Lifesavers - Die Lebensretter

I think I might cry. I feel so hopelessly misunderstood. This movie is brilliant.... I feel as though the epitome of my sense of humor has been rated "two stars"... this is depressing...

It's just... brilliant. It's completely nonsensicle and pointless and brilliant, much like a dream I might have when on too much cold medicine. Much like the dreams that I find most delightful...

It's one of those movies I find myself quoting all the time just to hear the lines again. Everyone thinks I'm nuts when I quote it because of course no one has ever heard of it. I've taken to making the little "plop" noise that Steve Martin does when he gets too flustered... when I get too flustered. Madeline Kahn is my hero. I relate too well to Mrs. Munchnik, sanity surrounded by chaos only to find that deep down, she too is a nut. If I were stuck on an elevator, I would have acted just as she had, making up little raps... It's the simple stuff... simple stupid stuff. That's what makes this film so brilliantly refreshing. It's so dumb! Take Adam Sandler, for instance. There was no reason for this character whatsoever. It was entirely random and uncalled for. It was almost as if he happened to be walking by and they called him over and said "Hey, Adam! Wanna be in a movie?"... the only thing he did was show off his mad ukulele skills. And he made me laugh... he was there for the sole purpose of being funny, no strings attached. It was so refreshing. As was this whole movie. Like a good dream! To me it is proof that when you have fun making it (which it appears impossible that they did not), you have fun watching it. At least I do... I'm gonna watch it tonight and appreciate it's wonderfulness.

Seeing Madelaine Kahn in a scene where she talks through the door to someone she imagines in a serial killer made me laugh my head off and cry at the same time. How could someone that funny die so young? Watching Steve Martin dance with a transvestite, so reluctantly at first then really getting into it, is one of those classic scenes like Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown's tango in Some Like It Hot. It reminded be of the extreme awkwardness of my dance classes in grade 7 physical education.

Other scenes had too many people running and shouting. Some people seem to find that funny. I don't. Perhaps it reminds me too much of childhood.

This comedy sports a delightful cast with...well, mixed nuts! Actually the title comes from the fact that the Steve Martin character's father was hit and killed by a truck loaded with mixed nuts, but we all really know what it's really about. Martin, Madeline Kahn (we miss you!), and Rob Reiner are very funny here, and some of the younger folks are very funny. I really thought Adam Sandler more or less made this thing...

Basically a story of a crisis-phone answering service manned by folks with neuroses and other generalized problems. Interwoven are stories of other problem folks. It all seems to work out in a mad-cap way, and although this isn't the funniest movie, it is still very enjoyable, and worth the rent.

Lonely people at Christmas...and the ones they intend to help...all mixed in like cashews, peanuts, filberts...you get it!

Enjoy.

Mixed nuts might as well refer to all the crazy mixed-up people in this film. A lonely transvestite. A serial killer. Several very "oversexed" and frustrated people! An ex-con-desperate Santa and an extremely pregnant girl. Perhaps Adam Sandler's silliest performance ever. What a cast! Steve Martin. Madeline Kahn. Rob Reiner. Gary Shandling. A temperamental elevator and a dangerously stale fruitcake. A vet who also has a people-practice. 3 cute dogs. A most unusual Christmas tree! Murder and mayhem! Alas, it's Christmas eve and there are not enough suicidal people to go around to justify the existence of a crisis hotline that has just been evicted! I find it enjoyable in a very zany and offbeat sort of way. Rita Wilson is adorable as the love-starved female who has a serious "crush" on Steve Martin. Disliked by most critics, and you will either love or hate this movie!

So I always enjoy Steve Martin. He's not what you'd call a movie star, or a typical leading man (and that's not a bad thing). He brings a lot of fun to roles, and I always enjoy him in film.

As it was nearing Christmas at the time I saw this movie was available for free, I decided I'd go for it. Now, with movies, if one is a classic, then most people have seen it. Stuff like "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", people know and love. I'll see the stuff that people regard as classic, if I haven't already, but I love doing the deep dives, and seeing what most people haven't.

Now clearly if this movie were really good, more people would talk about it, and by other reviews on here, some do really like it. Here's what I think:

Nora Epron was a good director. Not everything she directed was great ("Bewitched", yeesh.) I think what stands out in her films is the characters. That's what we remember the most. She'll get a great cast, and make some good films, but not every film made by every great director works.

The tone of this movie is a little off. It's not really that funny. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of silly stuff that's supposed to be funny, and the comedic acting from Martin was good effort, but the thing is, he can't save a picture with so many other characters. The movie doesn't really have focus. It jumps between characters, and some we may not really want to know. Some are just barely more than one note, too.

So without really funny scenes, or character development, it's really just chaos. There's a version of this movie that would work, but I think it has to go further in one direction or the other, tonally.

If you're looking for something a little outside of normal Christmas fare, and can keep expectations low, it might be worth a try, but for some people, it'll be like nails on a chalkboard. 5/10.