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In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, director Wes Anderson takes his familiar stable of actors on a field trip to a fantasy aquarium, complete with stop-motion, candy-striped crabs and rainbow seahorses.And though Anderson does expand his horizons in terms of retro-special effects and a whimsical use of color, fans will otherwise find themselves in well-charted waters. As The Life Aquatic opens, Zissou (Bill Murray), a self-involved, Jacques Cousteau-like filmmaker, has just released a documentary depicting the death of his best friend Esteban, who was eaten by some sort of sea creature--possibly a jaguar shark. Zissou’s troubles also include his waning popularity with the public, and a nemesis (Jeff Goldblum) who hogs up all the grant money. Hope arrives in the form of Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), an amiable Kentuckian who may be Zissou’s son. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for fatherhood, Zissou welcomes Ned--and Ned in turn saves Zissou’s new documentary (in which he seeks revenge on the jaguar shark) in more ways than one.

One of Wes Anderson’s greatest achievements as a director to date has been launching the autumnal melancholy phase of Bill Murray’s career, starting with Rushmore in 1998, and Murray delivers a similarly comedic yet low-key performance here. Unfortunately, Zissou is one of the few characters in this ensemble to achieve multi-dimensionality. Even co-star Wilson doesn’t get to develop Ned much beyond Noble Southerner, and he ends up seeming more like a prop for illustrating Zissou’s emotional development rather than his own man. The Life Aquatic probably won’t be remembered as a great film, but it is still one that no Anderson (or Murray) fan can afford to miss.--Leah Weathersby ... Read more

Reviews (152)

Stinks
worst movie of the year. This movie has alot of great actors but the story is lame and the jokes are not funny. In short stay away from this bomb.........

A beautiful, intelligent, and fun film
I loved this film from start to finish and it only got better the second and third times I watched it.There is a very nice feel to it: mellow, easy and cool, even when the action is on.This feel is perhaps captured best in the remarkably enjoyable Brazilian covers of classic David Bowie songs.

One thing worth noting about this film, beyond the "quirky" stylings that you expect from Wes Anderson (and that don't always come off, to my mind, as I just couldn't get in to The Royal Tenenbaums much as I wanted), is the way the film plays with and responds to the popularity of the "nature documentary," especially those of Jacques Cousteau.In the nature documentary, we feel as though we are getting "closer" to nature.We believe that we are getting at something real.What we tend to forget or be unaware of, is how much mediation is involved in the presentation of nature.The nature we see on film is never nature "as it is" but nature as it has been framed and captured in accordance with certain expectations of what will sell, what values will play to a wide audience.

It should also be remembered that this is a Disney film, and Wes Anderson appears tobe very self-conscious of the fact that a large part of Disney's name and popularity was established through Disney wildlife films.Walt Disney himself once remarked that he saw his live action wildlife films to be merely an extension of his animations -- because he knew how much the editor and filmmaker are involved in showing what you want to show.What they did show was not Darwin's "nature red tooth and claw" but a sanitized nature, where danger was always contained, and family values were reinforced by the behaviors of animals: a mother and her pups, for example.

That, it seems to me, helps explain the fact that Wes Anderson chose not to employ "real" underwater animals but chose stop motion animation as his medium.It reminds us that nature appears on screen always mediated, through a "nature hero" (as Zissou once was) and through a set of decisions about what to include, how to edit it, what to value.

Anyhow, I could go on and on about what I liked and thought about this film, but I can say that I didn't expect to like this film but found myself surprised feeling very nice (and a bit odd, not sure what to think) about half way through and leaving with a smile and a hint of sadness as I walked the theater.Any film that can do that to someone as jaded as I am has something going for it.

ZZZZZ....Is This A Movie?!
Holy cow! I tried staying awake long enough to see if this movie would develop a plot, have some intersting special effects, but nothing even remotely resembling a movie ever took place. I barely was able to keep my eyes open. I thought maybe it was an artsy attempt at being clever, but this was absolutely the lamest, low budget, poor plot-movie I had ever seen. Even the usually likeable and clever Bill Murray fell FLAT in this movie. I watched it wih my brother and wife. She only made it through the first 20 minutes. My brother and I are more optomistic and somehow made it through the first 70 min., fast forwaded to the end, and didn't even carre that Owen Wilson's character had died!! If you want a movie that will put you to sleep, this is it!

Call me weird...
...but I really enjoyed watching this film. Willem Dafoe carried a manic comic energy throughout that was the perfect foil to Bill Murray's well developed drollery. I thought the take off on the Jacques Cousteau TV specials was spot on and truly humorous. I did not laugh out loud all the way through this film mind you, it is chock full of dull stretches and things that just make you want to scratch your head in puzzlement. I do that all the time with Wes Anderson movies, so I guess this one should be no surprise. I found this film to be clever, smart, profoundly silly, and usually just plain fun. The views of the fanciful sea critters encountered by the crew were very well done and showed a great deal of imagination and wonder at work. The fellow who kept popping up singing David Bowie songs in Portuguese somehow stole my soul and I couldn't get the sounds out of my head. Lovely idea squeezed into a wonderfully odd little film. C'mon, since when does everything have to make sense to be fun?

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
This was a pretty funny, ironic, amusing yet realistic story. I think it deals with some interesting existential issues. Giving wrong people too much credit and basing your life on it. Like in real life, it is not always (or ever?) that better people win and suceed. You can base your whole life on wrong assumptions and pay for it dearly...
I was definitely inspired to re-examie the values I base my life on and instincts I trust. The music is brilliant and many scenes were extremely beautiful. Anjelica Houston is very good. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Meet the Parents found such tremendous success in the chemistry produced by the contrasting personalities of stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller that the film's creators went for broke with the same formula again in Meet the Fockers. This time around, Jack and Dina Byrnes (De Niro and Blythe Danner) climb into Jack's new kevlar-lined RV with daughter Pam (Teri Polo), soon-to-be son-in-law Gaylord (Stiller), and Jack's infant grandson from his other daughter for the trip to Florida to meet Gaylord's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand in a casting coup). The potential in-laws are, of course, the opposite of Jack, a pair of randy, touchy-feely fun-lovers. The rest of the movie is pretty much a sitcom: put Bernie and Roz together with Jack, and watch the in-laws clash as Gaylord squirms. As with the original, there is a sense of joy in watching these actors take on their roles with obvious relish, and the Hoffman-Streisand-Stiller triumvirate is likeable enough to draw you in. But the formula doesn't work as well in Fockers mostly because much of the humor is based on two obvious gimmicks: Gaylord Focker's name, and the fact that Streisand's character is a sex therapist. As a result, the movie itself is more contrived and predictable, and a lot less fun than the original. The casting is grand, but one wishes more thought was put into the script.--Dan Vancini ... Read more

Reviews (189)

Since the movie is so impossibly boring...
and cliché, and predictable and tongue-in-cheek, and trited, and mindless, I'm going to summarize this movie as:
Utter Waste of Money and Time.
There's nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing positive to say about this movie. They were pushing it with the first one, however, it was passable and watchable. This sequel is one that should have never put out. It's so enclosed in its idiocy that it obfuscates the acting value of thespians of great caliber. Avoid!

Don't Believe the Negativity...It's Hilarious
I'm so tired of everyone looking for Shakespearian perfection in every film, bottom line, it's a dumb comedy, so turn your pompous search for meaningful dialogue and great script-writing
off and enjoy the laughs. It's a comedy, not Macbeth. I kept hearing how horrible it was, well guess what, surprise, surprise
the critics were wrong again! If you enjoyed the first film, you'll love the second, it was every bit as funny, if not funnier. I don't laugh easy either, but it had me rolling most of the film, in tears laughing at times. I know when to be critical and when to put the brain on pause and just enjoy a good old fashioned laugh. It has that Farelly Brothers-type gross out humor, if you enjoy that sort of thing which I do, then you'll enjoy this. If not, go rent 'Annie Hall,' and spend needless hours pining over the film's lighting and set direction, you know, 'the important things in film'...rolls eyes.

please, not a third time!
Gee, it's pretty sad to see actors of this caliber, who've been in so many memorable movies, get mired in this kind of horrible dreck.

But, this is what really offended me:in "Meet the Parents" there was one trained animal to provide a few cute jokes.In this sequel, not only did they feel the need to throw in a pathetic looking dogfor a few more "America's Funniest Videos" style laughs, they effectively used a child in the role of a third "trained animal".Sick.They must have figured that it worked well with "Mini-Me" in the "Austin Powers" sequel, so why not stick Robert DeNiro with a similar sidekick?The people who made this movie deserve a swift kick (or two) in the pants.

Clash of the Icons
Moviegoers flocked to "Meet the Fockers," making this star-studded sequel to "Meet the Parents" a box-office smash. Now that Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) are finally getting married, it's time for Pam's conservative parents (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) to meet Greg's freewheeling parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand). De Niro is once again terrific as Jack Byrnes, the suspicious ex-CIA operative (though Jack's obsession with the "circle of trust" has grown a bit tiresome). Stiller reprises one of his most humorous--and appealing--screen personas as the beleaguered male nurse. Hoffman gives the films best performance as Bernie Focker, a frisky lawyer-turned-househusband and Streisand is especially funny as Roz Focker, a straightforward sex therapist for seniors. Blythe Danner and Teri Polo are wonderful in their supporting roles and Owen Wilson's cameo appearance is a hoot. The DVD extras include deleted scenes, bloopers, and a Matt Lauer interview with the cast.

Total Mind Pollution... I would rather not give any stars
Listen to the people who didn't like this movie.I LOVED the first movie and watched it several times.The first movie had some crudeness in it, but most of the humor was just plain funny.This movie was nothing but crudeness and I think my IQ went down just by sitting through it.If you enjoyed this movie, you are extremely immature.There are some very funny movies out there, they just don't need to be as crude as this one.I think I only laughed once during the movie and I don't even remember when that was because most of the time I was sitting there debating on whether or not I should just turn the movie off. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

If you were to argue that Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein ranks among the top-ten funniest movies of all time, nobody could reasonably dispute the claim. Spoofing classic horror in the way that Brooks's previous film Blazing Saddles sent up classic Westerns, the movie is both a loving tribute and a raucous, irreverent parody of Universal's classic horror films Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Filming in glorious black and white, Brooks re-created the Frankenstein laboratory using the same equipment from the original Frankenstein (courtesy of designer Kenneth Strickfaden), and this loving attention to physical and stylistic detail creates a solid foundation for nonstop comedy. The story, of course, involves Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and his effort to resume experiments in re-animation pioneered by his late father. (He's got some help, since dad left behind a book titled How I Did It.) Assisting him is the hapless hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the buxom but none-too-bright maiden Inga (Teri Garr), and when Frankenstein succeeds in creating his monster (Peter Boyle), the stage is set for an outrageous revision of the Frankenstein legend. With comedy highlights too numerous to mention, Brooks guides his brilliant cast (also including Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman in a classic cameo role) through scene after scene of inspired hilarity. Indeed, Young Frankenstein is a charmed film, nothing less than a comedy classic, representing the finest work from everyone involved. Not one joke has lost its payoff, and none of the countless gags have lost their zany appeal. From a career that includes some of the best comedies ever made, this is the film for which Mel Brooks will be most fondly remembered. Befitting a classic, the Special Edition DVD includes audio commentary by Mel Brooks, a "making of" documentary, interviews with the cast, hilarious bloopers and outtakes, and the original theatrical trailers. No video library should be without a copy of Young Frankenstein. And just remember--that's Fronkensteen. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (219)

I have a "hunch" you'll love this!
Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) wants nothing more than his job teaching biology at the university, the love of his life Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn), and to put behind him the legacy of his grandfather, the infamous Baron Viktor von Frankenstein. He never planned on inheriting his ancestral castle complete with assistants (Marty Feldman, Terri Garr, Cloris Leachman). He never planned on finding his grandfather's notes . He didn't plan to reanimate a corpse (Peter Boyle) with an abnormal brain. And he certainly didn't plan for said corpse to get loose...

Put that way, this hardly sounds like a comedy at all. Ah, but Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, like Dr. Frankenstein, have deftly grafted inspired lunacy to a touching and solid story and given their creation life. Wordplay, slapstick, innuedno, sight gags and cinema's most memorable musical scene combine in a hilarious brew. Yet it is the original core, the story of the deformed oucast and the creator who ultimately redeem each other, that keeps it all from simply being vaudeville. Peter and Gene are fabulous at being silly and sincere simultaneously.

On to the extras! The trailers and production stills are nice, standard fare. The outakes are little disappointing. Several of the clips are close-up shots of a single performer, the camera never moving, so we hear the cast and crew cracking up, but don't always understand why. Some of the deleted scenes were pretty funny, and a shame they didn't make it into the final cut. The making of documentary interviews several of the key figures and does a good job of exposing what exactly it took to make the film. (Note to techno-geeks: not much detail on special effects, if that's your thing.) Also, there a couple of interviews done for a Mexican studio with Marty and Gene (don't worry, they also speak English).

Did you ever watch old home movies with, say, an uncle who'd reminisce and sometimes just make silly comments about what's going on? OK, now imagine that your uncle is Mel Brooks and that his home movie is this multi-million dollar spectacle. That's what the comentary track is like. It was really neat to hear not only what Mel had in mind for the various scenes, but his unabashed adulation at the creative talent he had to work with. He even talks about the fellow who plays Inspector Kemp's chauffeur!

All in all, a wonderful movie with a good helping of juicy extras.

Homage to Horror
This is probably Mel Brook's finest work, though some might vote for Blazing Saddles or the Producers. Not me, though. I'll take this one. In a tribute to the old horror movies of yore, Brooks puts together the perfect cast to carry it out. Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein (pronounced FRONKENSTEEN), Marty Feldman as Igor (pronounced EYEGORE), Teri Garr as the lab assistant Inga, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, and my personal favorite from the movie Madeline Khan. Her scene with Marty Feldman standing at the doorway of the castle and the one where she saunters into the bedroom looking like Elsa Lanchester are both absolute total screams. The great thing about the cast is the fact that they all are in total flow with the movie and with each other. The DVD has many extra features which makes it miles ahead of the VHS tape.

"Roll, roll, roll in ze hay."
Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" is not only a loving tribute to James Whale's original Frankenstein films, but a wildly entertaining spoof that still generates laughs years after its original release. This is Brooks in his prime and that is indeed a wonderful sight to behold.

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is the grandson of the notorious Victor Frankenstein. After reviewing his grandfather's work, Frederick tries to recreate the famous reanimation experiment at his ancestral castle. Frederick succeeds in bringing his own creation to life but as luck would have it, there is a problem with the brain implanted in the monster (Peter Boyle). Soon, the monster is roaming the countryside and finding itself in one hilarious situation after another until Frederick catches up with him and promptly puts his tap-dancing talents to good use.

"Young Frankenstein" is blessed with top quality comedic performances from start to finish. Wilder and Boyle are pitch perfect as the doctor and his creation and the supporting cast of Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Terri Garr, Cloris Leachman, and Gene Hackman all shine. The production design also is top notch as the Frankenstein Castle's interiors and exteriors are faithfully recreated - with the help of some of the original props - in glorious black and white and literally look like holdover sets from Universal's "Frankenstein" (1931) and "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935). You would never think that source material like Mary Shelley's original work could inspire such a funny film, but leave it to Brooks to prove it could be done.

"PARDON ME BOY...IS THIS THE TRANSYLVANIA STATION?"
"Yah, yah, track twenty-nine...I hope you make it in time!" Non stop gags; a terrific atmosphere, worthy of the classic Universal Frankenstein movies we all know and love...James Whale would have LOVED this! Whenever the name Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman) is mentioned, the horses go into a frenzy of neighs; GREAT stuuf. At night in the graveyard, Igor (Pronounced EYE-GORE) and Wilder are digging up a corpse (digging because Igor took the wrong brain...Abby Normal!) for their nefarious lab work; Wilder starts complaining and Igor (Feldman) says: "Could be worse....could be raining." No sooner are the words out of his mouth then we hear a terrific crash of thunder, then see lightning, and then the skies open up. Then Igor says: "I have a hunch..." This is so funny it can make you sick from laughing; when Peter Boyle, as Frankenstein's Monster, launches into his famous "Puttin' on the Ritz" you are pretty much over the edge and barely able to breathe any more. One of my favorite lines is when Igor is driving Wilder to the Castle and there is a howl in the distance; Wilder says nervously: "What was that?" And Igor replies: "Werewolf." Wilder: "Werewolf?" Igor: "There...wolf."
Feldman, Wilder and Cloris Leachman are wonderful in this, and it was shot, appropriately, in black and white. I was fortunate enough to be at the studio when this was being shot and went onto the set and opened a door in the Castle and there were Peter Boyle, Wilder and Feldman all sitting around a table, taking a break...and Boyle had the most sickening shade of green make-up all over his face; he looked terrific. the sets were fantastic, and it was a thrill to be allowed to see them all. Great stuff and a very funny movie.

comedy at its best
Young Frankenstein is one of the few movies that EVERYONE knows. The actors do an excellent job of delivering the great "slap-stick" comedy throughout the film. The entire movie is also delivered in black and white to give it that old horror film feeling, and takes place mostly in the castle of Dr. Frankenstein. Now that the infamous Dr. Frankenstein has passed, his grandson, Fredrick, goes to the castle.

While in the castle he falls upon his grand fathers old library and realizes that bringing people back to life after death could work, and creates a fully operational hulk! This movie is great if you ahve a sharp grasp on humor and a bit of information from the timespan. Some jokes will pass right over the heads of some of the younger viewers, such as the scene where Dr. FRONKenstein (as he likes to be called) arrives at the train station at track 29 and a boy asks if he can give him a shine. Me being a high school student, i am greatful that my jazz choir sang the chatanooga choo choo or i would have never understood that one. in conclusion the movie is a hilarious collection of old cliches about horror movies, yet never gets tiresome like some of monty pythons movies. A great, entertaining trip to Transylvania awaits you! ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you spliced Charles Addams, Dr. Seuss, Charles Dickens, Edward Gorey, and Roald Dahl into a Tim Burtonesque landscape, you'd surely come up with something like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Many critics (in mostly mixed reviews) wondered why Burton didn't direct this comically morbid adaptation of the first three books in the popular series by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. "Lemony Snicket," played here by Jude Law and seen only in silhouette) instead of TV and Casper veteran Brad Silberling, but there's still plenty to recommend the playfully bleak scenario, in which three resourceful orphans thwart their wicked, maliciously greedy relative Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who subjects them to... well, a series of unfortunate events. Along the way they encounter a herpetologist uncle (Billy Connolly), an anxious aunt (Meryl Streep) who's afraid of everything, and a variety of fantastical hazards and mysterious clues, some of which remain unresolved. Given endless wonders of art direction, costume design, and cinematography, Silberling's direction is surprisingly uninspired (in other words, the books are better), but when you add a throwaway cameo by Dustin Hoffman, Law's amusing narration, and Carrey's over-the-top antics, the first Lemony movie suggests a promising franchise in the making. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
Packed into the two-disc special edition of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is over two hours of serious behind-the-scenes features, deleted scenes, and interviews with the production staff. The most generous of these is A Woeful World, an in-depth overview of the production design with extensive commentary from Oscar-nominated production designer Rick Heinrichs. Kids who've read the books will enjoy seeing how creative minds transform the world of the books into a movie. "Costumes and Other Suspicious Disguises" is one of the most fun extras with footage of Jim Carrey comically ad-libbing as his different characters during the on-screen costume tests. The special features contained on the single-disc editions are also quite good, but most fans will find it worth it to pay the few extra dollars for this edition because of the insights it gives into the production. --Dan Vancini

A Message from Count Olaf

Dear Adoring Fan of Count Olaf,

Count Olaf

*Count Olaf will not be held liable or accept blame in any way for any and all liability, loss, damage, or personal injury (including death), without limit and without regard once Aunt Josephine is thrown in, due to the unpredictable behavior of hungry leeches.

Stills from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Click to Enlarge)

Violet, Count Olaf, and Klaus	Aunt Josephine	Count Olaf and Aunt Josephine	Directing Jim Carrey
Klaus, Mr. Poe, Sunny, and Violet	Count Olaf	Olaf Ascending	The Baudelaire Orphans

All Things Snicket

See a complete list of all Lemony Snicket's creations, including books from the Series of Unfortunate Events, calendars, and more.

The Essential Lemony Snicket Books

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ominous Omnibus, Books 1-3	The Situation Worsens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 4-6	The Dilemma Deepens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 7-9
The Slippery Slope: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10	The Grim Grotto: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 11	A Library of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-10
Behind the Scenes with Count Olaf: A Series of Unfortunate Events Movie Book	Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography	The Puzzling Puzzles Activity Book

More from the Movie

Original Movie Poster

Soundtrack

Wall Poster

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Computer & Video Games

For PS2

For PC

For Xbox

For GameCube

... Read more

Reviews (254)

Well Done, Witty
This is a VERY witty, whimsical, and surprisingly dark film. I don't see very many similarities between this and Harry Potter, like everyone says. The only Harry Potter that is remotely similar is Prisoner of Azkaban.
I really enjoyed this movie, you will too.

Lemony Snicket
I love his books!They are so facinating!Sometimes I just can't put them down! I first started reading them in 6th grade then I just couldn't stop.Then I decided to get my own copies of all of the books.I like Lemony's sense of humor, especially in Book 1, on page 94.Authough I wish he would continue with the series by writing books 12 and 13 because I would really like to find out if the Baudilares will really defeat Count Olaf an his troupe for good.One more thing:In the movie they pronounce Klaus as (Kl-aW-se) and Olaf as(O-lav).I prefer to pronouce the names (clause)for Klaus and (Ol-if)for Olaf. It is ok if you don't but my preferances would make more sense.
Thanks
P.S. My favorite is Violet, authough you may have a different favorite.You should read the books....I have a feeling you would love them.

.... GOOD ART direction doth naught a moving picture maketh
'SOMEONE' should REALLY have a frank discussion with Mr. Carrey ~ [a super talent - really] about these artistic career choices that lead to cul-de-cat-in-the-sacks ?????

REALLY a dreadfully, boring little feature, showing lots of $$$ on screen, but Oh My - the Horror! The Horror!

Meryl Streep with a REALLY bad wig, check the hairline .... ditto Jim's eyebrows ...... and the Count Costume [Goodness is he ?? over? Andy Kaufman?] but do check 'Heartbeeps' the lost Kaufman movie with Bernadette Peters - and compare the costume[s].

.....pity ....[and was that a tribute to Robin William's 'Popeye'?]

Good but the books are better!!
When I got this I thought I would like the books better and well I was right. Don't get me wrong it was good but it was hard to follow if you didn't read the books. Defintely read the books before watching.

Why Lemony, why?
How could Lemony Snicket allow Hollywood to do this to his great books? Lemony Snicket wrote 11 books of "A Series of Unfortunate Events.I have only the first 9 but that doesn't mean I can't bash this trash.
Let's talk about the story: Three children who have this really big house with a library and everything lose the house and their parents in a fire.The children now become orphans and have to live with their third cousin four times removed (or was it fourth cousin three times removed?) named Count Olaf (Jim Carrey).Olaf is a mean greedy man who intends to have the three orphans killed in order to get a hold of their tremendous fortune their parents left behind before the fire.
That's also the story of the first book.What the movie does is it tries to get cute and funny (far more than the books).The books were hardly ever cute and funny.They were serious and (as the title tells you) unfortunate.They were describing the pain and misery that the three children had to go through in their lives.The movie turns them into kids you couldn't give a crap about.
Another thing I hate about this movie is that they started out with the first book and went to the second one without having the first one end the way it did in the book.Then they skipped a bunch of parts in the second and third book.Instead of going to the fourth book, the movie actually ends the same way the first book did (just thought that those of you who have read the books ought to know that before you witness this cheesy adaptation).
Those of you who have not read the books nor seen the movie, OK, you could give this movie a try but you would probably find the books more interesting and more serious.
Those of you who have not read the books but have seen the movie and you're viewing this review just so you can say, "Oh, what a jerk.This movie is excellent", well, read a book, wait for them to make movie out of it, and then you'll know how that "jerk" felt. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Meet the Parents found such tremendous success in the chemistry produced by the contrasting personalities of stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller that the film's creators went for broke with the same formula again in Meet the Fockers. This time around, Jack and Dina Byrnes (De Niro and Blythe Danner) climb into Jack's new kevlar-lined RV with daughter Pam (Teri Polo), soon-to-be son-in-law Gaylord (Stiller), and Jack's infant grandson from his other daughter for the trip to Florida to meet Gaylord's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand in a casting coup). The potential in-laws are, of course, the opposite of Jack, a pair of randy, touchy-feely fun-lovers. The rest of the movie is pretty much a sitcom: put Bernie and Roz together with Jack, and watch the in-laws clash as Gaylord squirms. As with the original, there is a sense of joy in watching these actors take on their roles with obvious relish, and the Hoffman-Streisand-Stiller triumvirate is likeable enough to draw you in. But the formula doesn't work as well in Fockers mostly because much of the humor is based on two obvious gimmicks: Gaylord Focker's name, and the fact that Streisand's character is a sex therapist. As a result, the movie itself is more contrived and predictable, and a lot less fun than the original. The casting is grand, but one wishes more thought was put into the script.--Dan Vancini ... Read more

Reviews (189)

Since the movie is so impossibly boring...
and cliché, and predictable and tongue-in-cheek, and trited, and mindless, I'm going to summarize this movie as:
Utter Waste of Money and Time.
There's nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing positive to say about this movie. They were pushing it with the first one, however, it was passable and watchable. This sequel is one that should have never put out. It's so enclosed in its idiocy that it obfuscates the acting value of thespians of great caliber. Avoid!

Don't Believe the Negativity...It's Hilarious
I'm so tired of everyone looking for Shakespearian perfection in every film, bottom line, it's a dumb comedy, so turn your pompous search for meaningful dialogue and great script-writing
off and enjoy the laughs. It's a comedy, not Macbeth. I kept hearing how horrible it was, well guess what, surprise, surprise
the critics were wrong again! If you enjoyed the first film, you'll love the second, it was every bit as funny, if not funnier. I don't laugh easy either, but it had me rolling most of the film, in tears laughing at times. I know when to be critical and when to put the brain on pause and just enjoy a good old fashioned laugh. It has that Farelly Brothers-type gross out humor, if you enjoy that sort of thing which I do, then you'll enjoy this. If not, go rent 'Annie Hall,' and spend needless hours pining over the film's lighting and set direction, you know, 'the important things in film'...rolls eyes.

please, not a third time!
Gee, it's pretty sad to see actors of this caliber, who've been in so many memorable movies, get mired in this kind of horrible dreck.

But, this is what really offended me:in "Meet the Parents" there was one trained animal to provide a few cute jokes.In this sequel, not only did they feel the need to throw in a pathetic looking dogfor a few more "America's Funniest Videos" style laughs, they effectively used a child in the role of a third "trained animal".Sick.They must have figured that it worked well with "Mini-Me" in the "Austin Powers" sequel, so why not stick Robert DeNiro with a similar sidekick?The people who made this movie deserve a swift kick (or two) in the pants.

Clash of the Icons
Moviegoers flocked to "Meet the Fockers," making this star-studded sequel to "Meet the Parents" a box-office smash. Now that Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) are finally getting married, it's time for Pam's conservative parents (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) to meet Greg's freewheeling parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand). De Niro is once again terrific as Jack Byrnes, the suspicious ex-CIA operative (though Jack's obsession with the "circle of trust" has grown a bit tiresome). Stiller reprises one of his most humorous--and appealing--screen personas as the beleaguered male nurse. Hoffman gives the films best performance as Bernie Focker, a frisky lawyer-turned-househusband and Streisand is especially funny as Roz Focker, a straightforward sex therapist for seniors. Blythe Danner and Teri Polo are wonderful in their supporting roles and Owen Wilson's cameo appearance is a hoot. The DVD extras include deleted scenes, bloopers, and a Matt Lauer interview with the cast.

Total Mind Pollution... I would rather not give any stars
Listen to the people who didn't like this movie.I LOVED the first movie and watched it several times.The first movie had some crudeness in it, but most of the humor was just plain funny.This movie was nothing but crudeness and I think my IQ went down just by sitting through it.If you enjoyed this movie, you are extremely immature.There are some very funny movies out there, they just don't need to be as crude as this one.I think I only laughed once during the movie and I don't even remember when that was because most of the time I was sitting there debating on whether or not I should just turn the movie off. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Cue the Henry Mancini music and watch out for Cato--the gist of the Pink Panther series has been gathered in a six-disc boxed set. At the center of it is Peter Sellers's incarnation of inspector Jacques Clouseau, a hopelessly bumbling detective with a genius for resting his hands in the wrong place (on the surface of a spinning globe, for instance) and mangling the English language.

Writer-director Blake Edwards cast Peter Ustinov as Clouseau in The Pink Panther, but Ustinov dropped out just before shooting began. Edwards (who recounts this story in a spotty commentary track included here) and Sellers bonded over their affection for Laurel and Hardy, and immediately transformed the character of Clouseau into a walking sight gag. The first film has a delicious swinging sixties vibe, while jewel thief David Niven, Claudia Cardinale, and Capucine occupy as much screen time as Sellers.Sellers really hits his stride in A Shot in the Dark, an elegantly funny tale of Clouseau sleuthing out a murder investigation. This one introduced Herbert Lom, as the increasingly frazzled Inspector Dreyfus, and Burt Kwouk, as Clouseau's houseboy-nemesis Cato. Sellers and Edwards, whose relationship was stormy, put Clouseau aside for over 10 years, until a trilogy of mid-1970s comedies restored the character to commercial (and dare we say cultural) primacy.

Unfortunately, the very funny comeback picture, Return of the Pink Panther, is absent from this set due to rights issues with the studios involved. The Pink Panther Strikes Again has Dreyfus going bananas and targeting Clouseau; Revenge of the Pink Panther puts Clouseau in a hilarious series of disguises, climaxing in a wonderfully mounted sequence in Hong Kong. (Throughout the series, the calm, classical staging of gags by Blake Edwards reminds you of what a lost art this has become.) Trail of the Pink Panther looks better now than it did when originally released in 1982, shortly after Sellers's death; it's a batch of unused Sellers routines from previous pictures, strung together with a loose plot. In other words, it's a "deleted scenes" extra, and quite funny at times.

Subsequent efforts Curse of the Pink Panther and Son of the Pink Panther are neither included nor mentioned. A half-hour documentary gives pleasant memories from Edwards, but feels incomplete. The cartoon Panther gets his own 11-minute mini-doc, plus six cartoon shorts including the Oscar-winning "The Pink Phink." --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (32)

the best: peter sellers, blake edwards?, not so sure
I loved most of the pink panther films, I own this collection and the movie of Sellers that is left (Return of the...), but what it really fascinate me was the extras, there is a complete documentary about Sellers work and life that it is simply the best of my tv journey, not so funny, except from the abstracts of his movies, but very appealing in order to understand the great comedian and man he was.

About the movies, loved the first two classics (Pink panther and Shot in the dark), Return, which is not included, I dunnot miss, can't say i liked that one; Strikes Again it is one of my favorites, Revenge was worth of a good laugh and about the Trail I didn't see the Edwards necessity to do that films besides the need of money, everyone in this days could have save to see that sort of tribute (there is no real story there) and watch the delightful lost and new scenes (at that time) of Sellers in another extra of this collection, but, what is done is done and I can't really complain, this movies are great fun and this set? one of my favorites.

Fabulous Value, Great Films, Mediocre Extras
The Pink Panther Film Collection consists of 5 Panther films and 1 bonus disc. Only 4 of the films are worthy ('Trail of the Pink Panther' is a train wreck of a film - it's a film made of outtakes and clips from previous films tacked together two years after Peter Seller's death), and it's also missing a major Panther film ('Return of the Pink Panther') which was the first Sellers-Edwards collaboration immediately following the hiatus after 'Shot in the Dark'.

The 4 worthy films, though, shine as comedy classics, fully display Sellers' genius, witness the evolution of the Clouseau character, and feature the talents of Seller's surroundings casts and Edwards' direction. Many can argue which is the best film; I personally prefer 'The Pink Panther' followed by 'Revenge of the Pink Panther'.

The bonus disc has one documentary about the Panther films, one documentary about the Panther animation, and 6 Pink Panther cartoons. The main documentary has some good info about the Panther series, but is not nearly as comprehensive as it could be. There is no mention of the thought process behind 'Trail' and scant detail about the other films.

'The Pink Panther' has audio commentary by Blake Edwards, a trivia feature, a photo gallery, and the original trailer. The other films have only the photo galleries and trailers.

Deep insight into the Pink Panther series is missing in this collection, but it's also an excellent value for four great comedies.

Like Old Friends, They're Always Great To See!
Having been a fan of "The Pink Panther" series from childhood, I was ecstatic that this set was being released, as the films are otherwise out of print on DVD (although luckily I still have my trusty VHS copies in reserve). I am tempted to give the set five stars simply because it is a wonderful day to see these films back in print, but realistically I had to take it down a notch as there a couple of negative considerations, the most obvious of which, of course, is the absence of "Return of the Pink Panther" from the collection, ostensibly because of legal hang-ups. Whatever the cause, the absence of the first of the 1970s-era "Panthers" is sorely missed. The other minor negative is the relative absence of special features on the movie DVDs, although the original "Pink Panther" has a wonderful trivia track. I would have really loved commentary tracks with Blake Edwards and some of the actors. I am somewhat ambivalent on the extremely unusual packaging the set comes in. It is hard to adequately describe the case, but suffice it to say that removing half of the DVDs is annoyingly difficult, although it looks very stylish.

On the positive end, you get four great "Panther" movies and the bodged-together "Trail of the Pink Panther", plus a disk of extras. Some people have dismissed the extras disk as inconsequential, but I rather enjoyed it. I particularly liked the documentary "The Pink Panther Story" which was heavy on interviews and insight. I had no idea that Sellers hated "A Shot in the Dark", whereas I (and many others) think it is a perfect movie in every way. I knew that Sellers could be somewhat Mercurial to work with, but I had no idea, for instance, that he had certain colors that he would not tolerate around him, and in fact made the producers of one of the movies once repaint a train because he couldn't stand the color! Also on the disk is a documentary about the animated Panther, which is quite interesting, as well as several of the short subject cartoons, which seem selected at random. They did include the Oscar winning "Pink Phink", the first cartoon short of the Pink Panther, which was an excellent choice. "Psychedelic Pink" included an annoying laugh track, and "Pinkfinger" was one of the weaker of the cartoons, which I have great recollection of from childhood. Interestingly enough, there are two related subject cartoons, one each of the Ant and the Aardvark, and The Inspector (in a fairly weak episode) to round out the extra disk.

This is a great set overall, with just a couple of things bringing it down to a four rating. I recommend it to all "Panther" fans everywhere, and to anyone who loves to laugh.

great, but what about return of the pink panther?
i think its great they decided to put these classic films into a set finally. but what about return of the pink panther? even though it isnt as popular as the others, its still a part of the series, and i think its a great one as well. as someone else said they should've put all 8 films in a set. that would be awesome, but all the same, this is a must have dvd set.

Massage, anyone?
MGM's "Panther" set wastes no time in showing off its quality once the menu queues up, as the tenor-sax notes of Henry Mancini's eternally cool theme song slink out of the speakers. Director Blake Edwards delivers a delightful solo commentary on the first and best film, "The Pink Panther."

The DVDs' fine (5.1) audio is complemented by the vivid widescreen images on the first "Panther," a gorgeous relic of the swinging '60s. The reproduction allows contemplation of detail such as the amazing topography of David Niven's hair. There's a lot for the Technicolor to take in -- fabulous clothes, beautiful people and to-die-for European locations.

A half-hour docu on the "Panther" films checks in with the series' surviving principals. A brisk DVD documentary tells the tale of the Pink Panther cartoon character, found money for Blake and his partners. A bonus disc collects the Panther's animated adventures.

The five original "Panther" films collected in this set range from the nostalgic pleasures of the first to the sludge of "Trail of the Pink Panther" -- a barely watchable collection of Sellers outtakes borne along by a why-bother story -- but with Peter Sellers onscreen the laughs never completely faded away. DVD viewers are both warned and encouraged. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you spliced Charles Addams, Dr. Seuss, Charles Dickens, Edward Gorey, and Roald Dahl into a Tim Burtonesque landscape, you'd surely come up with something like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Many critics (in mostly mixed reviews) wondered why Burton didn't direct this comically morbid adaptation of the first three books in the popular series by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. "Lemony Snicket," played here by Jude Law and seen only in silhouette) instead of TV and Casper veteran Brad Silberling, but there's still plenty to recommend the playfully bleak scenario, in which three resourceful orphans thwart their wicked, maliciously greedy relative Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who subjects them to... well, a series of unfortunate events. Along the way they encounter a herpetologist uncle (Billy Connolly), an anxious aunt (Meryl Streep) who's afraid of everything, and a variety of fantastical hazards and mysterious clues, some of which remain unresolved. Given endless wonders of art direction, costume design, and cinematography, Silberling's direction is surprisingly uninspired (in other words, the books are better), but when you add a throwaway cameo by Dustin Hoffman, Law's amusing narration, and Carrey's over-the-top antics, the first Lemony movie suggests a promising franchise in the making. --Jeff Shannon

A Message from Count Olaf

Dear Adoring Fan of Count Olaf,

Count Olaf

*Count Olaf will not be held liable or accept blame in any way for any and all liability, loss, damage, or personal injury (including death), without limit and without regard once Aunt Josephine is thrown in, due to the unpredictable behavior of hungry leeches.

Stills from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Click to Enlarge)

Violet, Count Olaf, and Klaus	Aunt Josephine	Count Olaf and Aunt Josephine	Directing Jim Carrey
Klaus, Mr. Poe, Sunny, and Violet	Count Olaf	Olaf Ascending	The Baudelaire Orphans

All Things Snicket

See a complete list of all Lemony Snicket's creations, including books from the Series of Unfortunate Events, calendars, and more.

The Essential Lemony Snicket Books

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ominous Omnibus, Books 1-3	The Situation Worsens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 4-6	The Dilemma Deepens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 7-9
The Slippery Slope: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10	The Grim Grotto: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 11	A Library of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-10
Behind the Scenes with Count Olaf: A Series of Unfortunate Events Movie Book	Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography	The Puzzling Puzzles Activity Book

More from the Movie

Original Movie Poster

Soundtrack

Wall Poster

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Computer & Video Games

For PS2

For PC

For Xbox

For GameCube

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Reviews (254)

Well Done, Witty
This is a VERY witty, whimsical, and surprisingly dark film. I don't see very many similarities between this and Harry Potter, like everyone says. The only Harry Potter that is remotely similar is Prisoner of Azkaban.
I really enjoyed this movie, you will too.

Lemony Snicket
I love his books!They are so facinating!Sometimes I just can't put them down! I first started reading them in 6th grade then I just couldn't stop.Then I decided to get my own copies of all of the books.I like Lemony's sense of humor, especially in Book 1, on page 94.Authough I wish he would continue with the series by writing books 12 and 13 because I would really like to find out if the Baudilares will really defeat Count Olaf an his troupe for good.One more thing:In the movie they pronounce Klaus as (Kl-aW-se) and Olaf as(O-lav).I prefer to pronouce the names (clause)for Klaus and (Ol-if)for Olaf. It is ok if you don't but my preferances would make more sense.
Thanks
P.S. My favorite is Violet, authough you may have a different favorite.You should read the books....I have a feeling you would love them.

.... GOOD ART direction doth naught a moving picture maketh
'SOMEONE' should REALLY have a frank discussion with Mr. Carrey ~ [a super talent - really] about these artistic career choices that lead to cul-de-cat-in-the-sacks ?????

REALLY a dreadfully, boring little feature, showing lots of $$$ on screen, but Oh My - the Horror! The Horror!

Meryl Streep with a REALLY bad wig, check the hairline .... ditto Jim's eyebrows ...... and the Count Costume [Goodness is he ?? over? Andy Kaufman?] but do check 'Heartbeeps' the lost Kaufman movie with Bernadette Peters - and compare the costume[s].

.....pity ....[and was that a tribute to Robin William's 'Popeye'?]

Good but the books are better!!
When I got this I thought I would like the books better and well I was right. Don't get me wrong it was good but it was hard to follow if you didn't read the books. Defintely read the books before watching.

Why Lemony, why?
How could Lemony Snicket allow Hollywood to do this to his great books? Lemony Snicket wrote 11 books of "A Series of Unfortunate Events.I have only the first 9 but that doesn't mean I can't bash this trash.
Let's talk about the story: Three children who have this really big house with a library and everything lose the house and their parents in a fire.The children now become orphans and have to live with their third cousin four times removed (or was it fourth cousin three times removed?) named Count Olaf (Jim Carrey).Olaf is a mean greedy man who intends to have the three orphans killed in order to get a hold of their tremendous fortune their parents left behind before the fire.
That's also the story of the first book.What the movie does is it tries to get cute and funny (far more than the books).The books were hardly ever cute and funny.They were serious and (as the title tells you) unfortunate.They were describing the pain and misery that the three children had to go through in their lives.The movie turns them into kids you couldn't give a crap about.
Another thing I hate about this movie is that they started out with the first book and went to the second one without having the first one end the way it did in the book.Then they skipped a bunch of parts in the second and third book.Instead of going to the fourth book, the movie actually ends the same way the first book did (just thought that those of you who have read the books ought to know that before you witness this cheesy adaptation).
Those of you who have not read the books nor seen the movie, OK, you could give this movie a try but you would probably find the books more interesting and more serious.
Those of you who have not read the books but have seen the movie and you're viewing this review just so you can say, "Oh, what a jerk.This movie is excellent", well, read a book, wait for them to make movie out of it, and then you'll know how that "jerk" felt. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Anyone familiar with writer/director James L. Brooks (Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets) knows the man has a real feel for interesting women and a disarming way with a one-liner. The main women in Spanglish are Deborah Clasky (Téa Leoni), a moneyed SoCal mom, and non-English speaking Flor Moreno (Paz Vega), the beautiful Latina whom Deborah hires as a housekeeper. The one-liners, some of them amusing, are everywhere. Brooks provides an intriguing set-up for the two women to butt heads--Deborah's pudgy daughter Bernice (Sarah Steele) needs the affection at which Flor excels, while Flor's clever, bi-lingual daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) is enamored of the financial advantages Deborah can provide--then proceeds to make Deborah so hatefully ignorant you can't imagine why her neuroses are the main thrust of the film. And Deborah's celebrated chef husband John (Adam Sandler, way over his head) is such a perfect parent he doesn't seem human--what happened to the Brooks who had Terms of Endearment mom Debra Winger turn to her scowling little boy and grunt "Don't make me hit you in the street"? Cloris Leachman has a nifty supporting role as Deborah's boozy, ex-jazz singer mother, but it's only one offbeat chord in an earnest film that hits all the wrong notes. --Steve Wiecking ... Read more

Reviews (93)

what is wrong with Hollywood and New York?
They seem to have a prejudice against Mexican-American actors.
Not too many roles for Hispanics out there, but you would figure that at the very least Mexican actors would get parts in stories about Mexicans, right? Nope. "Selena" the story about a Mexican-American that sings Tejano music...had a Mexican actor right? Nope. Puerto Ricans and Cubans. "Spanglish" the story of a Mexican woman that comes to America...Mexican playing the part, right? Nope. They went to Seville, Spain to get this one...daytime soap operas, not very many Hispanics there...when there is a part for a Hispanic (once in a blue moon), it goes to Puerto Rican actors...Mexicans on tv? George Lopez and Cheech Marin...name 3 more...I can name 50 African-American actors just off the top of my head...20 Asian actors off the top of my head...10 Puerto Rican actors off the top of my head...4 Mexican actors off the top of my head (George, Cheech, Maria Conchita Alonso, and Fernando Lamas)...Hispanics are the largest Minority Group in America...Mexican-Americans make up 58% of that group...that is right...more than half of the largest Minority Group in America is of Mexican decent...so, when was the last time that you saw Mexicans on tv or in the movies?
Dr. Pepper has about a 14% marketshare...How would it be if you could only find one can of Dr. Pepper in every ten stores? Wouldn't you say, "Woo, something is seriously wrong here"...then they make the story of how Dr. Pepper was created....but...you used Mr. Pibb in all the product shots of the story of Dr. Pepper...about the same thing when you make movies about Mexicans, but use no Mexican actors.

So, who was the movie "Spanglish" made for? Mexicans? too far from true life for them...Puerto Ricans and Cubans? Can't relate to a movie about "Coming to America poor, for a better life" (Puerto Ricans were born Americans, Cubans were mostly either rich and/or educated escaping the overthrow of an Autocratic Government)...Spaniards? I don't think that even a handfull escaped poverty by coming to America so they can't relate to the story either...Caucasians? some yes, some no...African Americans? some yes, and some no...Asian Americans? some yes and some no...South Americans? They can relate to the story in it's purest form, but not in this Hollywood/Disneyland version...so, right from the start, this movie had a handful of potential viewers...so, again I ask, Who was this movie made for?

While I am on a tirade: Why is Cajun a language and Spanglish not? Both are a conglomerate of languages, but one is considered delightful while the other is considered an abomination...if you consider the amount of people speaking either, Spanglish is spoken by maybe 1000 times more people than Cajun is.( and believe it or not, Spanglish does have it's own set of gramatical rules...it's not just Spanish and English words thrown together haphazardly...to simplify the rules: Spanish verbs with English Nouns along with a mix of both in adverbs...Spanglish syntax is a beautiful orphan...try and mesh the opposing sytaxs of English and Spanish...Spanglish syntax somehows gets the job done.)

Not your typical Adam Sandler Movie!
I have never been an Adam Sandler fan; however, this movie is really wonderful. Sandler has matured as an actor and is apparently taking roles with more meat and less physical comedy. His character is the polar opposite of Tea Leoni's. His love for their children and his understanding of human nature just shine through. Leoni is perfect as the neurotic, narcissistic wife and mother. A wonderful foil to Sandler's even tempered character. While you might think this is a great date movie, I think it's a better married with children couple date movie. Lots of truisms here. Favorite line: When Leoni's character tells her mother she isn't helping with her low self esteem, and the mother replies " these days your low self esteem is just good common sense". Sandler just might make it to my must see list for the future.

Rent it?Definitely. Buy it?You could do worse.
Let's start off with; this wasn't a bad movie, it simply needed some work.

The story itself is a feel good kind of movie...often referred to as a `chick flick.'There are no explosions, no guns, and no fist-fights.Other than a nonnudity sex scene where Te'a Leoni tries to do an orgasm scene that just doesn't cut it, there isn't much to be embarrassed about when watching this with young kids.

Overall I feel the director wanted his actors to be too over the top.Te'a Leoni was waaaaaay over acting.This is something that someone just doesn't do, but is told to do.Cloris Leachman also had a few moments of over acting but for the most part was good and had some of the best lines in the movie to bring about a laugh.

Shelbie Bruce who plays Christina did a great job.She was very convincing and pulled out some fine scenes.Paz Vega who plays Flor is breathtakingly beautiful and is able to act extremely well.(I hope she does many more films)Sarah Steele who plays Bernice is bound to be a very popular actor because she can act.

The `big' name, Adam Sandler was okay.He isn't doing his normal funny guy thing in this film.I feel his character wasn't well written so much of the fault lies with the writer, who by the way is the director.

Overall, I watched it twice and enjoyed it both times but it's definitely not one I'll buy.

Just on the edge of getting 4 stars
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Genre Grade: B+

Final Grade: B-

This was a good movie with great effort put into it from the cast and director James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets). However, some moments of pure cheesiness, as well as silly cliches, and some serious over-doing it caused this good movie to fall short of being a great one. However, there are some laugh-out-loud hilarious moments (mostly from Tea Leoni and Cloris Leachman) and some really great dialogue (something Brooks is known for), as sappy as it is. Adam Sandler gives a good performance, especially in his moments of being out of control, you can really sense his calmness is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This movie, though very unbelievable under the circumstances, does its job, and although it has some serious cheese factors, it's still definitely worth seeing. And now for a great line from the movie...

Evelyn Norwich: We have to talk.
Deborah Clasky: Mother, are you buzzed?
Evelyn Norwich: No. I quit drinking weeks ago! No one noticed, but I guess that's a pretty good indicator that I conducted myself quite well when I was drunk. But this isn't about me right now.

What is the point of this movie?
I feel compelled to write a review on this movie because it was by far the worst movie I have seen in the past couple of years. It was an utter disappointment. I'm still scratching my head on why so many people gave it such good reviews. I think the `deep' moments the movie was supposed to portray just came across as annoying and over the top. I really hated Tea Leoni's character. Yes, I realize that not every character in every movie is supposed to be likeable, but they should at least be somewhat relatable. She was just way too over the top for me.

Also, I really did not understand the point of this movie. The movie starts off with Flor's daughter narrating her college essay, yet her daughter isn't even a centralized character in the movie...in fact her character is hardly even in the movie. Her ultimate point of her college essay at the end of the movie was that she was `her mother's daughter'. This really was not evident throughout the movie and I would not have guessed that this would be the point if she hadn't said it at the end. There really was no point to this movie; it was completely pointless in my opinion.
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Description

The railroad's got to run through the town of Rock Ridge.How do you drive out the townfolk in order to steal their land?Send in the toughest gang you've got...and name a new sheriff who'll last about 24 hours.But that's not really the plot of Blazing Saddles, just the pretext.Once Mel Brooks' lunatic film many call it his best gets started, logic is lost in a blizzard of gags, jokes, quips, puns, howlers, growlers and outrageous assaults upon good taste or any taste at all.Cleavon Little as the new lawman, Gene Wilder as the wacko Waco Kid, Brooks himself as a dimwitted politico and Madeline Kahn in her Marlene Dietrich send-up that earned an Academy Award nomination all give this sagebrush saga their lunatic best.And when Blazing Saddles can't contain itself at the finale, it just proves the Old West will never be the same! ... Read more

Reviews (207)

The Quintessential Comedy Movie
I love this movie! From the opening scene, where Cleavon Little sings the negro work song, "I Get a Kick Outta You", ala Nat King Cole, and he is corrected by the white men shoing him how to sing "Camptown Ladies", to the absurd surrealist ending (when was the last time you've seen a movie burst out of the movie, this is beautiful comedy.

Sight gags flying by at the speed of light, you will have to watch it hundreds of times to get them all, one liners that would make the Marx Brothers proud ("Bart, I heard you was hung." "You heard right!) This is absurdist comedy at is best (A toll booth on the William J LaPetomaine Freeway). The Mel Brooks choreography is wonderful when Lili Von Schtup sings "I'm Tired." When was the last time you saw German Soldiers tango with their rifles. This movie is filled frame to frame with humor, and no one gets away not insulted (Okay, we'll take the Irish too!)

The cast was perfection, either just over the top, or way over the top Harvey Korman is hilarious as the nefarious Hedley Lamarr. Cleavon Little is fantastic as he makes fun of his own stereotypes, it is absolutely one of the funniest movies ever made by humans on the planet earth.

Until a Special Edition comes along ...
... this will have to do. But that ain't all bad.

Politically incorrect and loving it, "Blazing Saddles" holds up as a comedy nearly 30 years after its release, and maybe even has gotten funnier as Americans get more uptight. Heaven help us if we lose our ability to laugh at the outrageous.

And while the bathroom humor (and the campfire scene) gets all the notice, there are some very subtle jokes in the film, such as the "laurel and hardy handshake" and "Thank you, Van."

As for extras ... there's not much. A trailer, both widescreen and cropped versions, and an monologue by Mel Brooks that plays over the first half of the movie. It's not scene-specific, but it's worth listening to. For instance, Gene Wilder wasn't even supposed to be in the movie. To find out who was, and why Wilder got the part ... listen to the interview.

This film cries out for a special edition. A scene-specific commentary by Brooks and co-writers Andrew Bergman and Richard Pryor. A making-of documentary. The scenes that were edited into the TV version of the movie (like the diving scene and the governor's visit to the fake Rock Ridge)...

Tasteless But Funny
Plays like an ennactment of one of those tasteless joke books set to a Western theme. Not for everyone. Even fans of this sort of thing have to be in a certain mood.

The funniest western ever made
Cleavon Little plays a black railroad worker condemend to death for assaulting his white foreman. At the last minute he is reprieved by the governor who has the devious idea of making him sheriff of Rock Ridge, a town the governor wants destroyed so they can run the railroad through the area, he thinks a black sheriff will finish the town off. When Little arrives in Rock Ridge he is nearly lynched by the outratged inhabitants but manages to outwit them. Safe in the sheriff's office, he finds the town drunk (Gene Wilder) just waking up in the cells, and they strike up a friendship. Together they set about the task of winning over the folk of Rock Ridge ("simple, wholesome, country folk - you know, morons" as Wilder says), and trying to save the town from destruction. This blissfuly funny film is packed with hilarious episodes. There's the wonderful scene where Little, asked to sing a negro song, obliges with 'I get a kick out of you', the scene where he arrives in Rock Ridge, there's Madelein Khan's hilarious Marlene Dietrich impersonation, the wonderful scene where Little and Wilder infiltrate the baddies' gang disguised as Klu Klux Klan members, and my favourite scene of all, the bit where the townsfolk, asked to give some land to the minority groups who are to help them build the fake town, reply "All right, we'll give some land to the niggers and the chinks, but we DON'T want the irish!" The film is utterly delightful, with hilarious performances from all concerned. There's just one thing that I wonder about. Cleavon Little is such a wonderful comic actor, not to mention being drop-dead gorgeous as well, why has so little been seen of him since this film was made? Never mind, if you're only going to be famous for one film, this is a great one to be remembered for.

Even the "Making-of" was recycled!
Five stars for the movie itself as well as the presentation. The movie looks and sounds great.

BUT--- as noted by many, the "30th Anniversary Edition" supplements are basically a hack job. This is easily one of the most influential comedies of all-time, it deserved to really be given the Special Edition treatment.

The "Commentary" is not a traditional commentary at all; not only is it simply the audio from a 55 minute interview with Brooks, it was issued on the previous dvd. This has been mentioned by many reviewers.

What hasn't been as well-reported is that even the half-hour retrospective doc has been recycled. The "Back in the Saddle" program, which is admittedly a decent if unspectacular show, was previously issued on the 2001 VHS edition! Basically, this featurette was issued on the 27th Anniversary video cassette release. Yes, this is the first time it has appeared on dvd, but still a rather lazy choice.

The "Additional Scenes" are, somewhat annoyingly, not accessible scene-by scene. They play as one approx. 10-minute piece. These scenes were added to the TV broadcast version. It's nice to have them, though most of them are shown in the "Back in the Saddle" featurette.

The only other significant supplement is the "Black Bart" pilot episode. This 24-minute show is a real curiousity, a great archival piece even though the show itself is excruciatingly BAD. Still, its interesting viewing, and very easy on the eyes. This show, quite simply, looks amazing! Very well preserved.

There are a couple other bits, like the trailer and an excerpt from a Madeline Kahn documentary (only about 4 minutes or so).

Really, all things considered, Warner really dropped the ball on the supplementals for this edition. The movie itself looks fantastic and the new 5.1 mix isn't anything special but it sounds better than the old disc. The movie is what really counts, and in that area the presentation can hardly be faulted. But in the end, they didn't actually produce any NEW supplemental material for this set. ... Read more