A wonderful, quirky comedy that holds up to many viewings-
597172
The cast could not have been better! I try to loan this to friends that

need a few laughs. The relativly quiet start to the plot has a truly good payoff!
1243017
Great movie - lots of fun action, with touching warmth and quirky humor.
1675989
I almost missed this film. The poster and stills from the film do not do it justice.

This movie is billed as a dark comedy, however while a number of moments were quite funny, I found it to be a more serious affair. Very character-based, with Henry Rollins doing a fantastic job showing the most minute increments of character development, which is enormously consistent with his character.

Without saying too much---and believe me, you definitely do NOT want to read a spoiler!---Rollins plays a mysterious loner whose only mild pleasures in life are eating at a diner and playing Bingo. In addition to the diner, he has other, less savory appetites that he tries to control with varying degrees of success.

His life is upended when he receives a call from an old lover telling asking him to look for their missing daughter. At first, it seems as though he is completely indifferent to his daughter's well-being, but gradually, he establishes a rudimentary interpersonal connection with her.

He's also forming a connection with a waitress at the diner at which he eats. She clearly has a crush on him, but again he doesn't seem interested.  She's not deterred.

This was a wonderful gem of a film, and I'm so glad I took the time to see it. Like I said, it looked awful from the poster and photos, but man, what a great film. It's one-of-a-kind, something to be treasured.

From what I hear, Rollins is in talks to make a mini series continuation of the story. I have mixed feelings about that. Television is not my favorite medium, and I fear what they may do to this character. However, it's also exciting to hear that more may be coming!
1130431
Bill Murray has never ceased to be one of my favorite comedians, from the first viewing of Ghostbusters to the outrageous role in The Man Who Knew Too Little. (He's also probably the only good part in Charlie's Angels, though I know most will disagree.) This film does not fail to further his career, in my opinion. It presented him as the crazed and vicious television company president who brings us an Ebenezer we can't ignore. Bob Goldthwait and Carol Kane do not fail to drive the audience bonkers either! Karen Allen is not AS convincing in her romantic role of Claire as she was as Marion in Raiders, but better than Laura in The Glass Menagerie. The humor is terrific in several parts (verbal and physical), yet the message of the film--the SERIOUS one--is not lost. This movie has made my Christmas for years, better than the two Home Alones! May I add, as an impending music doctorate, that Danny Elfman's score brings me joy with each viewing as well!
2443046
I first watched "A Fish Called Wanda" in about 1990 on a VHS tape. A lady friend at the time said is was very funny and I was sure to like it. Well, I think that set up some resistance and it took about a third of the movie to finally win me over. But win me over, it did. What an astonishing and absurd comedy! John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and all of the supporting cast are wonderful. The writing is exceptionally good. It's a fun movie to watch in a rich subtle way and the laughs are plentiful and deep in the old British comedy tradition.

My wife and I now have the DVD and we've watched it twice and enjoyed it both times. This movie is amazing. Watch it and enjoy. When the memory somewhat fades, watch it again. It's a movie that can be repeated over and over.

Gary Peterson
3569365
I would not call this a comedy.  It is a beautiful, warm, story of 3 lonely people and their unlikely friendship.  Even after watching it a second time, it still is a great, quirky, movie about friendship, forgiveness, and acceptance.
2828675
I'm a little slow to view this movie, but even 8 years after its release, it was one of the funnier movies I've seen in the past 8 years. It was witty, sweet, pensive, and all around 5 stars. The plot, lines, and acting were top notch. I am a fan of this movie and recommend it to anyone who wants to laugh, cry, think, and feel. The story of Jake the Rabbi (Ben Stiller) and Brian the Priest (Edward Norton) as they reunite with their childhood friend Anna (Jenna Elfman), the workaholic, is a perfect combination of faith-promoting anecdotes, new love antics, and lines that will keep your head rolling with laughter.
1811343
This most wonderful of Disney musicals has been at the top of my all-time best movies list ever since I saw it back in 1964. It's a very humanistic, loving film, but love that has a backbone (snip-snap, as Mary poppins says). It's sweet, silly, touching and still holds up very well technically. I never fail to get a kick out of Ed Wynn (in his last movie role, the father of now deceased as well Keenan Wynn) and the tea party on the ceiling. It's an ideal antidote for the blues ... and those corny old vaudville jokes Dick Van Dyke and Ed share up there ... great fun. The message "Let's go fly a kite" -- to take some time off and enjoy life is more relevant today than it was then. It really measures up to the highest standards of family filmmaking.
3525506
Keeping Mum is a 2005 comedy/crime/thriller/family drama/mystery but first and foremost, a British black comedy at its finest, subtle and the bizarre that stars Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rowan Atkinson, and Patrick Swayze. It is full of surprises, twists, and un-expected revelations. It's got sex, murders, and violence but they are handled in such hilariously proper way that I was amused and entertained all along. Among plenty of surprises, I'd love to mention two first. Rowan Atkinson has turned by the other side of his talent. His vicar Walter Goodfellow is a true good fellow, a nice quiet man who is so overwhelmed by demands of his job that and he fails to recognize some troubling realities in his own family. His wife Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas) is sexually frustrated, and starts an affair with her American golf instructor (Patrick Swayze) who is also drooling over Gloria and Walter's stunningly beautiful teenage daughter Holy ( In 2007, Tamsin Egerton was voted tenth of the one hundred most beautiful faces in the world, by IndependentCritics.com. - I can't agree more. She was another surprise in the movie). Holy is a bit too eager to explore her sexuality with a new boyfriend every week. The couple's pre-teen son Petye is a target of a group of bullies at school. Enters new housekeeper, amazing Grace Hawkins (Dame Maggie Smith), efficient, charming, and extraordinary loyal to Goodfellows and their wellbeing. She brings with her a huge trunk full of memories and some clothes, and the life in Goodfellow household will never be the same. Grace certainly knows how to take care of the persistent annoying problems and these who cause them.

Maggie Smith is delightful in every single role I've seen her. Her incomparable ability to bring very unique humor, depth, and mannerism into her performances make her deservingly one of the best British actresses in history. Just watch Smith delivering the lines that she makes devilishly funny and incredibly amusing. Smith has been supported by very able cast. The story combines several genres interestingly enough for me to recommend this movie highly. But you have to be a fan of British comedies and British dry black humor and not to be offended by murders and adulteries as the subjects of a comedy.

I did not know anything about the movie until my mom rented it from our local library (I love our library - the source of little known but often very enjoyable movies free of charge) and recommended it to me. It was a very nice surprise - just as it was for the viewers at 2006 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival where Keeping Mum received Film Discovery Jury Award.
4581910
This is one of my favorite movies, ever since I first watched it on HBO decades ago.  It is a movie you can watch with just about anyone and not worry about offending.  Robert Preston plays a former investigative reporter whose career has entered the doldrums as he reaches retirement age.  He takes over a column with advice to the lovelorn, but his advice is basically for them to snap out of it and stay with their spouses.  The truth is not romantic, though, and the incoming letters dwindle.

He meets Mary Tyler Moore's character and in a way, becomes one of those lovelorn persons himself, which allows him to be more gentle in his advice.  That is just one part of the plot, however, mostly the story revolves around these two characters as they get to know each other and help each other bring their respective messy lives in order.

The movie is an intelligent romantic comedy, both funny and romantic, with interesting lesser characters especially featuring a superb performance by the actress who plays Preston's ailing wife.

I recorded this on VHS back when it ran, and hung onto it because I liked it, and then transferred it to DVD when I embraced that technology.  The picture quality isn't great, but now that I see it was never released on DVD I am glad to have it.  The reviews of the VHS quality sold here are not very favorable.  But do watch it if you haven't already, and watch it again if you have seen it..
4567875
"Ghost Town" is a bizarre and thoughtful movie that knows how to be emotional without being sentimental, that knows how to be funny without being goofy.  It's a romantic comedy that, while adopting the genre's basic structure, also tinkers with the conventions and remains truly unpredictable until the end.

Ricky Gervais, who stars as Bertram Pincus, is subtly hilarious and heartbreaking at once, giving a truly memorable performance as an introverted and petty dentist.  While the rest of the cast--especially Kristen Wiig, who is better than any and all of her SNL costars--offer competent performance, the heart of the film is really Gervais.  He has such a hypnotic screen presence.  I'd rather watch him than any of Hollywood's golden boys.

It's one of the best written and best acted films this year, bringing both the comedy and the heart to center stage.

9/10
1498013
What can be said of this movie that hasn't already been said. As more and more folks discover this movie, it creeps onto everyone's top 10. The ensemble cast is brilliant and the writing is superb.
I assumed that my initial atraction to this movie was due to my love of dogs and my vast experience with dogs and their owners. They're all here and you have to marvel at how on-target the portrayals are. However, "Best In Show"'s appeal isn't limited to dog owners, trainers and groomers. It's a great comedy on all levels and any observer of the human condition will find themselves laughing like an idiot despite themselves.
The DVD edition of the movie is particularly worthwhile as it has some great outtakes that didn't make the cut. It's clear that the high level of skill at improvisation that the cast members possess made the movie what it is, a casual mock-documentary that ends up blowing you away with its brilliance.
Buy it today !
948933
Loved it -- What a charming movie... but not in a quaint sort of manner. Maggie Smith does a wonderful job of portraying Margaret, sometimes called Mary, a homeless and extremely religious woman who was once a well-educated and classically trained pianist.  An incident in her past continues to haunt her and keeps her trapped in a world of delusions and paranoia. This is a brilliant glimpse of life and mental illness as presented through the narrative of a playwright, Alan, who observes rather than interacts with his world. Margaret ends up moving her van into his garden and Alan won't say no.  Together, this very odd couple, with his introversion and her eccentric behaviors, create a memorable relationship no one would have imagined. The ensuing dialogue is lively, entertaining and memorable. I'm very happy I stumbled across this "mostly true story".  I thought it was well written and beautifully performed.
773789
I loved the characters, I did not get bored with the story, and it was very funny and quirky. I only rented it but I am very tempted to buy this movie since I loved it that much! I also love that it had a great balance with the comedy, romance, how the story flowed, and also with the character's problems they didn't take away from the movie but it added well to the story.
1284813
"Junebug" is a family drama with the right amount of quirky comedy, liveliness, and heart to really engage the audience. Chicago art dealer Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) and new husband George (Alessandro Nivola) head to North Carolina to woo an "outsider" artist to Madeleine's gallery and visit George's family nearby. Madeleine is a South African child of diplomats who grew up on three continents, while George is from a small Southern town whose citizens seem to rarely leave it. Meeting Madeleine for the first time, George's family have disparate, very characteristic reactions to her, as sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams) eagerly awaits the birth of her first child and her brooding husband Johnny (Ben McKenzie) does his best to ignore the visitors.

Amy Adams has been much lauded for her portrayal of vivacious, child-like Ashley. Deservedly so. Ashley's joie de vivre and simple earnestness are captivating. But "Junebug" wouldn't be much of a film without Celia Watson's frigid, disapproving, but maternal Peg, the family matriarch, or Ben McKenzie's frustrated Johnny, who isn't enjoying living in his big brother's shadow for even a little while. Scott Wilson provides some occasional perspective on it all as George's father: quiet, steadfast Eugene. Alessandro Nivola doesn't have a lot to do, but hits the right notes when he does: thoughtful, modest, and passionate. "Junebug" is an enjoyable film with a nice balance of empathy, insight, comedy, and drama.

The DVD (Sony Pictures 2006): Bonus features include 10 deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, casting sessions, a gallery, and an audio commentary. "Behind the Scenes" (17 min) has 5 parts: Amy Adams shows us the neighborhood in which they filmed, Alessandro Nivola talks about singing in the film, Ben McKenzie, Amy Adams and Celia Watson talk about their characters. "Casting Sessions" include early run-throughs of 2 scenes, one with Amy Adams (14 min) and one with Ben McKenzie (7 min), which I suppose were used to cast the film. "Outsider Art Photo Gallery" is a slideshow of paintings by fictional artist David Wark's, the "outsider artist" in the movie. The work was actually painted by Ann Wood for the movie. In the audio commentary with Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz, the actresses discuss their characters and their recollections of the cast, crew, and filming. Subtitles for the film are available in French.
331901
There is a great line in this film, "Sometimes, you can only have so much fun." There is another one to the effect of, "I'm going to pay a formal call on a woman who lives in a boiler." I haven't read Steinbeck's original stories, but all I can tell you is that this film is quirky, has great performances, moments you will NEVER forget, and is hilarious. Nolte has never been better and his pairing with Winger is perfect. Add in the narration by John Huston, some familiar supporting players giving great performances, and you have a film that is pure enjoyment.
1742494
this has got to be one of the best comedies ever.
it's the kind of movie you can always come back to and watch over and over again.
great performances all around, especialy jhon goodman who seems like he was born to play the part.it also contains some of the best soundtracks in a while.great, great movie.
and remember:IT'S NOT JUST A MOVIE, IT'S A WAY OF LIFE.