In this dark comedy, Sonny Lawson (Reynolds) is diagnosed with a terminal blood desease and after consulting with an adolescent priest (Robby Benson), speaking with his lawyer (David Steinberg) and spending some time with the people in his life - his mistress (Sally Field), ex wife (Joanne Woodward) and daughter (Kristy McNichol) - decides to commit suicide. He wakes up in an asylum after an unsuccessful attempt, only to be confronted by Myron Borunki (DeLuise), a paranoid schizophrenic who, upon hearing Sonny's sad story, cheerfully, repeatedly and homicidally offers him help to achieve his goal.
This is, arguably, the film I've written up so far that least deserves its status as obscure. It's full of pithy insight into human nature, outrageous comedy and even a few honestly sincere moments of sentiment. DeLuise gives a really hilarious, laugh-out-loud performance and Reynolds, who also directs is as charming as ever. It's wonderful to see the cameos by star after star, including Myrna Loy, Pat O'Brien, Norman Fell and Carl Reiner. Top that off with a Paul Williams theme sung by Glen Campbell that I'm rapidly becoming obsessed with and you have a terrific package.
This film is available on DVD and can be watched instantly on Netflix. The trailer above was uploaded to YouTube by MovieTrailerMonkey.
Obscurity factor: 5 (has small legion of fans, though largely unknown to general public, on DVD, available on Netflix Instant)
Ah, memories. This was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, at the tender age of eight. For some reason, my dad wanted to see it, and dragged the whole family out to the local drive-in to see it. I hated it. I was too young to grasp the concept of “black comedy” and didn’t think that death/suicide was an appropriate source for milking comedy. I wonder what my reaction would be to seeing it today.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's definitely not a film for kids. It's got some very funny moments in it though!
ReplyDeleteYou said this film had a Paul Williams theme sung by Glen Campbell??? The movie I saw had paul williams singing it. I like both versions of the song but can only see Glenn Campells version on TV.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it is Paul Williams singing the theme in the film. At the time I was listening to the Glen Campbell version which I downloaded from iTunes...
ReplyDeleteboth versions are great!!!
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