The premise of this movie is simple and hilarious. Moore play an advertising executive who experiences a minor nervous breakdown. Unlike 'Reginald Perrin', who fakes his suicide, Moore's character has a falling-out with deceit. He begins composing advertisements that tell the truth.
And this is where the comedy really takes off. Moore's character is confined to an institution, but in the meantime his spoof adverts are accidentally sent to press. As things turn out; the truth has more appeal than lies (why do ad-men and politicians find that so hard to accept?). In the asylum, the plot enters its 'second phase', as we are introduced to a bunch of people with all manner of comic and tragic conditions. It is they who take up the thread of humour in this part.
It is also here that things go awry. A romantic sub-plot is farcically attempted by the introduction Of Darly Hannah as a love interest for Moore. Like him; she has also been committed for some reason.
The story then struggles between these two digressing strands and the whole plot is stretched too thin to cover them. Dudley Moore was 55 by the time he worked this movie, and much too old to play a romantic lead with a 20-something inmate. Their relationship begins to look uncomfortably like abuse. Darly Hannah has a wonderful face and figure, but not much else. Her coy-and-vulnerable-beauty is a role she would reprise to the letter in 'Splash' with Tom Hanks.
There is a happy ending as you would expect; but by then, so many wheels have come off that you no longer take the joke seriously any more. It's a pity John Guilgud wasn't used instead of Ms Hannah. He could have been an insane politician turned philosophical mentor, or some such thing. The plot would have stayed on-track and the gags could have kept on coming. The pairing had already been shown to be a winning formula in 'Arthur'. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby demonstrated that such a franchise could work in the longer-term with their 'Road To...' series.
For the most part, this is well worth a watch. Just be ready to make some coffee or get a beer or something when the maudlin and implausible romance takes over. Unless you're a fan of Ms Hannah's physical charms, that is.
This was pretty well Dudley Moore's last Hollywood outing. If he'd been 20 years younger I think he would have made the ideal candidate for 'Splash'. But the studios needed a younger vulnerable-funny-guy, and Tom Hanks seems to have been Moore's natural successor. He wasn't as funny, but he wasn't so short and had youth on his side. He was also a yank.
If you think this is good, then try 'Bedazzled'. You'll see Cuddly Dudley both at his most endearing, and at the high point of his pairing with Peter Cook.
And this is where the comedy really takes off. Moore's character is confined to an institution, but in the meantime his spoof adverts are accidentally sent to press. As things turn out; the truth has more appeal than lies (why do ad-men and politicians find that so hard to accept?). In the asylum, the plot enters its 'second phase', as we are introduced to a bunch of people with all manner of comic and tragic conditions. It is they who take up the thread of humour in this part.
It is also here that things go awry. A romantic sub-plot is farcically attempted by the introduction Of Darly Hannah as a love interest for Moore. Like him; she has also been committed for some reason.
The story then struggles between these two digressing strands and the whole plot is stretched too thin to cover them. Dudley Moore was 55 by the time he worked this movie, and much too old to play a romantic lead with a 20-something inmate. Their relationship begins to look uncomfortably like abuse. Darly Hannah has a wonderful face and figure, but not much else. Her coy-and-vulnerable-beauty is a role she would reprise to the letter in 'Splash' with Tom Hanks.
There is a happy ending as you would expect; but by then, so many wheels have come off that you no longer take the joke seriously any more. It's a pity John Guilgud wasn't used instead of Ms Hannah. He could have been an insane politician turned philosophical mentor, or some such thing. The plot would have stayed on-track and the gags could have kept on coming. The pairing had already been shown to be a winning formula in 'Arthur'. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby demonstrated that such a franchise could work in the longer-term with their 'Road To...' series.
For the most part, this is well worth a watch. Just be ready to make some coffee or get a beer or something when the maudlin and implausible romance takes over. Unless you're a fan of Ms Hannah's physical charms, that is.
This was pretty well Dudley Moore's last Hollywood outing. If he'd been 20 years younger I think he would have made the ideal candidate for 'Splash'. But the studios needed a younger vulnerable-funny-guy, and Tom Hanks seems to have been Moore's natural successor. He wasn't as funny, but he wasn't so short and had youth on his side. He was also a yank.
If you think this is good, then try 'Bedazzled'. You'll see Cuddly Dudley both at his most endearing, and at the high point of his pairing with Peter Cook.