Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter

In the absence of being able to watch Ernie Kovacs episodes, I settled on this movie one night. As a kid I would watch Kovacs show with my parents approving in their loungers behind me, because they recognized him as a creative original (and my parents are super old-school!) The three of us would find plenty of things to chuckle about, as everyone; phonies, conformists, TV show hosts, simpering poets, a trio in gorillas masks; were all set up and mowed down for our enjoyment.

Ditto for this movie. While Goldblum may not be too much like Kovacs, there were scenes that made me laugh in exactly the same way Kovacs had. Kovacs loved a good put-on & absurdity was the unifying thread of his show. Kovacs search for his kids was the typical stuff of made for TV movies, but I still laugh over some scenes in this. The sequence where Kovacs is reviewing his contract and puts on pair of glasses to read the fine print, then another pair over those, then another pair over those, while playing it sincere is exactly the kind of screwy humor my family held in high respect.

I just happened upon this great little 1984 made-for-TV (ABC) movie starring Jeff Goldblum who is dead-on Ernie Kovacs. Great direction, music and even a cameo by Edie Adams (Ernie's widow, by whom this story is based)playing Mae West. Plus just watching all the 1950s cars go by. Nostalgia city!

Not only is the direction by veteran Lamont Johnson wonderful, but the casting by Lynn Stalmaster is just superb! The two Kovacs daughters are delightful (especially the younger's reply at the end to Ernie's admonition about still sucking her thumb!).

The picture captures the wacky, frenetic pace--and true life--that was Ernie Kovacs. How to film all this, with kids screaming "they want their mommy," and yet keep Goldblum and the Edie Adams actress true to their characters is marvelous.

Special commendation, too, to a real pro: Cloris Leachman, who plays Ernie's mother. Her walking around with no underwear and just long-sleave men's shirts, while speaking with a thick Hungarian accent and broken English, is just spellbinding.

Don't miss this great little movie when it's on: I had wanted to watch it because I thought it was a 2-hour Biography on A&E; instead, as a movie made for TV, it was almost a better biography (save for no beginning about Ernie or his tragic death in a car accident and later great help by Edie to pay all of his IRS and other debts).

In the earliest days of Television, Ernie Kovacs, laid the foundation for many aspiring talk show hosts, comedians and News Personalties. After his death, there were many who acknowledged his inspirational influences. Having grown up with his unusual humor on our small Black and White TV sets, it came as no surprise when the world passed by this early screen innovator. However, this movie called " Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter " is a great tribute to that remarkable talent. Jeff Goldblum plays Ernie Kovacs and does so with a flair which would have made the late great comedian proud. Kovacs' film begins with his early days when he switched from radio to Black and White Television. His first marriage failed but left him with two beautiful daughters which were kidnapped by his first wife, Dorothy. (Madolyn Smith Osborne) Further into his life, Ernie continues to invocate his way into the world of Television all the while raising the standard, while at the same spending a great deal of money on private detectives like Pierre LaFititte (John Glover) who eventually proves his worth. The movie is a serious attempt at defining the original artist and Goldblum does a remarkable job of bringing life to an otherwise deadpan expression. Nevertheless with little effort Melody Anderson plays his second wife Edie Adams who adds a beautiful segment to a wonderful individual who established an art form which many recognize as pure Classic. Recommended for the serious fans of Jeff Goldblum. ****

This was actually a very interesting movie. I tells the story of comedian Ernie Kovacs and his search for his kidnapped children. I love Jeff Goldblum and he is top notch in this movie. The movie features some of Kovac's classic sketches and boy are they funny.

I wouldn't rent this (mostly because I doubt I would be able to find it), but if it's on TV then sit down and watch it. The climax is very moving and the rest of the movie is also pretty darn funny.

Ernie Kovacs was one of the great innovative comedians of the last century. In the years of his career he had to be because he operated during the McCarthy Era when a whole lot of subjects were taboo in terms of satire. As one of Kovacs's contemporaries Sid Caesar said, comedians with all the restrictions of early television had to be creative.

What was going just as Kovacs was hitting the big time both in his career and his courtship of Edie Adams, he was going through a nasty divorce with his first wife. He won the custody fight and that was unusual for a father to do that back then, still his wife took his two small daughters and fled with them to parts unknown. Kovacs spent thousands trying to locate them.

Just as Jim Carrey was able to channel Andy Kaufman in his film, so did Jeff Goldblum do with Kovacs. I am old enough to remember Ernie Kovacs from film and television and Goldblum was great. Melody Anderson was a fine Edith then Edie Adams and Cloris Leachman was fabulous as Ernie's mother from hell. Now I know where they got the inspiration for the grandmother character in Malcolm in the Middle.

If that wasn't enough the real Edie Adams got to play Mae West who Edie back in the day did a devastating impersonation of. I never did find out what Mae thought of it, but here she kind of channeled Mae the same way Goldblum channeled her late husband.

For a nice behind the scenes look at one of our great American comic geniuses definitely see Ernie Kovacs: Before The Laughter.