Customer Reviews

My Favorite Year [VHS]

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4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Have you ever watched a film and wished it wouldn't end? Where you loved all the characters, adored each scene, and laughed at every joke, even after you'd seen the film so many times that you could quote the dialog? MY FAVORITE YEAR is that kind of movie!

Directed with gusto by Richard Benjamin, the film is both a loving tribute to Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Show', and the remarkable talents that brought it together each week, and a sincere homage to Errol Flynn, whose antics and larger-than-life persona, in the waning years of his life, still had the kind of magic that could enthrall a shy young fan, or make a woman swoon.

Three dynamic performances dominate the film. Mark Linn-Baker, as Benjy Stone, based on the young Mel Brooks, is a shy kid who hides his insecurities behind a rapid-fire wit. The dazzling young star in a staff of comedy 'pros', Stone suffers from an unrequited love from fellow staffer K. C. Downing (Jessica Harper), and has an inspiration, inviting legendary swashbuckler Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) to appear on the show. As King Kaiser, star of the hit series, Joseph Bologna captures much of Sid Caesar's legendary physical 'presence' and irreverence to authority. When threatened by gangsters over a 'too close to home' series of parodies about crime boss Karl Rojeck (portrayed with brute menace by veteran actor Cameron Mitchell), Kaiser 'thumbs his nose' at them, mimicking the gangster mercilessly. "I'll KEEP doing it!" he taunts. "Why? Because it's FUNNY!"

Then there is Peter O'Toole's 'Alan Swann'. With his own career a roller coaster ride of alcoholism, resulting in the near destruction of his health, no actor could have 'channeled' Errol Flynn better. Just as Flynn, by the 1950s, was a nearly burned-out roue, his classic good looks long gone, O'Toole's matinee-idol appearance, after years of self-abuse, had aged into a gaunt mask, making Benji Stone's film montage of 'classic' clips more poignant. What Flynn still had, in abundance, was charm and a ready wit, and O'Toole's 'Swann' is so enchanting a personality that you can't help but love him, and root for him to succeed.

From the opening nostalgic strains of Nat King Cole's rendition of 'Stardust', through Benjy's futile effort to attempt to keep Swann sober (Red Skelton loved to tell how he kept Flynn sober on his program...he emptied all of the actor's bottles of vodka, replacing it with water...and Flynn couldn't tell the difference!), to a riotous Swann dinner with Benjy's family, to the near-disastrous broadcast, with Swann developing stage fright, and Kaiser brawling with mob enforcers...MY FAVORITE YEAR has one glorious scene after another, each unforgettable!

One of the AFI's '100 Greatest Film Comedies', MY FAVORITE YEAR will bring a tear to your eye, even as you laugh. It was a time of legends, and heroes who would live up to boyhood dreams.

Film comedy doesn't get any better than this!

This sometimes forgetten gem of a film is a wonderful combination of comedy with an intense emotional message of redemption. Although O'Toole was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayl of aging matinee idol Alan Swann ("I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!), many people have either not seen or completely forgotten this great film (including, it seems, the studio, who has yet to release it on DVD). Their loss. One of the funniest movies of its time, it stands up today just as well as it did when it came out years ago.

The ensemble cast is excellent. Mark Linn-Baker (in his pre-t.v. sitcom days) and O'Toole are the main characters, but they are greatly complimented by Joseph Bologna, Selma Diamond, Lani Kazan, Michelle Jones and other great actors, most of whom you will not know by name, but will recognize once you see them.

The story as told from the memory of Benji Stone (Linn-Baker) is great. When Alan Stone is booked to appear on the old-time live t.v. show (based on Your Show of Shows), Benji is assigned to babysit over his hero, who is now a washed-up alcoholic. O'Toole was born to play this part. From the opening narration, this movie is an emotionally funny ride through the days of old-time t.v.

If you have never seen this movie, rent it, buy it or borrow it. You won't be disappointed, and once you have seen it once, you will want to see it again and again. I cannot give this movie a higher recomendation. It is truly a forgotten classic.

"My Favorite Year" is one of my favorite movies. Set in 1954, it's about an aging movie idol, Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), who is to make a guest appearance on a television variety show hosted by King Kaiser (Joseph Bologna). However, it turns out that Swann is a libidinous lush, and the freshman writer for the show, Benjie Stone (formerly Steinberg, played by Mark Linn-Baker), is assigned to stay with him--and keep him sober and out of trouble--until after the show. The rest of the movie concerns their adventures together. The film overflows with one-liners and physical comedy, all of which stays remarkably fresh and amusing, even after repeated viewings. The script produces some classic lines; for example, during a take-out feast in which Stone is trying to woo the object of his lust (K.C. Downing, played by Jessica Harper), she comments that he really knows his dim sum. He replies, "Katherine, Jews know two things: suffering and where to find great Chinese food." The DVD also has an informative voice-over commentary by Richard Benjamin, whose first directing job was this film.

The acting is superb, the plot is excellent, the dialog is sharp and witty, what more do you want! O'Toole plays an Errol Flynn like actor who is a legend as a movie star, womanizer, and alcoholic. One his fans, a young writer for an early live comedy show modelled after Cid Cesar's show, decides to bring the alcoholic movie star on to the show.

Worth owning - I have seen it a dozen times and never tire of it.

My Favorite Year is many things. It is a depiction of the early days of television - everything was live and an oops was seen by the whole world. It is a depiction of the cross over between the big screen and small screen. It is the story of a man who is at a point in his career where his fame over past exploits is all that he can market - the present day star is a relentless boozer and womanizer and likely soon to be unemployable. It is is also the story of one man's entry into the world of television as a writer for a variety show of 1954.

All of this being said, My Favorite Year tells all the stories and tells them well. You can sense the enthusiasm of the writer as he gets to chance to meet and work with his favorite movie star. You get something of his dismay when he has to fight his bosses, and he's so junior, everyone is his boss, in order to let his idol stay on the show after he shows up tanked the first day. He willingly undertakes the task of overseeing his idol as he makes his way through New York. He, and we, also learn a great deal more about his idol which makes him so much more human and down to earth.

We see the writers dealing with actors with huge egos. The pitfalls of producing a comedy sketch when the victim is a "percieved" crime boss are well demonstrated even as we laugh until our sides hurt.

At the same time the writer is overseeing his idol, he is actively pursuing a woman he is hopelessly in love with. SHe regards him as an embarressment best avoided. Dinner with the two of them is priceless both visually and through the dialog.

The conclusion is a reprise of the swash buckling of the 30s that was fizzling out in the early 50s. How many pirate movies were made in the 50s? Very few. It is almost a salute to the men who gave everyone so much entertainment as they grew up and grew older and more sophisticated. It is a flashback to a simpler time.

The cast from Peter O'Toole down to the mumbling non-entities are excellent and the combined talents make this movie work so well. O'Toole is exceptional as the actor on his way to oblivion who still manages to reach down and pull out one more performance. The story of how he came to be where he is was extremely well done.

In all, this is a superb movie about a subject that is now perceived as ancient history by many Americans. It is a marvelous essay on the differences between stars and actors. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in fine comedy movies.

MY FAVORITE YEAR, directed by Richard Benjamin, is one of the finest comedies to be made over the past 50 years. The homage to the "Golden Age of TV" features a great cast, from Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper and especially Joseph Bologna who is absolutely hilarious as King Kaiser, a thinly veiled Sid Caesar.

While everyone is wonderful, it is Bologna's portrayal of the ego-maniacal Kaiser that puts it over the top for me. He shows a marvelous sense of comic timing and his loveable wise-guy (sort of a TV Bugs Bunny if you can imagine that).

The film is a mixture of wit, pathos, slapstick and physical dexterity. It is one of my favorite movies and one that stands up to numerous watchings.

The finale is one of the best I have ever seen in a comedy. There are so many unique "moments" in the film that it is difficult to mention them all. The cast is a stellar ensemble, the writing is sparkling, and the cinematography recreates the 50's with complete integrity.

A great movie!

I can only agree with all the other reviewers that this is one of the funniest films I've ever seen. O'Toole is unforgettable as Alan Swann, the movie star petrified of live TV, giving another one of his larger than life performances.

The rest of the supporting case is equally superb. Joseph Bologna, Selma Diamond, and Mark Lin-Baker provide solid foils for O'Toole's barbs.

The scene where Linn-Baker brings O'Toole to his house for dinner is one of the funniest scenes in the picture. Lou Jacobi and Lainie Kazan are superb as the Jewish mother and uncle, with Jacobi managing to embarrass everybody when he asks O'Toole, "You know that girl you shtupped ..." after promising not to, "Whaddya think, I was born in Minsky-Pinsky?" This rates as one of the funniest sit down meal scenes in all of filmdom. (See also the one in "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills").

Linn-Baker's admiration turns to contempt after O'Toole refuses to do the show when he learns it is live TV and being broadcast to millions of viewers with no second "takes". O'Toole gets drunk, but all's well that ends well, and he springs onto the stage where a real fight between King Kaiser and gangsters, which the audience thinks is staged, and saves the day.

Buy this film and view it countless times. You'll never tire of it!!!

Alan Swann: Alfredo, telephone the Stork Club, we'll be two for dinner. Alfi: You sure you want the Stork Club, Mr. Swann? Alan Swann: It's been a year and a half. Surely they've repaired the wall of the bandstand by now. Former actor Richard Benjamin's near classic comedy "My Favorite Year" opens on 50th Street and Broadway in the Manhattan of 1954. Summer sunshine glistens off a new Oldsmobile. Fading, dissolute matinee idol Alan Swann is about to appear in his first live television program. Or will He? Peter O'Toole stars as movie swashbuckler Alan Swann( a thin impersonation of Errol Flynn). O'Toole verifies the comedic spark first seen in 1965's "What's New Pussycat?". A talented cast includes Mark Linn-Baker, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, and Cameron Mitchell. Film-within-a-film flashbacks reveal scenes from O'Toole's "Lord Jim". The director's penchant for long, theatrical episodes produces a slow but studied pace. Don't worry. The effect is marvelous. This brand new widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1 DVD of "My Favorite Year" is a stately Warners release. The digital transfer reveals some sloppy mattes around the actors' heads in the firehose balcony sequence. But by then, you'll be laughing so hard you won't even notice. The DVD includes generous chapter stops, a trailer, and splendid audio commentary by Benjamin, as he defines the dangers and head-aches of directing an MGM movie. In "My Favorite Year", veteran Gloria Stuart has a small non-speaking bit part. 20 years later, in a larger role, Stuart played Old Rose in a much more famous film tragedy set in 1912. It was the resonant epic about a ship that could not float.

A Hallmark card to the golden age of live television, MY FAVORITE YEAR is an absolute gem! O'Toole is a scream, and Linn-Baker gives the best and most earnest performance of his young career. Every scene is funny. You'll be quoting lines from it for years!
Rather than take up space with specifics (as so many others have already done anyway, so why be redundant), I'll just say that I have been looking forward to this DVD since the advent of the medium. I've owned the widescreen laserdisc version for years, but the DVD comes with a director's commentary. So I'm buying it mostly for that.
Actor/Director Richard Benjamin also made "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks, which is also worth buying.
Sadly, Benjamin's other films would not even come close to the homerun he hit with "My Favorite Year".

If you've ever wondered what Mel Brooks was like in his early days, here's your answer! He doesn't appear in this picture; he has no writing credit; he didn't direct. It isn't a Mel Brooks biography. But it was made by Brooksfilm, and it sure is reminiscent of Sid Caesar's Show of Shows, where Brooks, Imogene Coca and Howard Morris were on the staff.

Briefly, the youngest writer on the show, Benjy, is thrilled to learn that his idol, a famous movie star, famed for his dalliances, will appear on the show. But when the actor arrives spectacularly drunk, Benjy is assigned to keep him sober. And while undertaking this herculean task, he's also got his career, family, and romance on his mind.

The writing is superb. While there are truly poignant moments, the film is a comedy - and the writers deliver, covering everything, from one liners to physical comedy.

Richard Benjamin's direction is superb - it may be his best work behind the camera.

Watch for Selma Diamond and Peter O'Toole's encounter. Any explanation would not do it justice.

Did you ever consider Joseph Bologna and Cameron Mitchell doing physical comedy? They were hilarious.

An excellent movie, one of my favories.