My Favorite Year
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Movie Reviews of My Favorite Year
Movie Review: Delightfully Funny Nostalgia Trip
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Richard Benjamin draws partially on his experience as a page at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to bring us this warm, balanced, and funny piece of nostalgia about the early days of television.
Sketches of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Big City glide across the screen, accompanied by the gentle strains of the first stanzas of what is considered by many to be the definitive version of "Stardust", courtesy of Nat King Cole (Interestingly, by one account, the introductory song was recorded in 1956, two years after the story takes place).
Once Manhattan comes clearly into view, our hero, Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker, who was born in 1954), begins his narration. Our first glimpse of Stone is on a busy street as he is bringing a cardboard display of his personal hero, Alan Swann(A droll Peter O'Toole), who is slated to appear on the comedy sketch program for which Stone writes that very week.
The audience become acquainted with Stone's daily on-the-job routine where he deals with cantankerous co-workers with stereotypically New York manners. They include Sy Benson (a spineless Bill Macy), another writer, Alice Miller (Ann Di Salvo), Herb Lee( Basil Hoffman, who uses Alice as a mouthpiece when talking to Sy), Leo Silver(Adolph Green), his boss, King Kaiser(Joseph Bologna), and K.C. Downing (Jessica Harper) of whom Stone is in constant romantic pursuit. Selma Diamond's role, as the wardrobe mistress Lil, is hilarious.
In the meantime, the object of Stone's admiration is in a hotel, engaged in his usual dissolute habits, but shows up(albeit rather soused) during the writers' viewing of clips of Swann's films. The only reason Swann is not immediately dismissed from the show is because Stone makes a plea on his behalf. Kaiser responds by making Stone Swann's keeper,and the adventure begins.
The Jewish Stone is treated by Swann to a night at the Stork Club, which barred certain minorities. There is a sublime moment when Swann waltzes with an elderly anniversary celebrant named Ann ( Gloria Stuart, 15 years before "Titanic" renewed her popularity), whose silvery-waved coiffure compliments her gray evening gown very nicely. But with Stone providing a diversion, Swann gets into mischeif again, and Stone is chastised for it at work the following day, although Swann is delivered safely to the set for rehearsals. A scene at a hotdog stand shortly after Swann's using the ladies' room gives the audience a visual double entendre of sorts.
Swann joins Stone at his mother's apartment in Brooklyn that evening, where Benjy is embarrassed by the ill manners of his family, including an amiable Lainie Kazan as Benjy's mother, Belle, Ramon Sison as the Phillipino Bantam weight, Rookie Carroca, who is Belle's second husband, Stone's Uncle Morty (Lou Jacobi), and Aunt Sadie(Annette Robyn), who are either crass or eccentric. During their un-kosher meal (prepared by Rookie), Swann is made to confront some hard truths about his life, although Belle's neighbors greet him warmly afterwards.
There is more trouble when Swann's drunken attempt to help Stone visit K.C.'s family at their apartment results in a near-fatal escapade by Swann, and Stone's having to heave in Central Park.
The junior comedy writer and washed-up would-be Errol Flynn have a candid discussion about their lives, including the real reason behind Swann's appearance in the show.
On Show Day, a startled Benjy finds that Swann has bolted to Connecticut to see his long-neglected daughter, Tess, played by a winsome, wistful, and wordless, Cady McLain.
Shortly before the show begins, Swann panics when he learns the show is live and tries to walk out, with a booze bottle in hand, as usual. By this time, his chauffer Alfie Bambacelli (Toni Di Bennedetto), who has tolerated more than enough of Swann's shenanigans, is fed up with him. A modern audience might feel anxiety when Alfie throws his lush of a boss the keys to the car, however.
Stone has one more verbal confrontation with his idol, pointing that perhaps the reason why Swann's performances impressed him was because to some degree, he really had to be that heroic.
Shortly thereafter, Swann does show real-life heroism in helping Kaiser deal with a few henchmen sent by mob boss, Karl Rojeck (Cameron Mitchell), who expressed resentment of certain sketches on previous shows that he felt were portraying him. Swann would subsequently make amends in another crucial area of his life.
Kaiser could feel that his admiration of Swann's work was justified, and the young comedy writer who has borne witness to it all feels gratified at having witnessed his favorite actor in a moment of truth, better than any onscreen illusions he might have created.
And so happily, we leave them.
Movie Review: O'Toole Dazzling in Wonderful in 'Golden Age' Homage!
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you ever watched a film and wished it wouldn't end? Where you loved all the characters, adored each scene, and laughed at every joke, even after you'd seen the film so many times that you could quote the dialog? MY FAVORITE YEAR is that kind of movie!Directed with gusto by Richard Benjamin, the film is both a loving tribute to Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Show', and the remarkable talents that brought it together each week, and a sincere homage to Errol Flynn, whose antics and larger-than-life persona, in the waning years of his life, still had the kind of magic that could enthrall a shy young fan, or make a woman swoon.
Three dynamic performances dominate the film. Mark Linn-Baker, as Benjy Stone, based on the young Mel Brooks, is a shy kid who hides his insecurities behind a rapid-fire wit. The dazzling young star in a staff of comedy 'pros', Stone suffers from an unrequited love from fellow staffer K. C. Downing (Jessica Harper), and has an inspiration, inviting legendary swashbuckler Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) to appear on the show. As King Kaiser, star of the hit series, Joseph Bologna captures much of Sid Caesar's legendary physical 'presence' and irreverence to authority. When threatened by gangsters over a 'too close to home' series of parodies about crime boss Karl Rojeck (portrayed with brute menace by veteran actor Cameron Mitchell), Kaiser 'thumbs his nose' at them, mimicking the gangster mercilessly. "I'll KEEP doing it!" he taunts. "Why? Because it's FUNNY!"
Then there is Peter O'Toole's 'Alan Swann'. With his own career a roller coaster ride of alcoholism, resulting in the near destruction of his health, no actor could have 'channeled' Errol Flynn better. Just as Flynn, by the 1950s, was a nearly burned-out roue, his classic good looks long gone, O'Toole's matinee-idol appearance, after years of self-abuse, had aged into a gaunt mask, making Benji Stone's film montage of 'classic' clips more poignant. What Flynn still had, in abundance, was charm and a ready wit, and O'Toole's 'Swann' is so enchanting a personality that you can't help but love him, and root for him to succeed.
From the opening nostalgic strains of Nat King Cole's rendition of 'Stardust', through Benjy's futile effort to attempt to keep Swann sober (Red Skelton loved to tell how he kept Flynn sober on his program...he emptied all of the actor's bottles of vodka, replacing it with water...and Flynn couldn't tell the difference!), to a riotous Swann dinner with Benjy's family, to the near-disastrous broadcast, with Swann developing stage fright, and Kaiser brawling with mob enforcers...MY FAVORITE YEAR has one glorious scene after another, each unforgettable!
One of the AFI's '100 Greatest Film Comedies', MY FAVORITE YEAR will bring a tear to your eye, even as you laugh. It was a time of legends, and heroes who would live up to boyhood dreams.
Film comedy doesn't get any better than this!
Movie Review: Comedy is hard, but Peter O'Toole makes it look easy.
Summary: 5 Stars
Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year" is a 1930s-style madcap comedy that somehow blessedly got made in the 1980s. Produced by Brooksfilm and based on Mel Brooks's experiences during the week Errol Flynn hosted "Your Show of Shows," "My Favorite Year" concerns the tribulations of fledgling comedy writer Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) in having to chaperon the perpetually sloshed movie star Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole). Choleric boss Stan "King" Kaiser (Joseph Bologna) has told Benjy about Alan, "If he screws up, it's your (keister)." Of course, Alan proceeds to screw up in just about every way possible, including several that Benjy could never have anticipated. But of course Alan is so goshdarned likable, with such swashbuckling style and panache, that Benjy ends up having the time of his life--even if some of Alan's shenanigans might end Benjy's life prematurely! Meanwhile, there are subplots about Benjy's eccentric mother (Lainie Kazan); his rocky courtship of lovely co-worker Casey (Jessica Harper); and the constant threats King Kaiser receives from union president Carl "Boss" Rojack (Cameron Mitchell), who objects to King's weekly "Boss Hijack" sketches. Some parts of the film are funnier and more interesting than others, but the whole show is a breezy delight thanks to the fine cast, particularly Peter O'Toole as the scapegrace Alan Swann. Few classically trained English actors have ever shown as much flair for comedy as O'Toole (Alec Guinness being one of those few), and "My Favorite Year" gave O'Toole his best pure comedy role ever, allowing him to punch up his drunken swashbuckler act to the rafters. The young Mark Linn-Baker, with a face like a newly hatched puffin, is a lovable elf as Benjy (why Linn-Baker hasn't had a better subsequent career is utterly beyond me). Joseph Bologna (another unfairly forgotten actor) is a scream as the half-crazed Kaiser, a blustery dictator on the set, yet also possessed of bullheaded courage and integrity. There are also fine performances by Kazan, Harper, Mitchell, Adolph Green as Kaiser's harried producer, and Bill Macy (that's Bill of "Maude" fame, not William H.) as the show's mean-spirited head writer. Also, watch for the scene where O'Toole dances with an elegantly beautiful older woman at "21;" the actress is Gloria Stuart, 15 years before "Titanic" restored her stardom.Movie Review: "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"
Summary: 5 Stars
That line is the one everyone remembers from this 1982 classic farce about the early days of television. What I remember is it was one of the first movies I took a date to, and for that reason I will always have good feelings about this movie.Besides that, "My Favorite Year" is further proof of my theory that the three great crimes of the 20th century were the Lindbergh kidnapping, the Great Train Robbery and the Academy not giving Peter O'Toole an Oscar for "Lawrence of Arabia." O'Toole IS this movie, from the moment his Alan Swann wakes up blurry-eyed in a stewardess' bed to the last wave of the sword. He delivers some of the funniest lines in screwball comedy history, and brings you to tears with his mournful gaze at the daughter he has not had the nerve to speak to in years. It is his story that drives the movie, how an irresponsible womanizing actor finds the hero within himself.
Around O'Toole is an assorted cast of real characters, from Joseph Bologna's blustery King Kaiser (an obvious takeoff from Sid Caesar) to Selma Diamond's costumer (who sets up a classic O'Toole line by saying, "This is for ladies only!") to Bill Macy's cranky head writer. The movie is told through the eyes of young writer Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker), who idolizes Stone and is assigned to keep him sober for the week. Linn-Baker (whose character was reportedly based on Mel Brooks) delivers his one-liners with zing, but ultimately is overshadowed by O'Toole. The only actor who stands a chance is Bologna, who turns his scenes into tour de forces, such as his face-off with a corrupt union leader who comes to complain about a sketch.
The weakest part of the movie, sadly, is the romance between Benjy and K.C. (the woefully underused Jessica Harper). There's just no substance to it, and the scene when they first kiss is played as stares as they watch clips from Swann's movies. They go from acquaintances to lovers far too quickly. The only good thing about it is it sets up the rooftop sequence later in the film.
That aside, this is a great coming-of-age story about movie fan Benjy and his idol Swann. Only it is not Benjy who really grows up as the movie unfolds ... it is Swann.
Movie Review: One of O'Toole's best performances
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw My Favorite Year when it was originally released and loved it. As time passed I would see it on TV now and then but hadn't viewed the film for ten years or more. I bought the DVD from Amazon.com and watched it last night. It has aged well.
Peter O'Toole plays Alan Swan, a legendary film legend who typically was cast as a hero. In Greek plays and mythology, heros typically have a "tragic flaw" and Alan Swan does...alcohol. This flaw is what gives the movie its poignancy. Alan Swan does the right thing often enough that is impossible not to root for him, but he is battling to overcome his "tragic flaw". Will, he be a hero, or a jerk? How about both?
My Favorite Year has one great scene after another but two stick out in my mind. The first is the dance scene with the elderly woman at the Nightclub. Other reviewers have discussed this scene and described it better than I can so I will just add that the script is notable for what is not said. Director Richard Benjamin and the actors got this scene letter perfect. In lesser hands it would have been shlock and without poignancy.
The second scene that hangs in my mind is when Benji confronts Alan Swan and dresses him down expressing his diappointment in him, but unable to leave without holding out hope. The look on Alan Swan's face, the self loathing and fear in his eyes, is gut wrenching.
Funny, poignant, heart breaking, My Favorite Year is all of these things and more. It may be the best comedy I have ever seen on film.