Pure Luck

Hollywood should shy away from the inane types of remakes it tries to make out of some French films. This one in particular was based on "Le Chevre" by Francis Veber. French humor is not well understood once it's translated. The original film wasn't that great, to begin with. It's a mystery why Nadia Tass undertook to direct this film, at all. The screen play by Herbert Weingrod must have looked a lot funnier than what we see on the screen.

Martin Short, as a comedian, is very funny. He has not fared well in the movies. It could be his choices that have limited him, or just that he is completely hysterical in one medium and with the wrong guidance, he will be not as funny in films like this. The jokes in this movie are too tired.

Danny Glover, on the other hand, playing the straight man, to Mr. Short's funny one, fares better. The pairing of these two men sometimes work, but much of the time, even an experienced and talented actor of Mr. Glover's stature, falls flat.

Watch it at your own risk.

I loved this movie. It is always real funny. There is a good scene that is real funny and martin short gets stung by a bee or maybe a wasp. what happens next, i won't spoil it for you (Let's just say he gets a little fat). I fell off my chair when i laughed real hard at that.

I didn't expect to like this film, but I have to admit that it was a better than average comedy, and I laughed several times even though I knew exactly what was about to happen. So on it's own terms, this is a good enough movie. However, I have a problem. The problem is that this American remake of "La Chevre" pales in comparison. There was just something about the pairing of Pierre Richard and Gerard Depardieu that easily outshined the American tandem of Martin Short and Danny Glover. Only watch this inferior version if you really hate subtitles, but instead of watching a great movie, you'll only be watching a good one.

What has everybody got against this movie? It's damn funny! Martin Short and Danny Glover going over from NYC to Mexico to search for the accident-prone daughter of Short's big company boss Highsmith. Monosoft, played by the brilliant Harry Shearer, has the idea of sending Eugene Proctor (Short) to Mexico with detective Raymond Campanella (Glover). The jokes come thick and fast and, although sometimes predictable, the movie goes along fine with plenty of wonderful slapstick thrown in all over the place. Probably the funniest scene of Eugene inflating to twice his size because of a bee sting in the helicopter! All in all, this is not a movie to be taken too seriously! It's a funny, light-hearted film with plenty of action and comedy thrown in that will always entertain well for people of all ages.8/10

Why does Martin Short always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop? And even more so, why does he get the fuzzy end unrightfully? "Pure Luck" is a funny movie with some very funny moments of genuine comedy. It relies more on subtlety than on loud antics; more on characters than on pure gags. It's pure luck this movie is bashed so unfairly.

Short plays Proctor, a bumbling man who doesn't find bad luck - bad luck finds him. He would be the one the automatic sliding door doesn't open for; he would be the one that chooses a chair with a broken leg; he is the one who would be capable of finding an equally unlucky woman lost in Mexico, whose father is Proctor's boss.

Proctor's boss figures that singe he's such a bad luck charm, his daughter - who is just like Proctor - would be found much quicker if they used another luck-impaired civilian to find her. Of course, Proctor thinks he has been chosen for being a great mystery solver. During the entire film he walks around thinking that he was chosen for the job because he is good. But alas, that is not the case.

Danny Glover is the head honcho looking over Proctor to lead him along - but Proctor thinks he himself is in charge, and that Glover is his co-detective. Some funny scenes come out of this.

A movie like "Pure Luck" is fun not because it is wildly outrageous (i.e. not Jim Carrey humor), not because it has great direction, but simply because it has a more subtle humor reminiscent of an older type of film; its actors are terrific (whatever happened to Danny Glover and, even more so, Martin Short?); the script is funny.

Is it just me or is Martin Short a funny guy? He's got the comedic timing all down-pat, he has comical facial expressions, comical guestures - what can I say, he's a comical guy. People seem to forget his roles in "The Three Amigos" (alongside Steve Martin and Chevy Chase), "The Father of the Bride" (also with Steve Martin), and so on. But I think he's talented.

And Danny Glover ("Lethal Weapon") is a great character actor who hasn't appeared in many films over the past few years. Maybe "Predator 2" put him out of the game for a while. But he was in "The Royal Tennenbaums," so . ..?

This is a funny movie more character-driven than anything; it has an element of subtle humor that adds a charm to it. I really don't care if people don't like this movie - it's one of those that everyone I talk to loves, yet the general public seems to have a different opinion. Odd - is it just me, or is this funny stuff?

3.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer