Escapade à New York

I have always been a big fan of Steve Martin, and hilarious 80's comedies like 'Trains Planes and Automobiles', so thats why I decided to rent this film. And I can tell you, I was not disappointed! Its not an hilarious movie, but it is funny from beginning to end. The mishaps that Goldie and Steve go through are sometimes predictable, but are always good for a chuckle. And John Cleese just steals the show. I have not seen the 1970 version, but I found this one pleasant and light hearted. I love watching 'endless mishap' comedies like National Lampoon's Vacation and 'Trains Planes and Automobiles', and this is another one to add to my collection. Steve Martin, you are king! And I can;t understand everyones negative comments on this film - maybe they were expecting just too much.

Goldie Hawn is a wonderful comedy actress; Steve Martin is a wonderful comedy actor; Neil Simon is a wonderful comedy writer; and New York City is a wonderful place to use as a setting for a movie. Yet, this movie is a clunker; it's as flat as a pancake, and an overcooked one at that. Although certain scenes do provoke a laugh, in general this movie simply is not funny. The story is a pure Hollywood comedy potboiler, that is, a formula movie and a poor retread of the 1970 original, which itself wasn't the funniest movie either, but that's for another review. The idea of everything going wrong during a trip is nothing new, but if properly treated it can produce laughs. But in this movie the things that go wrong are so absurd and contrived that the laughs are lost. What happens to the Clarks would not and could not happen to anyone else, hence the movie becomes irrelevant to the audience and loses its meaning as a satire or parody. John Cleese provides some humor as the hotel manager but his presence is limited and in no way comes close to rescuing this movie from its essential banality.

The Out of Towners could have easily been called The Empty Nesters, or perhaps The Empty Plotters.

Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin play Alice and Henry, a husband and wife of 27 years who's last child, (he's in his twenties) is tearfully sent off to Europe early in the film. He's not crying, they are, or are likely to. Anyway the parents flinch and then head off from their hick home town in Ohio to New York.

Henry has a job interview to attend and we all know what middle aged, middle order executives looking for a job might run in to, at least in an intelligent script written properly for the nineties.

The Out Of Towners was based on a screenplay penned by Neil Simon in the early 70's. The story has been re written for this version but it seems that the comedy slant was firmly in the sights of the producers. The plot was therefore left high and dry. It needed a much heavier rewrite.

Henry and Alice have both been in advertising, but Alice has given the game away while she's been mothering the children. Henry is tired and a bit dowdy. It would be expected that a truly modern script would have found Alice moving back into her old career and Henry taking on home duties.

Henry says as much in the film! Their daughter has also been accruing horrendous credit card debts on cash stricken Dad's card. This is glossed over in happy land Hollywood. And what's to become of Alice? She's lost for a career.

So this emasculated script is left to flounder and to rely on a good deal of slapstick. Neil Simon's clever dialogue is largely gone, and the plot is without depth.

We're left with a good deal of arm flapping, particularly from Goldie Hawn. As I write this, The First Wives Club (much, much funnier than The Out Of Towners) is on TV in the same room and there's Goldie again, arms a flapping, bum a poutin'.

If there's a chair either Henry or Alice will fall over it, and as is the way these days, if there's a buffoon sidekick, he'll be gay.

But still, except for it's contrived, energetic humour, which some patrons will enjoy immensely, The Out Of Towners does work reasonably well. There are one or two warm smiles, and perhaps a laugh or two, but really a bit more heart and common sense and a dose of plot credibility would have been an advantage.

Being that I was a fan of the original, I found this film to be a complete disappointment. Who thought that they could remake the Out-Of-Towners? It was a stupid move actually. George and Gwen Kellerman are now George and Nancy Clark (Played by Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn). This time they are left with empty-nest syndrome after their son leaves for London. With nothing to do, George needs to go to New York because of a job interview that he desperately needs being that he was let go from his previous job after 23 years. The only thing is that Nancy doesn't know this. But she does nearing the middle of the film. A few jokes are resurrected from the original and still bring a smile to those that watched and enjoyed the original. Other than that, the rest of the movie is a complete disappointment from start to finish.

Don't rush so fast to see this one. It is better to wait until it comes out on video.

The Out Of Towners a good clean fun comedy starring one of my favourite comedy actress' Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin.The Out Of Towners is a movie about a married couple played by Hawn and Martin and there adventures in New York. You shouldn't expect to much of this movie, just the fact that's it's a good fun movie with good performances