Back to the Old Drawing Board introduces a fan favorite character to the series. Hymie. Played by Dick Gautier, Hymie is a humanoid robot, with super strength, a computer for a brain, and he’s bulletproof. Sure, the idea is silly, but this is Get Smart right? The episode was written by Gary Clarke under the…
Tag: physical comedy
Death at a Funeral (2007) – Frank Oz
Frank Oz directs this uproariously funny film that puts the ‘fun’ in funeral, and amps up the hilarity by setting it in England. There’s just something horrendously funny about things going wrong around Brits, as they try to maintain some manner of decorum, dignity and civility. Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) is mourning the loss of his…
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) – Charles Lamont
We’re now moving into the later years of the Universal Monsters and that means they tried to revitalize it and inject some new life into the series by leaning into the addition of the comedy team Bud Abbott and Lou Costello to the series. This time out, the classic comedians are a pair of newly…
Family Ties (1989) – They Can’t Take That Away From Me: Part 1 and 2, and Rain Forests Keep Fallin’ On My Head
Marc Lawrence pens this two-parter, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, the first installment aired on 2 April, 1989. Lauren (Courtney Cox) has to go away for a conference for a few weeks, and Alex (Michael J. Fox) is teaching an economics class to complete his degree and graduate. While Jennifer (Tina Yothers) wrestles…
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021) – Patrick Hughes
Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek return to cause problems, violence and dole out colourful language in the sequel to The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Director Patrick Hughes remains in the big chair and delivers a fast-paced sleek tale, that feels a little tighter in its storytelling, and its runtime. Michael Bryce…
Family Ties (1987) – A Tale of Two Cities: Part 1, Part 2, and Battle of the Sexes
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) is going to a banking seminar in Chicago with his boss, Rebecca (Melinda Culea) in A Tale of Two Cities: Part 1. Written by Marc Lawrence and Alan Uger, this episode was first broadcast on 5 February, 1987. The b-story follows Elsye (Meredith Baxter) thinking about redesigning the Keaton kitchen, something…
A Shot in the Dark (1964) – Blake Edwards
The second film in the Pink Panther series could be argued to be the best, it puts all the familiar players on the screen with Peter Sellers, returning as Inspector Jacques Closeau. Herbert Lom is his long-suffering boss, Dreyfus, Burt Kwok is Kato, Closeau’s manservant and sparring partner, and Hercule as played by Graham Stark….
TAD 2021: Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It dir. Yernar Nurgaliyev
Kazakhstan delivers Toronto After Dark’s Opening Night Gala Film, Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It, and it sets up perfectly what to expect from TAD if this is your first time. There is going to be blood, wild on-screen deaths, laugh out loud moments, uncomfortable humour, and a lot of cross genre entertainment. Datsan (Daniar Alshinov)…
The Nutty Professor (1963) – Jerry Lewis
The next mad scientist film up for viewing in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book is this classic 60s comedy starring and directed by Jerry Lewis. I remember seeing this one when I was a kid, when our base theater used to have Saturday matinees and this was one of the titles I saw…
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) – Roman Polanski
Originally known as Dance of the Vampire’s Roman Polanski’s horror comedy is the next film in the Vampire section of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, written by legendary director John Landis. With the snow covered Alps standing in for Transylvania, and some nicely designed gothic castle sets, Polanski plays with the cliches of the…
The Mind Reels 