Meet Wally Sparks

This film was good fun, and Rodney as always stole the show. Unfortunately, with the jokes it seemed when it rained it poured, though when it didn't, there was a drought. Some of the film - the beggining few scenes, the shows all through the film & some various little bits like the wedding were great & really funny, mainly thanks to Rodney, but it seemed they just didn't think when they cast of something 'cause some of the actors JUST DIDN'T suit their roles. Burt Reynolds must have done this to stay out of the red 'cause the role REALLY wasn't him & the stooge guy who worked for him also was terrible in his part. I was cringing through some of their scenes. This film has enough funny scenes in it to last on you, & a couple of great scenes which remind you why Rodney Dangerfield is your favourite comedien - In particular 'but wait... there's even more!' Unfortunately, it just doesn't quite gel. You need a couple of beers with it, & then it's just great :)

Comedian Rodney Dangerfield took on the topic of shock TV in Meet Wally Sparks. A few sparks a generated, but it helps if you have an appreciation for the Police Academy films to enjoy this film. Which I do somewhat.

Meet Wally Sparks also borrows liberally from the plot of The Man Who Came To Dinner. In this case Dangerfield in the title role becomes the man who stayed at the governor's mansion.

Georgia Governor David Ogden Stiers who slips as neatly into a southern accent as he did a Boston one as Charles Emerson Winchester in MASH is advised that he can score a few cheap political points as a 'family values' candidate by attacking the outrageous talk show host Wally Sparks. Which gets a response from Sparks for Stiers to guest on his show and explain his objections.

Then Stiers's son Glenn Walker Harris, Jr. steals an invite to a campaign fundraiser and sends it to Dangerfield who then comes down to Atlanta and promptly injures himself, necessitating he not be moved from there.

After The Man Who Came To Dinner, the film then digresses into a pale imitation of The Fortune Cookie as it turns out Dangerfield isn't half as hurt as he makes out. All that was missing was Walter Matthau threatening to sue to the state of Georgia. Talk about deep pockets.

The humor is pretty crude, not unlike what you see on these shows. But it's actually done with a gentle hand. There were some lost opportunities in this film to make some valid points. As did those two other far better satirical films which Meet Wally Sparks liberally borrowed from.

Still fans of the late Rodney Dangerfeld will respect the film and will some others, just not enough.

But who cares because, though hit or miss with the jokes, "Meet Wally Sparks" has enough laughs to fill several of today's lame comedy efforts. Rodney Dangerfield cannot be contained with his rapid fire comeback comedy routine, and a loud mouth talk show host suits him perfectly as the ideal outlet for his crass comments. Think adults doing "Animal House", and you will be close to describing this funny film. Lots of cameos add to the fun, with Burt Reynolds especially memorable as Wally's boss and old friend. One thing worth mentioning is that the movie moves quickly from one joke to the next, and thus there are few dead spots. It is also the type of film that gets better with multiple viewings. Recommended. - MERK

A lot of energy was put into this movie. Dangerfield has some funny one-liners, but a lot of them are not funny, or you'll guess before he utters them. The plot is alternately meandering or frozen for long periods of time. (And the plot should have stayed at the talk show subject, not some dumb plot about Dangerfield crashing a govenor's pad.) Replay the climatic interview scene after watching it once - you'll see that some of Dangerfield's actions don't make that much sense. Also, see how many times the director shoots Dangerfield from the neck down - obviously, it's a stunt double.

A memo to Burt Reynolds: don't wear that particular toupee again.

Those who don't like insult comedy will probably not enjoy this film, but that is no surprise. What else would you expect from a Rodney Dangerfield film but his rat-a-tat style of humor, with plenty of one-liners aimed at eviscerating those around him? It is probably best to compare this film with some of his other vehicles, like "Caddy Shack" and "Back to School", both of which feature Dangerfield as an irreverent rascal. Both of those films rein in the stand-up patois, keeping the humor on-target and relevant. In "Meet Wally Sparks", the discipline is lax, often inserting zingers just because, sometimes creating situations just to accommodate a punchline.

Dangerfield can portray likable, even lovable, characters. That is when his humor works the best. He is often self-deprecating. But this film makes little attempt to create a character with warmth.

A hefty number of cameos by many in the entertainment industry adds to the fun. But the obligatory mayhem/food fight scene just reminds us that this film could have been better with a script that had more focused humor.