Upworld

When I was younger I watched over and over. I'm in my late 30s and still absolutely love watching this movie. It has a great cast and Gnorm is an unforgettable character. I've been quoting the movie for years. Unfortunately, I'm one of very few who remember this goofy movie. It has all the classic 80s/early 90s police movie tropes, along side the standard humor and action. Gnorm's character design seems to be ahead of it's time in my opinion. His style holds up to movies today. I personally still love the live action puppeteering over CGI l. So, I might be a albeit bias when it comes to the character. I highly recommend giving it a go.

This film is one of those that makes very clear an adage, which is pretty important in any line of work, and especially in film IMO -- "Know what you know, and know what you don't know." Stan Winston very clearly knew Makeup Special Effects, and he was a master in that field. He clearly did not know film directing ( nor shot coverage nor overseeing editing nor,... well, several other knowledge gaps in his tool chest pop out when one views this movie).

The puppetry and facial animatronics in this movie are very good, but it falls flat in almost every other department (although I think there MAY have been a decent script initially).

Hitchcock didn't sing in films, he knew better. The Coens don't act in films, they know better. Daniel Day-Lewis does not write screenplays, he brings the characters off of the page as a master actor. Stan Winston knew Makeup SFX at a master level, but did not know film directing.

With a title like that, I expected a very dumb movie, but it wasn't bad.....actually decent. It's a harmless cop-fantasy film with police drama mixed in with some humor and special effects.

I found a lot more drama than humor, which surprised me, although there were a few funny lines by the "gnome," a special- effects creation of Stan Winston.

Despite a film filled with angry characters - cops and crooks - the language was pretty tame and the film moves well and zips by since it's only 84 minutes. Yes, the story is ludicrous and some of the dialog is B-movie, but it was pretty enjoyable.

A Gnome Named Gnorm

Gnomes are mischievous folks that enjoy making humans look stupid when they pronounce 'gnome' with a hard G.

Fortunately, the dwarfish imp in this comedy enunciates his name with a confident consonant sound.

Headed towards the surface in hopes of recharging the magical stones that belong to his subterranean race, a gnome named Gnorm (Mike Avery) is instead embroiled in a murder case involving a dead police officer.

When his partner is killed in the line of duty and the blame falls on him, Det. Gallagher (Anthony Michael Hall) must team up with the only witness to the incident, which happens to be a gnome named Gnorm.

With a laughable plot that falls betwixt fantasy and buddy-comedy, as well as a pitiable attempt at puppetry, A Gnome Named Gnorm is strictly lowbrow entertainment.

Besides, the police dogs would eat the gnome cop before he could even solve his first case. (Red Light)

Casey (Anthony Michael Hall) is an up and coming police detective. But, he's very green. Nevertheless, his boss, Stan (Jerry Orbach) respects his intelligence, as does his partner, Samantha (Claudia Christian). Then, too, there may be an undeclared "something" brewing between Casey and Sam. Yet, on a stakeout at a nearby park, Casey bumbles the job and lets the perp get away. Or, so he believes, until he meets up with a witness to the event. But, what a pair of eyes, for they belong to a GNOME from the underworld, a gnome named Gnorm. Naturally, Casey has a difficult time adapting to a new "pal" who prefers the wrapper over the sandwich! Still, Casey knows he needs Gnorm's help to catch the wrongdoer and Gnormie needs Casey to help him find something hidden to bring back to his below-the-ground habitat. In fact, Gnorm is in Casey's world because his whole venture's goal is to please a lady-gnome from home. It gets tricky, for the perp wants to eliminate them both. Will this new dynamic duo succeed? Gno doubt! This pleasant little movie is gno masterpiece but is still quite entertaining. Hall, Christian, and Orbach do nice work while the little gnome is an odd creature who grows on the audience. The special effects aren't dazzling, nor is the costuming, script, direction or photography. Even so, the overall final product will be a nice little diversion for most viewers.