Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Beware of the dwarf!", November 14, 2004
After his meteoric rise in popularity from starring in the inaugural season of the ongoing, late-night TV comedy variety show "Saturday Night Live" (1975-), now veteran film actor Chevy Chase effectively began his big-screen career along side veteran big-screen comedic actress Goldie Hawn in the hilarious 1978 film "Foul Play". Taking place in the beautiful city of San Francisco, the single librarian Gloria Mundy (Goldie Hawn) becomes unwittingly entangled in a mysterious terrorist plot to kill Pope Pius XIII (Cyril Magnin, 1899-1988) when (while visiting San Francisco) he attends a performance of the 1885 opera "The Mikado" by William S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900). After Gloria witnesses a brutal killing and escapes an attempt on her own life, she is interviewed by bumbling San Francisco police detective Lt. Tony Carlson (Chevy Chase). Not totally convinced about her seemingly outlandish story of being attacked by an albino (William Frankfather, 1944-1998, in his big-screen debut) or the warnings she received about a dwarf, Tony nonetheless keeps a watchful eye upon Gloria whom he is attracted to. As Gloria continues to evade the killers, she meets the satyrical musical conductor Stanley Tibbets (the hilarious Dudley Moore, 1935-2002) and mistakenly confuses a short & innocent bible-salesman, J.J. MacKuen (Billy Barty, 1924-2000), to be the infamous dwarf. With a myriad of chase scenes, wistful dialog, unusual characters, Hitchcockian mystery and 1970's nostalgia, "Foul Play" is sure to bring a smile to most viewer's faces.
Memorable scenes in the film include Gloria meeting Stanley for the first time, Stanley's apartment, J.J. MacKuen at Gloria's front door, Gloria visiting J.J. at the hospital, the "massage" club, Gloria's friend & landlord Mr. Hennessey (Burgess Meredith, 1908-1997) taking on Delia Darrow (Rachel Roberts, 1927-1980), trying to get to the opera house, the Japanese couple (Rollin Moriyama, 1907-1992, and Mitsu Yashima) and the "Mikado" performance. Other memorable characters include Gloria's friend Stella (Marilyn Sokol), Archbishop Thorncrest/Archbishop's brother (Eugene Roche, 1928-2004), Rupert Stiltskin (Marc Lawrence), The Turk (Ion Teodorescu, 1934-1985), the truck driver (M. James Arnett) and Esme the snake (Shirley Python). Overall, I rate "Foul Play" with 5 out of 5 stars and am very happy to see it finally released on DVD. In an interesting bit of trivia, the name "Gloria Mundy" was derived from the Latin phrase, "Sic transit gloria mundi," which means, "So passes the glory of the world."
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Suspense-Comedy an Homage to Hitchcock & Film Noir!, December 3, 2001
By A Customer
This comedy has stood the test of time; don't listen to detractors. Leonard Maltin says the film is "protracted" but is perfect by today's standards (think about the 3-hour epics to which audiences readily flock). "Foul Play" is also an OBVIOUS homage to Hitchcock, not a "plagiarism of Hitchcock" as Maltin shortsightedly declares. Colin Higgins does a great job mixing suspense with comedy (something Hitch fans will recognize). Sure, this is Goldie's movie, and Chevy plays it laid-back (if Chase were to ham it up he'd be distracting); they make a terrific duo. Saying Goldie was the 70s Meg Ryan (as one reviewer did) is like comparing diamonds to junk jewelry (Meg Ryan is paste; Goldie's the gem). Supporting actors show inspired casting, especially Dudley Moore as the kinky conductor. Sets are pure 70s in full-tilt (a retro-decorator's dream). Car-chases with lots of point-of-view will induce vertigo on larger screen TVs (in the theater it was like riding a rollercoaster): it's grand scale entertainment! "Foul Play" can easily be judged a classic -- delightful, fluffy, colorful cotton-candy which should be enjoyed as such. If you're in the dumps, this film will pick you up. Paramount should have the good sense to release "Foul Play" to DVD in it's original theatrical aspect ratio...SOON!!!!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just plain Good Entertainment, December 21, 2001
This is one of my favorite "comfort" movies. You don't have to think a lot, and there's not much deeper meaning. But as homage to Hitchcock, Foul Play is just plain good entertainment. THIS NEEDS TO BE ON DVD IN WIDESCREEN FORMAT!There. Now I feel better. Watch this one with your sweetie.
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