Une journée de fous

Funny comedy about a group of mental patients who take a trip to the big city under the supervision of their doctor, and wind up being framed for a murder they didn't commit. Far-fetched and far from great, but made enjoyable by a few funny fish-out-of-water/mistaken-identity sequences and the spirited performances by Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd and Peter Boyle: all three of whom, it may be noted, seem to have lost their careers in recent time...but were at the top of their games during the era and are certainly at home here in a film that is never quite as good as it could be but is nevertheless a whole lot better than I ever expected it would be.

I like the beginning sequence with Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" over the credits. I don't know why - maybe because I saw it years ago and it's just stuck with me - but I always think of this when I picture the film in my head.

I mean it. After seeing him in this movie, and Young Frankensteeen, and the occasional episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, I can't take him seriously in movies like Joe, Outland and even as Wizard in Taxi Driver. His performance in this movie is absolutely hilarious. I've always had a soft spot for this underrated gem. It's basically a screwball version of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," using that movie's famous baseball game scene as its starting point: An easy-going doctor takes his patients to a Yankees game, and runs into trouble on the way there. And I don't really mind the crime subplot here as much as I did in Three Men and a Baby. Everyone shines here--Michael Keaton (his reference to the World Trade Center was funny then, bittersweet now); Christopher Lloyd; Boyle; even Lorraine Bracco, in a small role. And it's full of memorable quotes. This movie never fails to put a smile on my face.

In the hands of lesser a director and less talented actors, THE DREAM TEAM's plot about four mental patients loose in Manhattan would be silly and childish. Here, it is funny as hell, you stayed glued to the screen. The four patients are Michael Keaton, as a loose tempered but charming liar, Peter Boyle as an ex-executive who now believes he is Jesus Christ, Christopher Lloyd as a compulsive neat-nick and Stephen Furst as a catatonic TV commercial/Baseball fan.

Their run-ins with unsuspecting New Yorkers come fast and fresh, no re-heated gags here. Look for a young perky Lorraine Bracco and Broadway great Phillip Bosco in supporting parts.

Out of no-where at Best Buy I found this movie. Liking all four of the actors that play the characters in the nut house, I bought it.

You basically have the baseball nut who can't talk, the imaginative one who can fib just about anyone, the doctor who is extremely tightly and the Son of God who walks around the institution naked.

Put these four together and you get a riot of laughs.

Personally, Christopher Lloyd and Michael Keaton are the funniest.

Peter Boyle alone can take the show, no doubt. One of his funnier scenes is when he starts taking his clothes off in front of a church congregation AND thankfully was escorted out before he could finish.

Stephen Furst I haven't seen as much and I have NOT seen Animal House yet. However I did see him in Midnight Madness and thought he did a good job.

for comedy at its best and for something completely random, like Monty Python is, this is the movie for you

This film is about four mental patients who's doctor disappears while taking them on a trip. 'Dr Weitzman' witnesses a murder and is attacked by the killers- who happen to be cops. The patients have to get to their doctor before the two cops do.

This is an extremely under rated film that deserves more. It features Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle and Stephen Furst, all of which are brilliant in their rolls. There is not much to the plot, mainly because it focuses on the characters, both individuality and as a group.

This is an excellent comedy and in my opinion should be on the list for best comedy film. If you have not seen it, you are missing out!