My 5 Wives

I almost burst into tears watching this movie. Not from laughing but from the memories of a great Rodney Dangerfield movie. Candyshack was his first and stole the movie, Easy Money had him at his best, and Back To School is by far an 80's classic masterpiece. Then there was Ladybugs and that's when it started to show. Poor Rodney was getting old (Meet Wally Sparks was a slight step up from Ladybugs but not saying much).

In My 5 Wives Rodney plays Monte (a name he must love since that was his name in Easy Money) a rich (isnt he always) guy who loves women and gets married like its nothing. Well now he inherits a huge piece of land and since the land was run by the Amish, he inherits 5 Wives. This sounds like a great idea for a Dangerfield movie. The problem is EVERYTHING. The script is so poor that Rodney seems to be saying his one liners to the camera and all the side characters have nothing to do. The movie looks like it was shot on video with some really poor stunt sequences that are obviously not Rodney. Andrew Dice Clay plays a gangster who looks like he is dying to say the F word (which he should since the film is rated R but plays as if it was PG) and Jerry Stiller has a nice 2 minute cameo. Don't get me wrong, at times I did laugh at a few of Rodney's jokes but the poor man is getting way too old and way too slow. We can see his jokes coming from miles. And the film turns way too PC which thanks to the horrible 1990's, the 70's and 80's Rodney just doesn't work anymore.

My first introduction to Rodney Dangerfield was `CaddyShack'. He was hilarious and witty. My 5 Wives is a watchable movie but does tend to be a stage for Rodney's old ‘one liners'. I had the occasional chuckles, but overall this one may get flack from some quarters for its subject matter. Rodney (twice divorced) moves to `Poligomyville' Utah to buy land to build a ski resort. On purchasing the land he finds himself the proud owner of 5 new wives also. That's right, the proud owner. When the original owner of the land died, the new owner gets his wives as part of the deal. Fortunately for Rodney (now well into his later years), all of his new wives are gorgeous 20 somethings. If you like risque', slapstick boy/girl gags, this one is for you. If you're looking for something with a little more to it. Leave it.

The answer is no. The premise is quite original and the plot is paper-thin, as well as the characters (If you watch the DVD version, it's hilarious to watch the actors in interviews try to intellectualize the meaning of this film). But with Rodney to save the day, who needs those things? If you want to see some more of that hilarious Rodney material, this film won't let you down. Each scene is noticeably a setup for more of Rodney's schtick. However, I do think the film sags towards the end.

The plot is so badly written and the situations are so cheesy that you NEED Rodney to save each scene. Unfortunately, he can't be there all the time. Andrew Dice Clay is another good comedian, who can be funny when he wants. He's given a character so lame that there really isn't much to play around with. But for those who regard the mention of Andrew Dice Clay in the cast list as a warning...he doesn't utter a single curse word. For those who fear his raw vulgarity, you have nothing to worry about.

"My 5 Wives" is often funny, sometimes hilarious, and you should only see if it you're in the mood for some good jokes. Don't expect anything else. But it's a comedy and it often delivers the goods. I just wish the characters in the supporting cast could've been given better roles. There are some very talented actors like Molly Shannon and Jerry Stiller who are pretty much...wasted. Rodney is funny as always, though.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! I'm embarrassed by a few of the unpleasant, negative reviews for My 5 Wives. Review this film as a Lampoon, sure, why not? But review it with a sharp Harpoon? Now, that's unnecessary overkill. Dangerfield deserves better given his legacy and contributions to the industry. It was Dangerfield who gave career starts to struggling comedians like Jim Carrey and Tim Allen. He took them under his wing and shepherded them until they could find their own "comedic voices."

Jacob Rodney Cohen, born November 22, 1921, was a multifaceted, stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, musician and author. His self-deprecating one-line jokes such as, "I get no respect," have risen to the status of iconic humor. Who else could have the King of late night talk shows, Johnny Carson, laughing to tears when Dangerfield was his guest? Dangerfield was so well loved that UCLA's Division of Neurosurgery named a suite of operating rooms after him and gave him the "Rodney Respect Award." Dangerfield's status was elevated to some pretty rarified company. Other recipients of the "Rodney Respect Award" include Tim Allen, Jim Carrey, Louie Anderson, Bob Saget, Chelsea Handler, Chuck Lorre, Kelsey Grammer, Brad Garrett, Jon Lovitz and Jamie Masada.

Sure, My 5 Wives isn't Caddyshack or Easy Money. And yes, the plot is a tad tenuous. But that doesn't stop Dangerfield from zinging out classic one liners. Indeed, any film with Dangerfield in it immediately became a stage for his outrageous improvisations, and no film escaped his witty humor. For this alone, My 5 Wives deserves "a lot more respect."

Even back then his style of humor was rarely used. Sure, most comics make fun of themselves from time to time but his was based on it all the time. It's something that if you didn't grow up with it you probably won't find it funny. The whole body shaming and other things that is so popular now is exactly what he did to himself. Would he be attacked for doing it to himself now?

Anyway, the show is far fetched like all of his movies. But it is basically a clean version of what was popular back then. A lot of his adult humor was based on innuendos and things only adults would get...Back then of course now not so much.

He's kind of the slap stick comedian but with words. Another flashback was Andrew Dice Clay. Now that was a comedian who was definitely r-rated. This is probably the longest he has ever made a show without swearing.

Give it a shot if you are a fan of the 80s, 90s because this is what it was all about. A lot of it is kind of dated because a lot of his routine was in a way social based and we have changed quite a bit since the 80s, IMO not all for the good.