Mamma, ho trovato un fidanzato

Along with In the Army!, this ranks as one of Pauly Shore's best movies, if there is such a thing. While the whole West Coast-meets- Midwest-culture-clash isn't anything new, this film proves to make the story a little more entertaining with the wild and unpredictable antics of a then fresh Shore. While the change in values probably would have gone in the other direction, the whole concept was rather entertaining. Not only was Shore's interaction with the family hilarious, it also had Carla Gugino and Tiffani- Amber Theissen (she'll always have the Amber in my book) in two ravishing and early roles. One of those films I have no problem watching when it is on TV.

I didn't expect much when I decided to watch this movie, so I was surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying it. A couple of scenes had me laughing almost uncontrollably. The characters were engaging (no pun intended); however, the story is predictable. The fun of it comes from watching Crawl (Shore's character), a ditzy-yet-wise California dude a country college girl brings home for Thanksgiving, trying in his awkward (yet endearing) way to fit in to their lifestyle. I was also surprised that in all this there was a message. If you have a chance, see this movie!

People rag on Pauley Shore for being a bad actor. On the contrary, he wasn't an actor at all, but a swell entertainer. You could stick him in a dumb situation and he could just jump in, act naturally, and have a whole lot of fun doing lots of stupid things. That's what makes his movies so damned funny.

The story isn't anything new. A city boy is planted in a rural South Dakota farm town. He's an outcast at first (and likewise they're alien to him), but eventually they mesh and he rubs off a bit on them and vice versa. But, here, Pauley (as Crawl) follows his college friend to her home in the boonies for Thanksgiving break. Trying to avoid her boyfriend who just insists on getting married, she comes up with some story that they're actually engaged. Her parents are blown away by it because obviously they'd rather see her settle down with the townie than with the very strange Crawl. In the end, everything works out fine, obviously.

The actors are swell. I particularly enjoyed Patrick Renna as the once-obnoxious little brother with a rad sense of humor. And of course, Pauley Shore was good at what he does: making people laugh.

Thumbs up.

Shore remains one of the mysteries of film history. Looking like what would result if Richard Simmons and Weird Al Yankovic had a child together, he is the unlikeliest of movie stars. Yet somehow, for a time at least, he managed to carve out a career for himself as a comic leading man. This film is often cited as one of his least annoying, but even here he is sometimes hard to take. He plays a way-out, overaged college student who winds up coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday with a pretty freshman from the country. Once there he offends, then predictably wins over, her family and friends......most of them anyway. The film is undeniably predictable and familiar and the material is very slight. Yet somehow, in spite of its hurdles, it manages to entertain to a certain point and actually contains a few laughs. Shore, as agonizing as he is, does occasionally score a thoughtful moment or two among all the slapstick and crude language. Gugino is lovely. Her presence adds immeasurably to the overall geniality of the film. The actors portraying her family do a very nice job as well. Smith as the father is suitably outraged by Shore. Pickett adds dimension to a pretty standard role. The best are Renna and Adams. Renna plays the obnoxious younger brother role to the hilt. It would be hard to come up with a brattier persona, but he puts a fun spin on it. Adams get a late career gem of a part as the cantankerous grandfather and steals many of the scenes he is in. To the director's credit, none of these characters get shorted in their opportunity to present themselves. (In other words, Shore isn't the ENTIRE show here. The supporting cast gets to shine as well.) Also present are hunky Gauthier as Gugino's former boyfriend (often looking like Tom Cruise in "All the Right Moves") and sexy Thiessen as the local easy mark. The movie is already dated in terms of its clothing and other aspects. Shore gives Pickett a makeover and it's hard to see why anyone thinks she looks better than before! Fortunately, the thing doesn't drag on for too long. It's just a short, sometimes funny, sometimes sweet, sometimes stupid movie that is blessed with a few enjoyable performers and a refreshing lack of undue sex and drugs.

Country girl Rebecca Warner (Carla Gugino) from South Dakota starts college in Los Angeles. Her parents (Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett) are shocked by the wild liberal atmosphere. Her father is especially concerned about the resident adviser Crawl (Pauly Shore) living across the hall. Crawl takes care of homesick Becca and they become best friends. Another shock for the family happens when Becca returns home for the Thanksgiving break with Crawl and a whole new look. Her boyfriend Travis tries to propose. She pushes Crawl to help but he comes up with a bad lie that they're already engaged.

Pauly Shore can either be fun or be very annoying. He certainly has many detractors. I think he's fun in this one more than anything annoying. He's very good at being a fish out of water. Most importantly, he's not a simple slacker. He tries to fit in which is endearing. The story is fine. Overall, there is more good than bad as long as one is not an automatic Pauly Shore hater.