Movie Movie

"Movie Movie" is one of the finest examples of deadpan spoofery to ever hit the big screen. In the same vein as the iconically deader-than-deadpan Leslie Nielsen in "Airplane!" except predating it by 2 years, here we get a buffet of fine dramatic actors like George C. Scott ("Patton"), Eli Wallach ("The Good, the Bad & the Ugly"), Harry Hamlin ("Clash of the Titans") plus fantastic stage legends like Ann Reinking ("All That Jazz") and Barry Bostwick ("Rocky Horror") all pouring their talents into a riotously absurd script. They do it so straight-faced that you'll probably miss at least 25% of the hilarious lines, and that's why this is such a great flick for repeat viewings.

Honestly, I found myself watching the entire film with my remote in hand so I could rewind and catch all the sneaky zingers that slipped past while I was still laughing at the last one. This is the kind of movie that you can quote endlessly to your friends until you have no friends left.

Some choice lines include:

(door knocking) "Oh! That must be the door."

or "It's been my lifelong dream! For years."

or "Can I walk you home?" "Sure, New York's a free country." (that one took me a while)

Played totally straight with no rim shots, laugh tracks or often without even a comedic beat, these gags truly put the tongue so firmly in cheek that you'd think you're at the dentist. George C. Scott, fresh off his Academy Award for playing the stone-hearted General Patton, is surprisingly perfect in this deadpan role as you might've guessed from his performance in "Dr Strangelove" 15 years earlier. In fact, the humor here is very similar to that classic film with clever, absurd wordplays driving the entire show. So if you cracked a smile at Strangelove's "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room" then I guarantee you'll have plenty to keep you laughing during this flick.

The story. "Movie Movie" is essentially a mockup of a 1930s double feature, right down to the hilarious previews at intermission. The first segment is a black & white drama about a young New York boxer "Joey Popchik" (Harry Hamlin in his 1st film) who needs to make $20,000 real fast so his sister can afford eye surgery in Vienna---plus $5000 "for car fare". This segment is a surprisingly meticulous homage to the golden age of Hollywood, with first class cinematography and lighting that would put it on par with the best film noir masterpieces out there. Dialogue is similarly right in sync with the wisecracking lingo and accents of the time, and if you didn't know better you'd think you were watching a lost reel from "On the Waterfront" (by the way Marlon Brando's older sister Jocelyn plays the mother). If you're familiar with Hollywood's b&w classics, it helps to get you in on the jokes but it's not required. The witty dialogue is plenty enough to tickle your ribs right under your nose behind your back.

The 2nd "feature", starring the same actors often in nearly identical roles, is a lavish, colorful MGM type musical that would make Mel Brooks bust a gut. Again, there are no overt sight gags or ba-dum-ching zingers, but even funnier, it's pure straight-faced & straight-laced deadpan awesomeness. The opening scene with George C. Scott ("Spatz") talking to his doctor (played by Art Carney) had me in stitches.

DOCTOR: You have 6 months to live. SPATZ: 6 months from today? Well, that's not too b-- DOCTOR: 6 months from your last appointment, which was 5 months ago. SPATZ: So that's 1 month. Well at least I have 30 days-- DOCTOR: This is February.

Again, I can't stress enough how great the delivery is. I can't think of any other films that nail the tone & timing so well except for the aforementioned Leslie Nielsen in "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" (Leslie himself being a serious dramatic actor who simply read his lines without any comedic twang). This is definitely an unusual type of comedy, if not the only one of its kind. But if you're a fan of this sort of humor, you absolutely must see it. My review can't do it justice. Or as Joey says in the movie: "It was the late great Gloves Malloy who said how hard it is to say what there are no words for."

"Movie Movie" is an absolute gem that few people have even heard of. It's a throwback to the days of old when you went to the movies and stayed all day long. In this film we are treated to two short films (one in color, one in b&w) that sandwich an assortment of coming attractions and other goodies from a bygone era.

George C. Scott stars in both short films. One is a boxing movie and the other is a musical. This film is hard to find but does pop up occasionally on cable. I suggest looking for this at your local video store. It's a real gem for anyone who ever loved going to the movies then and now.

I viewed this movie in Israel, where it was shown with subtiles. Whilst discusing the movie what stood out was how those who had relied only on the text viewed it as a serious presentation exactly as the style/era that it was spofing. Contrast this with native English speakers, who also were familiar with the era could detect the various sendups and would frequently burst out in peals of laughter. All in all I found it very well presented and acted, well worth viewing both for it's content and social comment.

Stanley Donen in 1978 was old enough to remember how Warner Brothers double features of the 1930s played, and he brings them pretty gloriously back to life in this affectionate double-bill-within-a-single-movie, helped by a knowing, funny script by Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller. The first, a Kid Galahad-type boxing melo reveling in bad Clifford Odets-style metaphors, looks wonderful in black and white and is superbly cast, with, among others, George C. Scott in what might have been the Walter Huston role, Red Buttons doing Frank McHugh, Harry Hamlin as Wayne Morris, and a very funny Trish van Devere lampooning Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront. The 42nd Street parody rounding it out has some curiosities--it's in color, which it wouldn't have been in in 1933, the songs aren't all diegetic as they would have been, the camera work's a little more sophisticated than it should be--but gets most of it right, including Barry Bostwick and Rebecca York doing Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler and Barbara Harris doing a Joan Blondell. The in-between preview, Zero Hour--War at Its Best!--is a riot, with Scott, Buttons, and Eli Wallach parading around as some hilariously overage young World War I fliers. This didn't make much noise in 1978, and it's hard to know why--it's marvelously entertaining, the cast is aces, and plenty of people around then remembered the originals it so expertly spoofs.

A quick glance at the user comments will tell you that this film is worth seeing. I'm neither a musical fanatic nor a boxing enthusiast, but the numbers, performances and nuances were entrancing.

Somehow, Donen found the perfect blend for the self-reflexive genre picture, a combination that is exceedingly difficult for modern filmmakers to get a handle on. The viewer is watching a spoof yet all of the elements are still real. We feel for the pitifully archetypal characters because it seems that they realize their fate as symbols. George C. Scott's glances of reaction, just askew of breaking the third wall, depict someone who is aware of his limited fate, but still experiences with all of his emotions every situation as if he doesn't know it's coming. In this way, the actors, as in the Brechtian mode of theater, are somewhat like audience members themselves. They know the story and the ending, but they can't help suspending their disbelief, just for fun.

The musical numbers work in the same way. They are spoofs, fulfilling specific purposes and making all the proper illusions, yet are thoroughly enjoyable as musical numbers.

"Movie Movie" isn't necessarily a great movie, but it gives the illusion of greatness in its sincerity. In a medium where the audience often feels that they are the butt of a joke only the director knows the setup to, "Movie Movie" puts across the feeling that the director genuinely enjoys movies and expects everyone involved to derive the same pleasure from them.