What's the AFI project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx
M*A*S*H is on the following AFI lists:
The Original Top 100 (#56)
100 Funniest Films (#7)
100 Greatest Film Songs (#66 - "Suicide is Painless")
The Revised Top 100 (#54)
As a child of the 80s, it probably comes as no great shock that I was at least somewhat, if passingly, familiar with the TV show starring Alan Alda that was based on this film more than I was familiar with the film itself. While I don't remember much of the TV show, as I never watched it with much interest (it was more for adults, after all), and as I haven't picked it up again on TV Land or on some similar syndicated television Mecca, I figured I wouldn't have too many preconceived notions or influences that would color my ability to appreciate the film, which is far less situational and, in some ways, more stream of consciousness than its offspring. I think I might have miscalculated, as I had no concept of how this movie would play out. I don't believe I had many expectations, but of what I had, this film did not meet or coincide with any.
Directed by Robert Altman, the film really has no plot; it was described to me as a "series of events," darkly satrical, that the potential viewer is either going to find funny or not funny. The film depicts the hijinks of members of a Mobil Army Surgical Hospital (i.e. MASH) in the Korean War. Donald Sutherland plays Hawkeye Pierce; Elliott Gould plays Trapper John McIntyre; and Tom Skerritt plays Duke Forrest, and together, these merry three musketeers pass their tours of duty by generally undercutting if not humiliating the more pompous and less martini-drinking members of their unit, including religious zealot Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) and Army loyalist Major "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Sally Kellerman). Between gory trips into the operating room, Hawkeye and company cajole themselves into a side trip to Japan for a round of golf and challenge another army unit to a rousing football game. All the while, the film and the film's direction, in care of Altman, become an exercise in being a "fly on the wall," listening in to multiple, simultaneious conversations as if in some board room meeting or crowded bar. Meanwhile, random acts of hilarity punctuate the proceedings.
This frenetic style of filmmaking was certainly an original approach, lending well to the dark comedy slyly masking subtle social commentary about the less logical elements of war. Some of the "series of events" were made funnier by the characters overstepping each other's dialogue in the natural flow of conversation or by delivering punchlines in an almost afterthought-like way. My favorite scene and the one I easily found funniest was the football game, mainly because Hot Lips becomes this slightly crazy cheerleader captain, which inspires several of the players and the coach to lobby crazy insults at her, such as "Hot Lips, you idiot."
The problem with this style of filmmaking is that many of the jokes and situations were tough to pick out amongst the din. The operating room scenes almost put me to sleep because too much was going on and too many people were talking, and even when I tried to focus on someone like Hawkeye, the actors in these scenes were clearly directed to do as many things at once as possible. It was distracting in an annoying way rather than in a funny way.
I think if I was a contemporary of the Vietnam War, I would find this film highly amusing. Altman clearly infused this film with the spirit of anti-war sentiment, the careful rebellion and sense of revolution brought on by flower children and other members of the counterculture. Yet again, however, I find myself marginally turned off by a film of this period. I can appreciate the originality and creativity of the filmmaking style (and I certainly have enjoyed other efforts of Altman's), but I could not relate to this film, even if some of the sight gags and pranks elicited a few chuckles from me. The comedy was borne out of a time and environment that would probably tickle my funny bone more if I had lived in it.
The most delightful part about watching this film was seeing this particular group of stars in their younger heydeys. I am a fan of Donald Sutherland's, I enjoy him in almost every film he is in, and it was a treat to see him in a comedic role when he was young and energetic looking (as a side note, I am bummed about the cancellation of "Dirty Sexy Money" because he was the reason to watch that show!).
Is M*A*S*H the seventh funniest film, as posited by the AFI? I barely laughed at all, and even if dark comedy is supposed to make one squirm more than laugh, I barely even did that. There were parts of the film that had me laughing more than others (the football game, for example). By means of foreshadowing, when I reach the AFI's Funniest list, I will be introducing a new ratings scale designed to rate how funny I think a film is. For now, I think it's fair to say that M*A*S*H likely appeals to the funny bones of a particular audience, and, sadly, I'm not a member of that audience.
Still, I can see why the AFI saw fit to rank the film. I have never seen a film like this one, before or since, comedy or otherwise. It seems to have been one of those fresh and uniquely timed entries into film history, revered enough to not solicit too many poor imitations. And though I didn't relate to the film, my inability to connect to it doesn't totally detract from its place in the annals of American films because it is what it is, an inventive and unusual comedy.
On the other hand, the movie is not perfect, and a comedy billed to have universal appeal (as I imagine all highly ranked comedies should have) should live up to its advertising. After long, hard, careful consideration, I feel M*A*S*H merits a 7 on the patented ratings scale for being shaky but entertaining. It gets points for originality and for spawning a widely acclaimed television show but loses points for being less than funny and something more than a time capsule for its period (as all of the late 60s/early 70s films on the list seem to be). Also, the creativity of the filmmaking format aside, it probably warrants at least three viewings to catch all of the jokes and sight gags, but I didn't find it funny enough the first time to want to purchase it, so it does not pass the test. Perhaps, if I see it on cable, I'll give it another chance, but I think M*A*S*H is symbolic of a moment in time, and that moment has clearly passed.