Funny Farm | | Cast : | Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith-Osborne | | Director : | George Roy Hill | | Studio : | Warner Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound | | Released Date : | June 03, 1988 | | DVD Released Date : | May 18, 1999 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 27, 2005 | | Summary | "Cue the Deer..." | Content
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I've always admired George Roy Hill's gifts as a director, from BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, to THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, to the underrated and underappreciated THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER. In fact I think Hill was one of the top cinematic craftsmen of 70s and 80s Hollywood. And he serves the story of FUNNY FARM well.
You can tell you're in the hands of a master when not long into the story he delivers a classic, almost Lubitsch-like moment that comes when the two transplanted city folk have to spend the night in their new farm house with no furniture (the movers got lost) and nothing to eat except for a few bananas and an apple. The crunch of that apple, with perfect camera placement, comes at just the right place in the story to let you know that no matter what farfetched plot points may be coming along down the road (and there are some), the humor is going to be more subtle, and of a drier, more "throwaway" style, than what you might expect from a typical Chevy Chase vehicle.
And speaking of vehicles, you've gotta love longtime character actor Kevin Conway as the enraged local mailman, who drives his loud, rusty, unmufflered truck past Chevy's new house every day and simply throws whatever letters and junk mail there is at the mailbox. Or the local sheriff who lost his driver's license and has to be chauffeured to crime scenes by the local cabbie. (I told you things would get farfetched.)
Then there's the character of "yellow dog," a large, lethargic labrador retriever (wonderfully underplayed by a big yellow lab) that Chevy and his wife (wonderfully underplayed by Madolyn Smith) bring home after their first attempt at dog ownership (with an energetic Irish setter) fails the moment they let him out of the car. (I don't want to give away the joke or I'd say more.)
My favorite line? Once they decide to sell the house, they realize that what's going to sucker a new owner into buying it from them is exactly what suckered them into buying it in the first place, namely the "local color". So as an eager young yuppie couple, intent on living closer to nature, motors their SUV up the snowy driveway, Chevy peers at them through the curtains, then clicks on his walkie-talkie and says, "Cue the deer..." Sure enough, just as the unsuspecting yuppies get out of their car--their eyes bright, their breath making clouds in the frosty morning air--a lovely, long-limbed fawn scampers right past them and into the woods.
Ahhh. Just like the movie itself, it's absurd, cynical, and wonderfully sentimental all at the same time. A perfect mix. This is not a great film comedy (like THE BANK DICK or DUCK SOUP) by any stretch, but it's quite good in its own, quiet way. And if you're a Chevy Chase fan and wish he'd done more films with an element of quality to them, this is one of Chase's few cinematic turns as a real actor, not just a buffoon. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 22, 2005 | | Summary | "How'd You Know My Name Is Mac?" | Content
| "Funny Farm", is not quite Chevy Chase's best. It certainly not my favorite movie that he stars in, but it has it's moments: A corpse in the garden, a madman for a mailman, a bird outside Andy Farmer's window which always distracts him from typing and a fishing trip gone completely wrong all in a humerous way. Those are just some samples. When Andy Farmer moves into the country, the 2 movers get very lost on the way, no thanks to a collapsed bridge. His wife also writes a novel about squirrels, and she buys a stuffed squirrel at an antique store which inpired her. {Not to mention everything in the store belonged to the relatives of the woman who owned the place}. The entire movie is in Chevy Chase's silly style, but just not his best. It still had it's moments, though. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 19, 2005 | | Summary | funny farm | Content
| This is a typical Chevy Chase movie, lots of pratfall humor and good guy always wins in the end. With Madolyn Smith-Osborne playing his wife, (I have never seen her in any other movies) who plays the wife.
He is a newspaper columnist who decides to write a book, so they move to the country where almost everything goes wrong. I won't spoil any of the plot. Lets just say that things get progressively worse so they decide to sell out.
Even the neighbors help them try to sell just to get rid of them.
Lots of laughs in this one. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 19, 2005 | | Summary | Simply put...this is a MUST SEE classic movie. | Content
| This movie, in my opinion, is Chevy Chases' best work. He shines, as does his supporting cast in this comedy about a big city native who retires to the country with his wife to become a writer. Nobody should miss this movie. It is a classic. Chevy Chase does comedy like nobody else in this movie. It is absolutley hilarious. From 'lamb fries' to the mailman, this movie is full of good humor. DO NOT MISS IT. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 22, 2005 | | Summary | Chevy Chase couldn't be funnier! | Content
| I first watched this movie about 7 years ago on TV and never got to catch the title of this movie. And then again, I got to watch parts of the movie here and there on tv and I finally found out the name of the movie. I was so relieved that I had to buy it. I love the comical way Andy Farmer tries hard to adjust to the country life style when he was so used to city life & I also love it when most of the town people are gathered in his living room singing Christmas carols and Andy sings "Joy!..." but is abruptly interrupted by someone in the crowd giving a quick ovation and can't finish the song. Hahaha! He was so ready to go on with that song "Joy to the world..." L.o.l. |
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