Lifesavers - Die Lebensretter

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!

One of those "slice of life" stories, "Mixed Nuts" portrays several hours on Christmas Eve in a crisis hot-line center where Phil (Steve Martin) works. Over the day, a most unusual series of events happens, and no one's life will ever be the same again. Some of the scenes are real shockers (you'll know them when you see them).

Steve Martin has a great time with the role, as does Rita Wilson as Catherine O'Shaughnessy, Phil's co-worker. You'll really like the elevator scene. Great support from Madeline Kahn, Robert Klein, Juliette Lewis, Anthony LaPaglia, Rob Reiner, Adam Sandler, and Liev Schreiber make this movie truly one Christmas treat. Jon Stewart and Parker Posey also appear.

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 is an underrated classic film that utilizes the comic skills of several great actors. I watched it twice through the first day I rented it, just to hear the great one-liners and see the crazy antics of a bunch of neurotic phone counsellors. Praise must go to Madeline Kahn (late), who performs hilariously, especially in the elevator scene, and later gives us a sample of her beautiful operatic voice. Rita Wilson's character is cheerily naive, Juliette Lewis is wacky and fun, and Liev Schriber is scene-stealing as the cross-dresser...the dance scene with him and Steve Martin is one of the highpoints of the film, especially with Liev spinning solo around the room. And Adam Sandler is wonderful as the musical neighbour- his singing 'hello' had me laughing for the rest of the movie. This is ONE wacky film, but unlike recent productions, which seem to scream 'look at me! I'm a wacky film! I've got weird characters and an oddball script!', Mixed Nuts doesn't have to. It just is. And that's good enough reason to watch it.

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.