Hot to Trot

Bobcat Goldthwait becomes an over-night success with the help of his late father's talking horse (voiced by John Candy) in this short little comedy that is pretty short on everything---including laughs. Dabney Coleman is wasted as the comic-book-styled villain. A typical "Mr. Ed" idea that lacks creativity and spunk. Flat from its starting point. 2 stars out of 5.

How do I put into words my love for this film?

Dabney Coleman was superb, a milestone performance. Bob Golthwait shines as the protagonist of this cinematic marvel. And the incomparable John Candy...his voice-overs are breathtaking in their complexity.

Forget all the so-called "great films." Those are child's play compared to this gripping indictment of the gambling industry and one man's dedication to his friend, and his principles.

We can only wait with baited breath for Hot to Trot II: Don Eats An Apple. I hope that Hollywood has the good sense to make it soon, and the budget to make it a fitting tribute to its vaunted predecessor

When it comes right down to it, my love for "Hot to Trot" stems from childhood. That's the best way to put it. I watched this movie all the time on HBO as a kid, and I loved it. And what makes this stand up today (for me) is that I find even more humor as an adult in John Candy's performance. He's what makes this movie so damn likable. I know that, deep down, it's just a silly horse movie, and without that key casting decision (Goldthwait, too, let's not count him out), this would have disaster written all over it.

But it's Candy's warmth and comedic charm that makes this work so well. I have no idea how well this would hold up if I were watching it with fresh adult eyes, but as it stands, I have quite the soft spot for "Hot to Trot".

7/10

They ARE funny, right? Otherwise this film would never have been greenlighted, right? And Burgess Meredith worked for scale and no screen credit because he really BELIEVED in this project, right? Be that as it may, Hot To Trot was another bad career move by Bobcat Goldthwait, one of the most underrated comedians of recent years. And needless to say, it's not very funny, though it's perfectly harmless and will probably amuse the under 12 set.

It just gets funnier, every time I see it! The cultural subtext is genius. Bobcat is the idealistic misfit from a previous generation wandering lost through the 80's as yuppy Republicans seize control of America. A talking horse is just as reliable as any "stock" expert at picking winning stocks. It shows the utter ridiculousness of that profession. The cartoonish nature of the movie represents the cynical rejection of reality espoused by punk rock and other revolutionary movements of the time. I guess you just had to be there to understand it. Today, greedy corporate types have so subsumed this country that it is difficult to remember a time when they did not dominate. This movie brilliantly illustrates the culture clash that was occurring at that time. Vietnam and Watergate elevated protest to an art form, especially the DaDa, surrealist, mocking the system type of commentary.