Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SITCOM-STYLE COMEDY OF MISADVENTURES WITH APPEALING CAMEOS.., July 8, 2004
I take off one star for the somewhat slight theme based on the true but quaint counter-intuitive romance of a couple whose marriage was revitalized after the wife almost succeeded in murdering her husband. But it comes with some brilliant cameos from some big names: Kline as an Italian pizza shop owner, William Hurt and Keanu Reeves as spaced out druggies, Plowright a staunch mother with a thick Yugoslavian accent and extremely funny, and an absolutely pivotal wife's role played by Ulman, who finds the stubborn vindictiveness inside her character, sunny and trusting one moment and unforgiving and brutal the next. It's not an astounding comedy and some gags are hit-and-miss, but as a saving grace the film is well-paced. The DVD I got features trailers for three other movies (go figure) but I still recommend this one as a decent rental.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far Under-Rated Comedy.., May 9, 2004
I saw this movie shortly after it's release on HBO in the earliy '90s. It has a full fledge cast that just make it superb to watch. Kevin Kline as Joey the Pizzaria Owner, who just can't get enough women, and is soo fun loving. Tracy Ullman plays his wife Rosalee, who loves her husband soo much, she would rather kill him than share him with any other woman. Joan Plowright plays Rosalee's Mother, who has a nack for mechanical work and it's nothing for her to be working on a carbortor at the Dinner Table at a restaraunt while the family is dinnig out. River Phoenix plays the boy who works at the Pizzaria, and is deeply in love with Rosalee, so much so,that he is willing to aid her in knocking off her husband, only after the futile attempts from Rosalee and her Mom. After he fails, they call in a couple of bargin basement junkies,(William Hurt & Keanu Reeves) from the local tavern to finish the job, but even they can't seem to pull it off. It's just one good laugh after another. I wore out my VHS Tape and then got the Laser Disc. I was happy to discover that it has been released on DVD!Also, I believe that this is based on a true story as well!!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Take The Family...Please!, August 25, 2005
I hadn't really studied the package that closely, but as the opening credits were playing, I couldn't help but think, "Wow! This is, like, the dream cast." I knew, of course, that it featured Tracey Ullman and Kevin Kline as the leads. But Joan Plowright! River Phoenix (what a tragic loss)! William Hurt! They even squeezed character actress Miryam Margolies. And, of course, you've got Keanu Reeves in yet another stoner role, but you know, you gotta give Keanu credit. No one did those roles better. He is spot on here.
A black comedy based on actual events? Hmm, how often do you come across something of that ilk? It is, as many reviewers have noted, something less than a complete success, and there were actually moments when I was ready to give up on it. Some of the shifts were just too abrupt. But if it falters here and there, the movie seems to somehow pick itself right back up again. The arrival of drugged out Harlan and Marlon (Hurt and Reeves) comes at one such lull and their presence gives the film a shot in the arm (no pun intended).
Not all of the gags work, of course, but the stellar cast is always worth watching. If you've ever wondered whether Tracey Ullman was more of a sketch comedian than an actress, her performance here should lay any such doubts to rest. As her mom, Joan Plowright is an absolute hoot. I can't tell for sure whether this legendary British actress's "Yugoslavian" accent is as flawless as countrywoman Ullman's "all-American" one, but she is so priceless, I can't imagine even the proudest Croatian critic arguing the point.
What of the "actual events" on which this is based? Apparently, the movie gets the gist of it, maybe more. Apparently, the Pennsylvania couple on which these seemingly impossible characters are based really did go through all of this and were still together last anyone knew. And the hubby really did change his wayward ways after his wife's multiple attempts to murder him. One discrepancy that I did read about, however, was that she really did wind up serving some time. But call that cinematic license.
There is at least an interesting subtext about Old World values and codes, and how they can justify all kinds of "outrageous" behavior (by contemporary US standards), while still seeming to be fundamentally "conservative" in nature. But that's for a doctoral dissertation or something. For our present purposes, let's just say that this oddball dark comedy is one worth seeing.
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