laughs in this one (I must have seen it dozens of times when it seemed like it was on cable infinite repeat in the 80s) but it does seem unnecessarily mean-spirited in restrospect.Movie Review: "IIIIIII LIKE IT!" Or at least I did...
Summary: 2 Stars
Modern Problems is a glorious time capsule of 70s kitsch, filtered through a veneer of sci-fi, drug-use, and the decline of modern man.
Chevy Chase is Max Fielder, a control freak with a high-stress job (air traffic controller) who drives his live-in girlfriend away with his obsessive need to control everything. We don't really see exactly Fielder's controlling nature, so we'll have to take girlfriend Darcy's (Patti D'Arbanville)word for it.
It doesn't take long before Darcy's male best friend puts the moves on her. Poor Fielder has the misfortune of bumping into the non-couple in every scene, which further inflames him. And yet Fielder never does anything about it - there's never any fisticuffs, swearing, or much of a reaction at all except a lot of facial expressions ranging from the comedic to the lascivious.
And that's what Modern Problems is mostly composed of...facial expressions. It's unlikely there will ever be another modern film that takes so much time focusing on an actor's face, and director Ken Shapiro milks these expressions for all their worth. Chase in particular spends a lot of time hamming it up for the camera.
Although Modern Problems is supposed to be a comedy - and it is juvenile comedy at its best - it also nurses a grudge. Fielder has one of the most important jobs in the world; in the era of emergency landings and terrorist attacks, we all view an air traffic controller's job as critical. Yet he is powerless as a result of the collapse of social conventions like marriage (Fielder has a friends-with-benefits relationship with ex-wife Lorraine), the ascension of equal rights for everybody (wheelchair-bound Barry is a confident, successful buddy from Fielder's past), and tolerance for every lifestyle (as espoused by BS-spewing Mark Winslow, a self-help author). Fielder is just a working Joe trying to get by, but gone are the entitlements he would have enjoyed in the 50s.
That all changes when toxic waste spews on Fielder, mimicking similarly toxic "waste" from chickens and rain that blows into his car's stuck-open sunroof in the beginning of the film. Fielder discovers he has telekinetic powers - humorous ones, mind you, accompanied by silly sound effects - that allow him to do everything from remotely pleasure his girlfriend three times in a row to tossing his enemies around in the air.
Throughout Modern Problems runs the common thread that Fielder resents losing his primacy in modern society. Homophobic jokes abound, from a quote about bringing a gun to a gay bar bathroom to senseless revenge on a hapless ballet dancer's groin. Worse, the only African-American character (Dorita, played by none other than Nell Carter) is a voodoo priestess whose powers don't work because, as well know, Fielder's not possessed, just mutated.
Or something. By the end of the film Modern Problems abandons the man-with-telekinesis plot for man-possessed plot. When Dorita attempts to bound the possessed Fielder with magic powder, he snorts it up like it was a drug. The ending wraps things up by passing his powers on to someone else that might need a little help in modern society.
Modern Problems nurses an emotional wound about how poor Fielder can't make his girlfriend happy by being his old, abusive self. Although he gains superpowers, he never really changes. Instead, it's Dracy's problem. If all those women would just stop worrying about things like jobs and sexual equality then modern man could get back to running the world.
In short, your perspective on Modern Problems likely depends on your station in life. I saw this movie as a kid and quoted it for decades, but looking at it through adult eyes I felt a little embarrassed for everyone involved.
Movie Review: A must see for anyone who enjoys laughing at poor filmmaking
Summary: 2 Stars
Acting Lesson #1:
Let's say (hypothetically) that you (yes you!) are a cast member of fledgling hour-long skit-based comedy program Saturday Night Live in the Lord's year 1975. Perhaps you are one of the more popular performers on said program. All over America, SNL is exploding in popularity, and millions tune in to witness your own special brand of physical comedy. Now let's say you get cocky. You figure if you're already so popular on national television, you could become even MORE popular in the movies. So after only one year on the show, you leave to pursue a career in Hollywood. But you weren't ready. You hadn't built enough hype up as a TV star yet, and with what appears to be no consideration whatsoever, you accept every movie roll that comes along.
That, ladies and gentleman, is the story of Chevy Chase. Despite his obvious comedy genius, he blindly accepted the roll of our protagonist Max Fielder in the godawful Modern Problems. Wrought with visible camera equipment, transparent special effects, weird and upsetting continuity errors (including teleportation), and more shots of the boom mic than of Chase himself, Modern Problems is much like a poorly edited home movie.
Now we've established Chases's undiscriminating attitude, but what on earth possessed the rest of the cast? This stinker touted a few reasonably well-known names such as Dabney Coleman, Nell Carter, Mary Kay Place, SNL alum Brian Doyle-Murray, and a guest shot by Pat Proft. Perhaps the first 100 actors to sign up were given a free calendar.
Regardless, I would never pretend that this movie had no value. Like at least 60% of all films, it becomes an instant classic when you and a group of friends gather to guffaw at it's obvious shortcomings. And, heck, there are some legitimate Chevy jokes in Modern Problems. Don't miss the line "Smells like feet!"