Customer Reviews

So Fine [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Director writer Andrew Bergman proved with his contribution to the "Blazing Saddles" script and his masterwork, "The Freshman" that he is capable of real comic inspiration. "So Fine" doesn't reach those lofty heights but there are moments of real hilarity here. The film can best be described as a homage to the screwball comedies of the Thirties and Forties spiked with off-color humor. If you can say anything it's that Bergman was prescient in foreseeing the see-through jeans fad. Think low riders and thong underwear. Ryan O'Neal, a terrific light comedian as proven in "What's Up Doc" and "Paper Moon", gracefully delegates most of the spotlight to his co-stars. Jack Warden is a delight as O'Neal's garment peddler father whose desperation in saving his failing business forces him to push his rags in Bloomingdales without their permission. Mariangelo Melato is hilarious as the sexpot mobster wife whose passions run so high that she wants to copulate with O'Neal while the mobster's still in the bed. The biggest surprise is Richard Kiel, better known as Jaws from the Bond films, who gets to poke fun at his image. Highlights are Kiel sauntering through a campus cafeteria while the Four Seasons "Walk Like a Man" streams from the soundtrack and his singing Italian opera in "Othello" makeup. My fave sight gag was Kiel frightening a filling station guard dog that the poor animal's fur went from black to white. "So Fine" falls short of classic but it definitely constitutes as a sleeper.

This is the funniest movie ever made. Ryan O'Neal and Jack Warden's finest work. Richard Kiehl (Jaws) is a hoot as Othello. I like to surprise my friends with this as NO ONE has ever seen it. This is one of those gems that did not get promoted and died at the box office. Don't miss it!

This is a true gem. Written and directed by the fabulously talented Andrew Bergman (writer-director of Fletch, The Freshman, Honeymoon in Vegas, writer of The In-Laws, co-writer of Blazing Saddles), it is wild, literate and hilarious. Wonderfully written, cast and staged, it contains side-splittingly insightful send-ups of provincial state college English departments (first-rate performance by Fred Gwynne as the pompous and pedantic head of the department, Chairman Lincoln), the garment business (one of Jack Warden's best performances as Jack Fine, the owner of a perennially struggling dress business, Fine Fashions), gangsters (Richard Kiel is hilarious as the monosyllabic Mr. Eddie), romantic entanglements (Ryan O'Neal as Bobby Fine, witless associate English professor at Chippenango State College (and son of Jack Fine) and the wonderful Mariangela Melato (Swept Away, Love and Anarchy) as Lira, Mr. Eddie's wife) and grand opera (an incredible climactic scene takes place during a performance of Verdi's Otello). Full of passionate humor, Bergman is audaciously funny; he has the nerve to have Warden, upset with his son Ryan O'Neal over his having become romantically involved with gangster Richard Kiel's wife, tell O'Neal, "You gotta leave the country! Israel! You can go to Israel! You got a cousin there." With a marvelous score by Ennio Morricone. I can't wait for a DVD of this masterpiece.

This is a hilarious movie. I don't know shy funny movies like this and "Used Cars" stay hidden. The plot culminates in a hilarous Opera scene, you just have to see it. Highly recommended.

So Fine is a classic comedy from the 80's. if you haven't seen it it's light hearted with some good gags at the right times.
It fits in well with the likes of Police Academy and Stripes. I live in the UK and I have been trying to get this film for years on DVD, finally I found it on Amazon. It's a manufactured on demand title from Warner's Archive Collection.
The picture is very good for an older title clear and crisp, and the DVD is Multi-Region.

English professor O'Neal teams with his dad (Warden), a clothing designer, to save his failing business and unintentionally comes up with the latest fad: see-through jeans! If that's not enough for you, there's also a love interest between O'Neal and the wife of big Eddie (Kiel, the giant who played Jaws in several James Bond films)! Though the story is uneven and derivative, it still manages to be a hilarious, slick, superbly cast comedy. O'Neal is charming as usual, Kiel is ferociously funny, and Warden is a total knockout. Not for those seeking originality or real depth. Yet despite that, you'll have a great time. Guaranteed.

This is a classic off the wall comedy. If you don't laugh out loud at the gags you've missed the point. Jack Warner is at his best here. This one is a keeper. Only wish they had produced a DVD as it gets watched over and over.

This is a great rainy day funny movie. I wish it were out on DVD. Everything is hilarious because it is plausible. Just give it a try!

This little gem of a comedy is an unexpected treasure. The entire cast is perfectly matched (especially Richard Kiel as the sophisticated mobster); his one-word dialogs are great. While not the most sophisticated comedy I've ever seen by far, it remains a favorite just due to the old style zaniness that plays out. It's too bad that it's not available as a DVD. Given the large number of very positive reviews I'd think the studio would recognize a winner. Take the time to seek this one out. It's worth it.

Peekaboo jeans and Richard Kiel...what's not to love? I rented this movie a long time ago, and I've never forgotten it. I wonder how this brilliant marketing strategy would work in real life? I guess (?) we'll never know...