Uma Tremenda Confusão

"A Fine Mess" is a sloppy comedy from Blake Edwards, director of "Micki + Maude", "Victor/Victoria", "10", and the "Pink Panther" films. I first saw "A Fine Mess" at the theater with my best friend when it first came out. I was only 15 years old at the time, and we laughed our heads off. You would think that today I would find this film to be incredibly stupid. Well, I just watched it again recently, and I still laughed at this movie. That makes "A Fine Mess" a huge guilty pleasure of mine. It's about Ted Danson and Howie Mandel getting mixed up in a fixed horse race, and spend parts of the movie running from two clumsy gangsters (Richard Mulligan and Stuart Margolin) who are responsible for creating this fixed horse race on orders from their mob boss (Paul Sorvino). In the midst of this fine mess they fall in love with beauties Maria Conchita Alonso and Jennifer Edwards (Blake's daughter). This movie was no doubt an embarrassment to Edwards, Danson, Mandel, Sorvino, and especially Mulligan and Margolin. They all make total fools of themselves. But I laughed anyway. It's notable for an appearence by a pre-"NYPD Blue" Dennis Franz and a bit part by a pre-"Babe" James Cromwell. But one thing I'll always remember about "A Fine Mess" is film critic Rex Reed's thrashing of the movie on the movie review show "At the Movies" when he and co-host Bill Harris (taking over for Siskel and Ebert) were reviewing their choices for the worst movies of 1986. Reed started saying quote "Well at least part of the title is accurate. "A Fine Mess". Well it's worse than a mess. It was an all out disaster, and there's nothing fine about it." It was quite obvious that Reed gave "A Fine Mess" no stars. But I give it three stars. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. This movie does make me laugh. If you decide to watch this, remember to check your brain at the door.

*** (out of four)

This just shows how out of touch I am when it comes to comedies. The score for this film is only four, but I actually really enjoyed it. I thought the film was funny through the whole film for the most part and I enjoyed Howie Mandel and Ted Danson's performances in this one. Granted there were a few jokes that really did not work such as the auction where they accidentally bid on the piano, but jokes that did not work all that well were few and far between for me. The film is kind of all over the place, but it centers a bit on a horse racing doping scheme that a man overhears. He is chased and ends up placing bets on said horse. He and his friend then end up buying a piano for a large sum by accident and then proceed to sell it to a person of dubious character. The buddies are played well by two guys who were more known for television at the time in Mandel and Danson. Danson is basically just doing a variation of Sam Malone from "Cheers" in this one, but it works and I thought he was very funny. Richard Mulligan also is in this one, and once again someone who would be known for a television role. The ending was good too. Well good for me, I liked this one, but from the score here I would guess that not many share my opinion of this one. So while I enjoyed it and think it was humorous I would read the other reviews of those who did not like it all that much to get the whole picture.

My heart sinks when I see a 3.8 User Rating for this hilarious comedy. You got Danson and Mandel in their prime and Edwards behind the camera. OK, it should have been better, but there's still some of Blake's trademark slapstick we all know and love from classics like A Shot in the Dark and The Party. Richard Mulligan is a standout as a dopey hood who places his shotgun in front of his crotch before firing. The plot, if you want to call it that, has more holes than a swiss cheese convention but I was laughing so hard I didn't care.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the number of viewers whose comments generally trashed this picture, but I must admit that I'm astonished at the snobbery of some people when it comes to comedy.

Not every movie has to have an intricate plot, Oscar caliber performances, and a perfect script to be a noteworthy movie. We have movies like Citizen Kane, The Killing Fields, A Dry White Season, Rain Man ect... for that. The most important aspect of a comedy is whether or not it is genuinely funny, and there's no way one can say that this flick is not.

Just about every scene in the film is funny, physical as well as dialogue. Howie Mandel cracked me up constantly with the strange voices he used. It's vulgar in parts, and sure, the plot is weak. So what. It does it's job. Blake Edwards is a master at comedy. He never leaves me disappointed.

If you're looking for a movie that will leave you with a sore ribcage at the end, this one will do the trick. As comedies go, I'd give it an 8/10.

When Blake Edwards initially was putting this film together it was originally intended to star Burt Reynolds and Richard Pryor. Unfortunately due to Pryor's near fatal burning the film had to be recast. The Films original Title was 'The Music Box' taken from the Laurel & Hardy short film of the same title. Was made as a homage to classic comedies . Did not fair well at the box office. ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ************************************************************