Hysterical

This movie makes me laugh every time I watch it. I first saw it when I was 4 and I often sought to find a copy of it. I bought it when I was a kid and have had it ever since. It consists of many funny scenes, including a library/chase sequence, and a battle between humans and former psychiatric patients turned zombies at the top of a lighthouse. Can we say The Fog?

I usually couldn't stomach the Hudson Bros' brand of humor before this movie. I thought they were mindless morons, even as they related to fellow talk show guests. But I sat down in 1985 or so when this came out on cable and was pleasantly surprised at how funny this movie really is.

If you appreciated John Larroquette as D.A. Dan Fielding on TV's Nightcourt, you'll love him as Bob X. Cursion, the impudent but oblivious, pot-smoking boating tour guide in Hysterical.

And who couldn't be amused by Robert Donner as the "prophet" who, riding his rickety bicycle through the lanes of the lighthouse town warns, "You're doomed!"

Yeah, it's ridiculous and far-fetched, similar to some of the antics in Princess Bride, or The Burbs. My son, now 31, and I have talked about this movie for years, (not so with The Burbs). It's not in my top 20, but definitely worth renting if you want to see a funny "horror" movie.

Those panning this film are taking the jokes at pure face value. And that's good, because the film doesn't try to be too clever, but some of the humor requires you to sit back, burn a thought or two, and then sit back with a chuckle or grin. Thus I think some of those people giving the film a thumbs down are expecting a bit much.

It's the kind of film that's worth being a cult classic, but was striving for more.

So, does anyone remember the Hudson Brothers? Me neither ... OK, that's not entirely true, when I was younger I vaguely remember seeing a small portion of their short lived (and thankfully defunct) TV show.

The Hudson brothers can (and I emphasize; CAN) be funny, but more often than not spend so much time trying to be clever that they themselves forget that they too need to create a joke or two, and not just pull a semi-clever gag or act funny while relying on some clever visual references.

Well, the thing's out on DVD, but no letterbox nor commentary on this disk (go figure). And I'm glad for that, for if the Hudson Brothers had decided to make a collector's edition of their film, then it would've shown that they still hadn't learned their lesson from years back.

Even so, like a lot of the other aficionados, it's primitive (and I mean that in a good way) sense of humor is worth a few smiles, and an occasional laugh. It's a good hearted film that means well, and does no harm.

Something that might've helped this movie during production would've been a better film stock grade, and a more professional shooting schedule because it looks as if it were shot as a made for TV movie, even though it saw theatrical release. This tells me that someone above the Hudson Brothers knew not only the film's ultimate fate, but also that of the Hudson Brothers' comedy career.

I saw this movie when I was about 12 years old and taped it off of cable. I know that it was a cable edit because it contained the word "a**hole." But I caught it on cable the other night and noticed a scene that wasn't in the edit I have on tape. The big song and dance number at the fun park near the end. I was floored! So... can anyone else out there support my claim? I know that there is an edit floating around without the dance number. Either way... this movie isn't exactly brilliant. It was extremely fulfilling for me at 12, and now that I'm still emotionally 12 it's still pretty good. But your Leonard Maltin types aren't going to dig it.

While horribly dated, this film still can make you bray out loud with laughter. In the vein of the Airplane movies, it is simply silly. Some creative editing, while pleasing to the eye, will make natives of Depoe Bay and Newport, Oregon (where most of it was filmed) do a double take and say "what the....?" In summary, a great film if you don't take yourself too seriously.