HUMOR??
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who-dey — 18 years ago(April 18, 2007 03:12 PM)
I just purchased this movie off of ebay.I am a little disappointed over the lack of bonus material. The only thing it has is a little commentary by Neil Simon. I would have liked to have seen deleted scenes or some bloopers or even a few comments from the actors.
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alfiee — 18 years ago(May 27, 2007 08:02 AM)
I first saw this movie on HBO in the late 70's and even today, I still don't get tired of watching it. The "humor" in the movie is the absurity of the plot itself and watching this group of master detectives try and outdo each
other to solve the mystery. It has all the elements of a "whodunit" book
and with so many possible plot twists, one never can actually be sure of what
is going on. Peter Sellers, in my view, really was the star of this movie
even though all of the others were up there as well. -
favourite_martian — 18 years ago(June 12, 2007 08:09 AM)
MindybizI am in 100% agreement with youi rented the movie after reading great reviewsbut its completely bogusfrankly the first scene in which the blind butler pastes stamps on the table instead of putting them on the envelopes set the tones for the banality that this movie embodiesthen there is this bad French accent done by Mr. Perrierbad bad bad chinese accenteverything is stereotypedand pretty badlyI saw only the first 20 minutes and was so disgusted by the superfaciality that decided not to proceed any further
Fortement Dconseill
cheers
Ahmad -
favourite_martian — 18 years ago(June 14, 2007 01:39 AM)
I do speak french and live an France and listen to genuine French accent all day long(I am not French)and this phoney accent by Perrier is not at all pleasingmany actors do the French accent in such a delightful way that it becomes the highlight of the moviefor example in Annie Hallthis unknown actor just says a line (pointing towards his pen*s)"What (am I gonna do)do I do with this, chrie?" and even the french were rolling with laughterbut such a sterotypical production with great names as Alec Guiness, MAggie Smith, Sellers etcreduced to a third rate theatricalthat was really unbearable
Ahmad -
j_w_pepper — 18 years ago(June 25, 2007 06:27 AM)
that was really unbearable
Now I'm not saying everybody has to love this movie and its humour, which does take getting used to, though I do. However, it seems obvious to me that this is really meant to be a phony French accent just the type of "funny" French accent that they usually show in the type of movies that this film is spoofing. Likewise, Peter Sellers' accent is not intended to be a true Chinese accent, but the kind of accent that Hollywood producers think people would expect from a cartoon-character "Chinaman" speaking English. In objecting to the accent being fake, you are overlooking the fact that this is done on purpose, which is to expose the shallowness of Hollywood's way of dealing with non-native English speakers and running them just for laughs. -
Stink_Face — 17 years ago(December 10, 2008 06:19 AM)
j_w_pepper - You shouldn't even HAVE to explain points like this to Martian guy above, they're obviously lacking in the necesary faculties to understand simple notions like this by themselves.
Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular. -
TheGuyWithTheFeet — 12 years ago(October 14, 2013 02:17 PM)
but such a sterotypical production with great names as Alec Guiness, MAggie Smith, Sellers etcreduced to a third rate theatricalthat was really unbearable
Yeah, a script by Neil Simon. How could they cast these legends in a movie with a script written by such a hack.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Simon#Awards -
Frumious_Bandersnatch_46 — 13 years ago(December 04, 2012 06:56 PM)
Depending on your age, you may not have realized that most of the characters are spoofs of movie detectives from the 1930s and 40s. If you're not familiar with any of these characters, you'll miss much of the humor.
All of the detectives in the film are parodies of the work of three authors: Dashiell Hammett, whose Nick Charles and Sam Spade were the basis for Dick Charleston and Sam Diamond, respectively; Agatha Christie, whose Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple inspired Milo Perrier and Miss Marbles; Earl Derr Biggers Charlie Chan was the basis for Inspector Sidney Wang and his son.
In Diabolical Order:
Lionel Twain Truman Capote Wealthy, Eccentric, Frustrated authorJamessir Bensonmum Sir Alec Guinness The blind butlerYetta Nancy Walker The deaf-mute maidDick Charleston David Niven Detective la Nick CharlesDora Charleston Dame Maggie Smith His wife la Nora CharlesInspector Sidney Wang Peter Sellers Detective la Charlie ChanWillie Wang Patrick Narita Number Three Son, adopted, JapaneseMilo Perrier James Coco Detective la Hercule PoirotMarcel James Cromwell Perrier's chauffeur and companionSam Diamond Peter Falk Detective la Sam SpadeMiss Tess Skeffington Eileen Brennan Spade's secretary and mistressMiss Jessica Marbles Elsa Lanchester Detective la Miss Jane MarpleMrs. Withers Estelle Winwood Miss Marbles' nurse
Note that, in the tradition of the old "Charlie Chan" films, Sidney Wang is played by a Caucasian actor.
I knew I was going to love this movie when the first scene had me cracking up. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie.