list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Naked Gun on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Naked_Gun/42209/default.aspx Title: The Naked Gun
Year: 1988
Director: David Zucker
Plot: We know we're in a 1988 film when we're invited to laugh at O.J. Simpson in an opening slapstick sequence. We can also pinpoint the year of production when hard-nosed cop Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), during a scuffle with the world's leading dictators, wipes the wine-colored birthmark off the head of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Those wacky ZAZ boys -- David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker -- serve up a feature-length spin-off of their cult favorite TV show Police Squad!. Seeking vengeance when his partner (Simpson) is shot full of holes by drug dealers, dead-pan and dead-brained Lt. Frank Drebin searches for the Mister Big behind it all. Drebin suspects above-reproach shipping magnate Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), but he can't prove a thing. Bumped from the force by the mayor (Nancy Marchand), Drebin, with the unexpected assistance of Ludwig's ex-girlfriend (Priscilla Presley), manages to nab the bad guy at a baseball game, where Reggie Jackson has been programmed to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. MGM mogul Irving Thalberg once reportedly told the Marx Brothers, "You can't build jokes on top of jokes." The producers of Naked Gun prove otherwise; indeed, one could develop writer's cramp just listing the gags in the film's first 20 minutes. Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad was followed by two lesser but still hilarious sequels, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 19
Number of Lists: 27
Number of blog posts: 11
Number of discussion threads: 5
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:04:12 GMTThe Naked Gun1988David ZuckerWe know we're in a 1988 film when we're invited to laugh at O.J. Simpson in an opening slapstick sequence. We can also pinpoint the year of production when hard-nosed cop Frank Drebin (<a href="/players/P____52664/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Leslie Nielsen</a>), during a scuffle with the world's leading dictators, wipes the wine-colored birthmark off the head of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Those wacky ZAZ boys -- <a href="/players/P___118048/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>David Zucker</a>, <a href="/players/P____78951/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jim Abrahams</a>, and <a href="/players/P___118047/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jerry Zucker</a> -- serve up a feature-length spin-off of their cult favorite TV show Police Squad!. Seeking vengeance when his partner (Simpson) is shot full of holes by drug dealers, dead-pan and dead-brained Lt. Frank Drebin searches for the Mister Big behind it all. Drebin suspects above-reproach shipping magnate Vincent Ludwig (<a href="/players/P____50098/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ricardo Montalban</a>), but he can't prove a thing. Bumped from the force by the mayor (<a href="/players/P____45329/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Nancy Marchand</a>), Drebin, with the unexpected assistance of Ludwig's ex-girlfriend (<a href="/players/P____57702/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Priscilla Presley</a>), manages to nab the bad guy at a baseball game, where Reggie Jackson has been programmed to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. MGM mogul Irving Thalberg once reportedly told the <a href="/players/P____46152/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Marx Brothers</a>, "You can't build jokes on top of jokes." The producers of <a href=/films/42209/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Naked Gun</a> prove otherwise; indeed, one could develop writer's cramp just listing the gags in the film's first 20 minutes. Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad was followed by two lesser but still hilarious sequels, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide19Tag Target (>10)271153http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t19491fp79d.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Naked_Gun/42209/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2009/8/11/43484.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 8/11/2009 2:04:12 PM
Body: Loaded Weapon 1 I guess the full title of this film is National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1. I could never really figure out what the connection was between the different films with the "National Lampoon's" prefix was, but I just looked it up and realized it's just the name of a production company. You know that the films are always comedies, and probably could have the descriptions of "zany", "crude", or "base" attached to them. Most people will think of Animal House or the Vacation movies (written by the recently departed John Hughes). Although I just found out the first ever National Lampoon's film was titled National Lampoon's Disco Beaver from Outer Space. But Loaded Weapon 1 is actually a bit different in that it's pretty much a spoof movie, where the others aren't. Obviously trying to work within the style created by the Zucker Abrahams Zucker team who did Airplane! and The Naked Gun, this film is much more based on a sequence of gags than really building complex character or scenarios. Which is fine with me. I love that stuff when it's done well. And I feel that Loaded Weapon 1 was done well. I have seen it a handful of times, and just pulled the shrinkwrap off a DVD that I've had in my house for a while after buying it on clearance to show my girlfriend. I think she fell asleep like she usually does, but I still had a great time. It's a short little film, as it should be. It's primarily a spoof of The Lethal Weapon movies which I have never seen. I have seen enough pieces of them and know the basic plot that I'm still able to enjoy what they are spoofing. A good spoof somehow gives you an insight into what the original scene of a movie it is spoofing was like even if you haven't seen it. It's hard to explain how this is done, but if you GET the joke, you can sense where it's coming from. One of the most striking things about the movie I think is how many cameos there are. Here's a list: Dr. Joyce BrothersJames Doohan (Scotty)F. Murray AbrahamCharlie SheenDennis LearyCorey FeldmanPhil HartmanJ.T. WalshErik EstradaLarry WilcoxPaul GleesonWhoopie GoldbergChristopher LambertBruce Willis And Denise Richards (although she was not at all a celebrity at that time) Of course you have the main characters played by Emilio Estevez who was pretty well known then. Samuel L Jackson was less well known. But then you got some other funny performances from John Lovitz, Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, and of course the wonderful William Shatner, who tries to pull off such a goofy voice here. So if you want some laughs, and to see a "gratuitous beaver scene" check this movie out. Like I said, it's short and sweet. Rating: 9/10
]]>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:04:12 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog8/11/2009 2:04:12 PMLoaded Weapon 1 I guess the full title of this film is National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1. I could never really figure out what the connection was between the different films with the "National Lampoon's" prefix was, but I just looked it up and realized it's just the name of a production company. You know that the films are always comedies, and probably could have the descriptions of "zany", "crude", or "base" attached to them. Most people will think of Animal House or the Vacation movies (written by the recently departed John Hughes). Although I just found out the first ever National Lampoon's film was titled National Lampoon's Disco Beaver from Outer Space. But Loaded Weapon 1 is actually a bit different in that it's pretty much a spoof movie, where the others aren't. Obviously trying to work within the style created by the Zucker Abrahams Zucker team who did Airplane! and The Naked Gun, this film is much more based on a sequence of gags than really building complex character or scenarios. Which is fine with me. I love that stuff when it's done well. And I feel that Loaded Weapon 1 was done well. I have seen it a handful of times, and just pulled the shrinkwrap off a DVD that I've had in my house for a while after buying it on clearance to show my girlfriend. I think she fell asleep like she usually does, but I still had a great time. It's a short little film, as it should be. It's primarily a spoof of The Lethal Weapon movies which I have never seen. I have seen enough pieces of them and know the basic plot that I'm still able to enjoy what they are spoofing. A good spoof somehow gives you an insight into what the original scene of a movie it is spoofing was like even if you haven't seen it. It's hard to explain how this is done, but if you GET the joke, you can sense where it's coming from. One of the most striking things about the movie I think is how many cameos there are. Here's a list: Dr. Joyce BrothersJames Doohan (Scotty)F. Murray AbrahamCharlie SheenDennis LearyCorey FeldmanPhil HartmanJ.T. WalshErik EstradaLarry WilcoxPaul GleesonWhoopie GoldbergChristopher LambertBruce Willis And Denise Richards (although she was not at all a celebrity at that time) Of course you have the main characters played by Emilio Estevez who was pretty well known then. Samuel L Jackson was less well known. But then you got some other funny performances from John Lovitz, Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, and of course the wonderful William Shatner, who tries to pull off such a goofy voice here. So if you want some laughs, and to see a "gratuitous beaver scene" check this movie out. Like I said, it's short and sweet. Rating: 9/10 http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_July_6_The_Song/625/42991/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Smooth_J
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/10/2009 5:57:05 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] I love the "music video" montage in The Naked Gun to the song "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I always picture it when I hear the song. Jim Jarmusch films were my introduction to Tom Waits music. Love the songs from Rain Dogs on Down by Law. The Coen brothers O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack was all individual songs, mostly new recordsings of old favorites, but some classic archives too. The thing won a Grammy for Best Album of the Year! Not that I take much stock in Grammys, but I love the songs and the film because the songs are so critical to the film. And their soundtrack for The Big Lebowski is just as great! From the front and center of Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" to the Creedence Clearwater Revival Permiating the film, to the little songs you catch in the background like "I Hate You" by the Monks playing over bowling lanes speakers in one of the bowling scenes. The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas soundtrack is just perfect too. I would name every song and what's happening in the film when it comes on, but that would take too long. This is maybe my favorite altogether soundtrack feature individual songs. Many of the songs, like a lot of the best ones used in movies like this are diagetic too, making them so important to the actual story. And I think I heard Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" enough for a lifetime after just seeing Groundhog Day once. The same is true for "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and the Papas in Chungking Express. Although I was just sick of that movie altogether. [/quote] I was going to mention Down by Law because it's so perfect in that movie, with the pseudo-beatnik vibe emanating through that entire movie. I loved it. Nice inclusion of the Coens too--I was planning on mentioning the complete lack of music in No Country because it's a bad habit I have. I agree with you with Chungking--it was a little much. Overall I liked the movie though. The scene where the girl strips in David Lynch's Lost Highway to Marilyn Manson's "I Put a Spell on You" is probably the greatest melding of music and film I've ever seen. It's so perfect. The Doors' "The End" is INCREDIBLE in Apocalypse Now. It's used twice, both times to bone-chilling effect. And what about memorable music in trailers? "Grounds for Divorce" gave me chills in the Burn After Reading trailer. "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" was used well in the Watchmen trailer, making the movie seem way more awesome than it turned out to be (although I thought it was awesome). Is Where the Wild Things are doomed to the same fate with the outstanding use of "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire? I sure as shit hope not.
]]>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:57:05 GMTSmooth_JWeekly Theme7/10/2009 5:57:05 PM[quote user="Risselada"] I love the "music video" montage in The Naked Gun to the song "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I always picture it when I hear the song. Jim Jarmusch films were my introduction to Tom Waits music. Love the songs from Rain Dogs on Down by Law. The Coen brothers O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack was all individual songs, mostly new recordsings of old favorites, but some classic archives too. The thing won a Grammy for Best Album of the Year! Not that I take much stock in Grammys, but I love the songs and the film because the songs are so critical to the film. And their soundtrack for The Big Lebowski is just as great! From the front and center of Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" to the Creedence Clearwater Revival Permiating the film, to the little songs you catch in the background like "I Hate You" by the Monks playing over bowling lanes speakers in one of the bowling scenes. The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas soundtrack is just perfect too. I would name every song and what's happening in the film when it comes on, but that would take too long. This is maybe my favorite altogether soundtrack feature individual songs. Many of the songs, like a lot of the best ones used in movies like this are diagetic too, making them so important to the actual story. And I think I heard Sonny &amp; Cher's "I Got You Babe" enough for a lifetime after just seeing Groundhog Day once. The same is true for "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and the Papas in Chungking Express. Although I was just sick of that movie altogether. [/quote] I was going to mention Down by Law because it's so perfect in that movie, with the pseudo-beatnik vibe emanating through that entire movie. I loved it. Nice inclusion of the Coens too--I was planning on mentioning the complete lack of music in No Country because it's a bad habit I have. I agree with you with Chungking--it was a little much. Overall I liked the movie though. The scene where the girl strips in David Lynch's Lost Highway to Marilyn Manson's "I Put a Spell on You" is probably the greatest melding of music and film I've ever seen. It's so perfect. The Doors' "The End" is INCREDIBLE in Apocalypse Now. It's used twice, both times to bone-chilling effect. And what about memorable music in trailers? "Grounds for Divorce" gave me chills in the Burn After Reading trailer. "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" was used well in the Watchmen trailer, making the movie seem way more awesome than it turned out to be (although I thought it was awesome). Is Where the Wild Things are doomed to the same fate with the outstanding use of "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire? I sure as shit hope not. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_July_6_The_Song/625/42988/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/10/2009 3:20:12 PM
Body: I love the "music video" montage in The Naked Gun to the song "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I always picture it when I hear the song. Jim Jarmusch films were my introduction to Tom Waits music. Love the songs from Rain Dogs on Down by Law. The Coen brothers O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack was all individual songs, mostly new recordsings of old favorites, but some classic archives too. The thing won a Grammy for Best Album of the Year! Not that I take much stock in Grammys, but I love the songs and the film because the songs are so critical to the film. And their soundtrack for The Big Lebowski is just as great! From the front and center of Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" to the Creedence Clearwater Revival Permiating the film, to the little songs you catch in the background like "I Hate You" by the Monks playing over bowling lanes speakers in one of the bowling scenes. The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas soundtrack is just perfect too. I would name every song and what's happening in the film when it comes on, but that would take too long. This is maybe my favorite altogether soundtrack feature individual songs. Many of the songs, like a lot of the best ones used in movies like this are diagetic too, making them so important to the actual story. Wait, scratch that last statement about Fear and Loathing being my favorite soundtrack. I think I'm going to have to replace it with Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy. Magnolia has a bittersweet little singalong to an Aimee Mann song. Simple Men has a pretty spontaneous dance sequence to what I think is a Sonic Youth song, but I don't know the name. I think anyone who has seen Beetle Juice would think of the movie at least once any time they hear the song O Day Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte. And I think I heard Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" enough for a lifetime after just seeing Groundhog Day once. The same is true for "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and the Papas in Chungking Express. Although I was just sick of that movie altogether. I almost wanted to name the amazing musical moments in Tsai Ming-liang's The Hole, but I think then I am getting a little to close to the Musical genre, which is kind of different from what we are discussing here.
]]>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:20:12 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme7/10/2009 3:20:12 PMI love the "music video" montage in The Naked Gun to the song "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I always picture it when I hear the song. Jim Jarmusch films were my introduction to Tom Waits music. Love the songs from Rain Dogs on Down by Law. The Coen brothers O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack was all individual songs, mostly new recordsings of old favorites, but some classic archives too. The thing won a Grammy for Best Album of the Year! Not that I take much stock in Grammys, but I love the songs and the film because the songs are so critical to the film. And their soundtrack for The Big Lebowski is just as great! From the front and center of Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" to the Creedence Clearwater Revival Permiating the film, to the little songs you catch in the background like "I Hate You" by the Monks playing over bowling lanes speakers in one of the bowling scenes. The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas soundtrack is just perfect too. I would name every song and what's happening in the film when it comes on, but that would take too long. This is maybe my favorite altogether soundtrack feature individual songs. Many of the songs, like a lot of the best ones used in movies like this are diagetic too, making them so important to the actual story. Wait, scratch that last statement about Fear and Loathing being my favorite soundtrack. I think I'm going to have to replace it with Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy. Magnolia has a bittersweet little singalong to an Aimee Mann song. Simple Men has a pretty spontaneous dance sequence to what I think is a Sonic Youth song, but I don't know the name. I think anyone who has seen Beetle Juice would think of the movie at least once any time they hear the song O Day Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte. And I think I heard Sonny &amp; Cher's "I Got You Babe" enough for a lifetime after just seeing Groundhog Day once. The same is true for "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and the Papas in Chungking Express. Although I was just sick of that movie altogether. I almost wanted to name the amazing musical moments in Tsai Ming-liang's The Hole, but I think then I am getting a little to close to the Musical genre, which is kind of different from what we are discussing here. http://www.spout.com/blogs/bulletbill/archive/2009/2/5/40298.aspx Post By: bulletbill
Post To: bulletbill Blog
Post Date: 2/5/2009 10:50:58 PM
Body: Leslie Nielsen is just one of the funniest actors of his time. i've seen this movie like 6 times and each time i see it there are things that u dont see the first 5 and it gets funnier all the time A+++
]]>Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:50:58 GMTbulletbillbulletbill Blog2/5/2009 10:50:58 PMLeslie Nielsen is just one of the funniest actors of his time. i've seen this movie like 6 times and each time i see it there are things that u dont see the first 5 and it gets funnier all the time A+++ http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/3/37896.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/3/2008 3:00:52 PM
Body: It’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders. As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations. 10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments. 9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008) Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month. 8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003) Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award. 7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998) Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen. 6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000) Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race. 5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995) The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures. 4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004) It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination. 3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982) A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in. 2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006) Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around. 1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983) Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:00:52 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/3/2008 3:00:52 PMIt’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders. As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations. 10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments. 9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008) Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month. 8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003) Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award. 7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998) Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen. 6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000) Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race. 5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995) The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures. 4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004) It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination. 3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982) A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in. 2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006) Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around. 1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983) Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_October_20_The_Montage/625/36618/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 10/23/2008 10:54:10 AM
Body: [quote user="Ravie13"]The first one that always comes to mind when I think about montages is the dating sequence from THE NAKED GUN. [/quote] And they are playing that Herman's Hermits song. I like how at the end the name of the band, song, director, etc appears in the bottom left hand corner like it does when you watch any music video on MTV.
]]>Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:54:10 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme10/23/2008 10:54:10 AM[quote user="Ravie13"]The first one that always comes to mind when I think about montages is the dating sequence from THE NAKED GUN. [/quote] And they are playing that Herman's Hermits song. I like how at the end the name of the band, song, director, etc appears in the bottom left hand corner like it does when you watch any music video on MTV. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_October_20_The_Montage/625/36599/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Ravie13
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 10/22/2008 9:28:08 PM
Body: The first one that always comes to mind when I think about montages is the dating sequence from THE NAKED GUN. I also think there was a good montage in NORTH SHORE as he learns to surf on a variety of different boards until he's finally ready.
]]>Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:28:08 GMTRavie13Weekly Theme10/22/2008 9:28:08 PMThe first one that always comes to mind when I think about montages is the dating sequence from THE NAKED GUN. I also think there was a good montage in NORTH SHORE as he learns to surf on a variety of different boards until he's finally ready. http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2008/10/15/36359.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 10/15/2008 11:51:29 AM
Body: Duck Soup It seems like I watched two of my absolute favorite comedies back to back. The Naked Gun which I wrote about in my last post, and then Duck Soup. And to me these are some of the pinnacles of their own particular genres of comedy for their era. I think I was trying to show them off to my girlfriend. I purchased all of the Marx Brothers films from the two different studios they worked at when there was a sale on boxed sets at Borders a while ago. I'm making my way through them. I've seen all of their movies up through A Day at the Races before, but none after that. I've heard they go down hill after that. But if there is even one moment in any of those films that is as wonderful as any moment in Duck Soup, then they should be worth watching. As each brother is introduced I think you start to like the next one more than the last. And then one reappears again and becomes your new favorite. You have to fight over who is the best until they end up all dressed up like Groucho in the same pajamas and you realize it would never be this great if they were alone and not a team. I love how the film deteriorates from order to absurdity in the face of war. By the end Groucho has a new military uniform from a different era on in every scene. I think you can see the link as to why I love both the Marx Brothers and the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team. Both films have serious characters with zaniness going on around them, but they kind of just allow it to keep going. And then some of these absurd sigh gags come in that seem to break the reality of the film, but then disappear again. I love it! Rating: 10/10
]]>Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:51:29 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog10/15/2008 11:51:29 AMDuck Soup It seems like I watched two of my absolute favorite comedies back to back. The Naked Gun which I wrote about in my last post, and then Duck Soup. And to me these are some of the pinnacles of their own particular genres of comedy for their era. I think I was trying to show them off to my girlfriend. I purchased all of the Marx Brothers films from the two different studios they worked at when there was a sale on boxed sets at Borders a while ago. I'm making my way through them. I've seen all of their movies up through A Day at the Races before, but none after that. I've heard they go down hill after that. But if there is even one moment in any of those films that is as wonderful as any moment in Duck Soup, then they should be worth watching. As each brother is introduced I think you start to like the next one more than the last. And then one reappears again and becomes your new favorite. You have to fight over who is the best until they end up all dressed up like Groucho in the same pajamas and you realize it would never be this great if they were alone and not a team. I love how the film deteriorates from order to absurdity in the face of war. By the end Groucho has a new military uniform from a different era on in every scene. I think you can see the link as to why I love both the Marx Brothers and the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team. Both films have serious characters with zaniness going on around them, but they kind of just allow it to keep going. And then some of these absurd sigh gags come in that seem to break the reality of the film, but then disappear again. I love it! Rating: 10/10 http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2008/9/30/35731.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 9/30/2008 5:18:36 PM
Body: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Sometimes it's most difficult to say stuff about your favorite films. You've seen them so many times, expressed your love for them in so many ways. Anything you say about them now seems obvious and redundant in your experience. The Naked Gun and all of the early films from the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker comedy team fit this description for me. For me they comprise the most laugh-out-loud hilarious movies of all time. The comedy has an absurd logic to it that especially appeals to me. You begin with a film that is played completely straight. You write with all the clichés of a genre, without any humor or surprises. Then you pick out the absurdities. There is a consistency to the straight part of the film. The jokes almost exist on another plane. They come and go for the audiences benefit, rarely for the benefit of the characters of the plot. Sometimes they are even nullified from one shot to another. When well executed it makes me laugh like nothing else. It's a style that these guys perfected, if not created. Several generations later we have movies that try for the same style without any of the effect. That is because these guys had rules. They knew what was funny, and they stuck to it. There was some kind of wonderful, beautiful science about it. Now unfortunately even the guys from this first generation are being recruited by their bastard spawn of the genre to direct sub-par movies. It's a real shame. The Naked Gun is the movie version of a TV show called Police Squad. Only a few episodes were aired before it was canned. Someone at CBS said that the show was brilliant but didn't work on TV because you need to pay attention, and people who watch TV don't pay attention. I guess it's true if you are doing your laundry or chatting with someone while the TV is on, you can kind of gather what's happening with any basic stupid sitcom. But since all of the jokes in Police Squad / The Naked Gun are in the background or some contrast between the audio and visual, you need to be really focused on what's happening. So the material worked as a movie for a while, but does the steady decline of movies in this genre indicate that maybe people no longer pay attention at the movie theater either? Although I keep hoping some day a genius of comedy will return to helm a comedy film that lives up to this one. Rating: 10/10
]]>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:18:36 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog9/30/2008 5:18:36 PMThe Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Sometimes it's most difficult to say stuff about your favorite films. You've seen them so many times, expressed your love for them in so many ways. Anything you say about them now seems obvious and redundant in your experience. The Naked Gun and all of the early films from the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker comedy team fit this description for me. For me they comprise the most laugh-out-loud hilarious movies of all time. The comedy has an absurd logic to it that especially appeals to me. You begin with a film that is played completely straight. You write with all the clich&eacute;s of a genre, without any humor or surprises. Then you pick out the absurdities. There is a consistency to the straight part of the film. The jokes almost exist on another plane. They come and go for the audiences benefit, rarely for the benefit of the characters of the plot. Sometimes they are even nullified from one shot to another. When well executed it makes me laugh like nothing else. It's a style that these guys perfected, if not created. Several generations later we have movies that try for the same style without any of the effect. That is because these guys had rules. They knew what was funny, and they stuck to it. There was some kind of wonderful, beautiful science about it. Now unfortunately even the guys from this first generation are being recruited by their bastard spawn of the genre to direct sub-par movies. It's a real shame. The Naked Gun is the movie version of a TV show called Police Squad. Only a few episodes were aired before it was canned. Someone at CBS said that the show was brilliant but didn't work on TV because you need to pay attention, and people who watch TV don't pay attention. I guess it's true if you are doing your laundry or chatting with someone while the TV is on, you can kind of gather what's happening with any basic stupid sitcom. But since all of the jokes in Police Squad / The Naked Gun are in the background or some contrast between the audio and visual, you need to be really focused on what's happening. So the material worked as a movie for a while, but does the steady decline of movies in this genre indicate that maybe people no longer pay attention at the movie theater either? Although I keep hoping some day a genius of comedy will return to helm a comedy film that lives up to this one. Rating: 10/10 http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/16/31288.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/16/2008 5:01:14 PM
Body: The best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:01:14 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/16/2008 5:01:14 PMThe best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/comedy/MemberTagFilms.aspxcomedy
Number of films tagged: 1087

Number of people who tagged: 253

Number of times used: 1342

]]>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:38:30 GMT10872531342Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/hilarious/MemberTagFilms.aspxhilarious
Number of films tagged: 222

Number of people who tagged: 165

Number of times used: 331

]]>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:39:04 GMT222165331Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspxmurder
Number of films tagged: 8748

Number of people who tagged: 157

Number of times used: 830

]]>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:57:25 GMT8748157830Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spy/MemberTagFilms.aspxspy
Number of films tagged: 366

Number of people who tagged: 46

Number of times used: 97

]]>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:24:02 GMT3664697Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/assassination/MemberTagFilms.aspxassassination
Number of films tagged: 1052

Number of people who tagged: 44

Number of times used: 90

]]>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:55:14 GMT10524490Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/detective/MemberTagFilms.aspxdetective
Number of films tagged: 2345

Number of people who tagged: 43

Number of times used: 105

]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:02:59 GMT234543105Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/baseball/MemberTagFilms.aspxbaseball
Number of films tagged: 914

Number of people who tagged: 42

Number of times used: 84

]]>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:28:02 GMT9144284Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/police/MemberTagFilms.aspxpolice
Number of films tagged: 3104

Number of people who tagged: 37

Number of times used: 172

]]>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:56:49 GMT310437172Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/silly/MemberTagFilms.aspxsilly
Number of films tagged: 57

Number of people who tagged: 36

Number of times used: 75

]]>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:13:04 GMT573675Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/spoof/MemberTagFilms.aspxspoof
Number of films tagged: 48

Number of people who tagged: 34

Number of times used: 71

]]>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:11:30 GMT483471Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/investigation/MemberTagFilms.aspxinvestigation
Number of films tagged: 5883

Number of people who tagged: 29

Number of times used: 124

]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:27:28 GMT588329124Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/president/MemberTagFilms.aspxpresident
Number of films tagged: 808

Number of people who tagged: 21

Number of times used: 46

]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:07:18 GMT8082146Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/game/MemberTagFilms.aspxgame
Number of films tagged: 354

Number of people who tagged: 20

Number of times used: 28

]]>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:02:27 GMT3542028Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/conscam/MemberTagFilms.aspxconscam
Number of films tagged: 2333

Number of people who tagged: 12

Number of times used: 19

]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:02:59 GMT23331219Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/scheme/MemberTagFilms.aspxscheme
Number of films tagged: 1069

Number of people who tagged: 12

Number of times used: 19

]]>Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:05:14 GMT10691219Tag