Stuart Saves His Family | | Cast : | Al Franken, Laura San Giacomo, Vincent D'Onofrio | | Director : | Harold Ramis | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | April 12, 1995 | | DVD Released Date : | April 17, 2001 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | "What Can We Do For 'Ourselves,' Al Franken?" | Content
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Having just come off of the 'reading' section, reviewing the 'audiobook' version of "LIES And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," I felt I'd do Mr. Franken a good turn by reviewing this movie as well. Why? Because, quite honestly, I'd never considered Al Franken to be that much of a comedian/satirist. I still feel that way for the most part; but as so many here have already said, this movie is something of a rare gem -- made rarer by the fact that the studios who produced it limited its theatrical release and its 'promotional budget,' so it never had much of an initial audience. In the end, however, that's not necessarily a bad thing, because now those same decisions have positioned this movie to potentially become a 'cult favorite,' given enough time & exposure.
Prior to finding out about this movie just a little over a year ago, I had no knowledge of Al Franken's career in film or sitcoms -- or much of anything else prior to his book writing & radio talk show involvement. The only thing he had ever done that was even halfway memorable to me from his "Saturday Night Live" days was when he would periodically appear with Jane Curtain on the show's "news" segment ("Weekend Update"), appealing to the audience to "...Find out what you can do for ME, 'Al Franken'." Not even his "Franken and Davis" skits imprinted themselves on my memory.
And I had *never* heard of "Stuart Smalley" until a "certain someone" began derogatorily referring to Al Franken this way. I was first made aware of this name after a CSPAN2 broadcast of a "BookTV" expo wherein a very perturbed Bill O'Reilly, who did not appreciate being labeled a "lying liar," blew-up in front of everyone in attendance and, by extension, in front of the nationwide audience. Since that event, Mr. O'Reilly began to belittlingly refer to Mr. Franken on his radio and television "Factors" as "Stuart Smalley."
Curious to understand O'Reilly's reason for applying this name to Franken, I found myself doing some research, whereupon I learned for the first time that "Stuart Smalley" was an "SNL" skit character created by Franken -- a sheepish, somewhat effeminate and over-drenched in 'hyper-positiveness' "self-help" guru. Inevitably, my delving into it would cause my attention to stumble across this movie based on the "Stuart Smalley" character.
"Yeaaaahhhh...... Riiiiiiiiggggghhht......." I thought to myself -- "An ENTIRE movie (which I had NEVER heard of) based on a character (whom I had NEVER heard of) that appeared in variety show "skits" (which I had NEVER seen and was totally unfamiliar with) -- and, besides, Al Franken????" And even though I thought it would be a nice non-violent way to 'beach-slap' Bill O'Reilly as my own individual response to his irritating obnoxiousness, there was no way I was going to waste good money for something (at an 'undiscounted' price, even) that would only later make me feel like a fool for doing so.
But, as always, I read the reviews of others, and came away with the impression that MAYBE these folks knew something I didn't. These were, for the most part, clear-headed movie-lovers and critical thinkers -- they weren't "Franken-Groupies" lauding Mr. Franken because he's "Al Franken" ("groupie" type reviews revolving around any actor/director/etc. are, for me, an instant warning sign to tread very carefully). The points, personal testimonies, genuine emotion, etc., expressed by the reviewers touched something in me, and against all better judgment I put this title on my order form.
Is it a 'great' movie? Well..... no.
Does that mean it's not a 'good' movie or that I'm not impressed with it? Absolutely not! I really did enjoy this movie; loved its uplifting (albeit saccharine) message; I even found myself able to 'identify' with the over-the-top (or is that 'under-the-bottom'?) Stuart. Franken, surprisingly, makes it easy for the audience to root for Stuart and to want to see him "win."
And, yes, it is quite funny -- not so much in the "gut-busting" hilarious way, but more in a 'cute' and 'self-exploratory' way that makes us 'laugh at ourselves' while not even being aware that what we ARE in fact doing is laughing less at Stuart and his dysfunctional family and more at ourselves and our own dysfunctional families. (A stroke of genius on Franken's part? -- Or just a lucky stab in the dark? -- We may never know.)
So just how impressed and satisfied was I with this movie? Enough to send an email to Mr. Bill O'Reilly to personally THANK him for 'bringing it to my attention' (true story) -- although to be more accurate, he pointed me in its direction. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 14, 2005 | | Summary | A real gem of a movie | Content
| I saw this movie for the first time two days ago. It ran at midnight, and I stayed up to watch and record it purely because I knew Vincent D'Onofrio was in it. I wasn't expecting anything startling, but I was pleasantly surprised at just how enjoyable it turned out to be.
Al Franken was very watchable in the role of Stuart Smalley - the (mostly) positive title character who goes on a journey of discovery and learns that despite his best efforts and intentions, the only person he has the power to save is himself.
Laura san Giacomo was pleasant in the role of Stuart's sponsor and friend and my main reason for watching, Vincent D'Onofrio, made the experience well worth depriving myself of sleep.
While the film deals with some serious issues in the midst of the steady comic overtones, it doesn't shove it hard into your face. And while it's clear that Stuart isn't going to succeed in everything he attempts (his father is far too content with the way he is to want to change, even with the threat of jail hanging over his head), there are some small successes that make it worth the effort.
The most touchings part of the movie (for me, at least) is Stuart's reconciliation with his older brother, Donnie (played by D'Onofrio). And just how positively Stuart has influenced his brother's life is perhaps shown in the final scene of the movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 03, 2005 | | Summary | The Little Child In Me Loves This Movie | Content
| I remember the Stuart Smalley sketches from "Saturday Night Live". They used to back-end them on the show after the news where the less funny sketches were left to die. This is not to say "The Daily Affirmations" were not funny, just mildly amusing tweekings of new-age 12-step programs that went down easy but eminently forgettable. What amazes me about this film is how remarkably it has transcended it's roots as a 5-minute sketch into a wholly satisfying feature film. Opening Stuart's character up to a larger world has done wonders. It succeeds in showing the crisises that Stuart confronts both personally and professionally, namely, he loses his cable access show and his dysfunctional family is falling apart. These turmoils are not only humorous their poignant. Unfailingly, Stuart confronts these problems with all the lessons he's learned in self-help programs. You can also say that this film is a great time-capsule of the nineties when 12-step programs were all the rage though, to the film's credit, it does not mock these programs that have been helpful to so many people. Al Franken doesn't skip a beat in transferring Stuart from the small screen to the large screen. He is abetted with a strong supporting cast that includes Laura San Giacomo, Harris Yulin, Shirley Knight, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Lesley Boone. Amusing cameos from Joe Flaherty as Stuart's sleazy Uncle Ray and Julia Sweeney as a secretary with mother issues. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 21, 2004 | | Summary | One of my top ten all-time favorite movies! | Content
| There is something special about this movie. I rented it after reading something positive about it in the paper (I had never heard of it). During the first ten minutes I thought, "I can't spend an entire movie with this character" (I had stopped watching SNL years before, and didn't know the Stuart skits). And then Stuart started to grow on me. He's such a sweet, ordinary, messed-up person who keeps on trying. The best movies have drama and comedy in them, and this film balances them beautifully...like the best Preston Sturges movies. It has real heart and warmth, and it is very funny. I watch it every couple months, and it warms me like visiting an old friend. It's not for everybody, but it has goodness in it and that's a tricky thing to have in a movie, especially these days. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 04, 2004 | | Summary | Huge Al Franken Fan Assesses This Film As A Turkey | Content
| I generally love everything Al Franken touches. I believe he is a rare comic genius and an excellent comedic actor. Going into the viewing of "Stuart Saves His Family," I was an enthusiastic fan of the effeminate emotional-basket-case turned self-help coach Stuart Smalley, and this movie didn't ruin him for me. In fact, one of my chief beefs with this movie is that there is very little of Stuart's trademark material, i.e. gazing into a mirror and declaring: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people LIKE me!" Instead, this soggy screenplay devolves into a poor soap opera about Stuart's family, who unfortunately are all portrayed by actors and actresses who give miserable thespian performances devoid of believability and absent of chemistry. Here is a more precise explanation why this movie disappoints so badly given its great potential:
(1) Casting: Not one actor besides Stuart is well cast for their roles, in fact, this is one of the most artless casting jobs I've ever seen, and the resulting ensemble acting is some of the most tedious and artificial I've sat through in a very long time.
(2) Location and Sets: The overall production design fails to capture the appearance and vibe I'd expect from a world where Stuart Smalley lives, and it just feels all wrong from start to finish. Stuart's apartment and his family's house are particularly poor fits for the characters and the action, but at least Stuart's TV studio sets are true to the originals from Saturday Night Live, and don't disappoint. How could Franken have settled for this to showcase one of his premier characters?
(3) Music: I should have listed the music first. This is quite possibly the worst musical score I've ever heard in a movie. Every time it plays it interferes with the story, cloying at us mercilessly with its clumsily-written and cliche-infested notes from crashing chords and every obvious way to indicate "action," to sappy violin melodies at the first sign of an "emotion" on display, all of which conspire to steal our attention away from the screen, and in every instance exaggerating the atmosphere of a scene beyond all bounds of decency. This score is so bad that for the first time in years it reminded me of the horrific movie "Down Periscope" starring Kelsey Grammar and its amazingly terrible music score.
In summation, I went into this movie eagerly anticipating a few hours of fun commiserating with Stuart Smalley and soaking in his hilarious brand of self-esteem counselling, but instead got a drab tedious movie about these OTHER people with Stuart milling around the edges. Worst of all, much of this film tries to get serious on us, and given the factors I've mentioned above, this even MORE unbelievable dose of contrived theatrics makes getting to the movie's finish line, in a word, exasperating. |
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