Product Description

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/26/2006 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Pg

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51836 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2005-12-06
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
That famous comedy team of Howie Mandel and Ted Danson stink up the joint in this bizarre attempt by Blake Edwards at re-creating the slapstick world of Laurel and Hardy. Initially envisioned as a partial remake of Laurel and Hardy's The Music Box, this degenerates into a witless plot involving racehorse fixing and a gangster's unfaithful wife. The cast, which includes Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Mulligan, and Stuart Margolin, looks embarrassed at the helter-skelter attempts at slapstick, which barely rises to the level of schtick. Danson and Mandel both had hit TV shows at the time (Cheers and St. Elsewhere, respectively), but this movie misfire did nothing to ignite their cinematic careers. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

non stop laughs
This is a very funny movie, personally i am not a big fan of Ted Danson, but he is so likable that you can't help but cheer for him, although this film has never gotten a lot of attention as a major comedy, i for one like it, every time i watch it i can't help but to laugh, Columbia/Tri-Star should acknowledge this as a very funny movie, it may have a shallow story, but comedian Howie Mandel keeps you laughing also. Danson & Mandel work so well together that you want to be part of the action, even serious actor Paul Sorvino is very funny as a bumbling would-be godfather, it seems he wanted to mock that image, even NYPD Blue's Dennis Franz shows his funny side as Danson's mouthy brother-in-law, but Sorvino's bumbling hit men (Margolin&Mulligan) have such bad luck that you can't help but feel sorry for these guys, one scene involves them crashing into a police car, then Franz, then stumbling onto Sorvino's semi-naked wife who just happens to be with Danson, but it is Howie Mandel's comedic performance that shines here, as he tries desperately to flee Danson's mess, but gets caught in the middle at every turn, but the most funny part is the last 20-25 minutes when see Danson & Mandel in Sorvino's house hiding from him at every turn, all the while Danson is trying to romance Sorvino's wife. you could say that this is "Cheers in L.A." with Danson playing almost the same character. If only Columbia/Tri-Star would rerelease this on video as well as put it on DVD, that would be a dream come true.

Of slapstick and bare essentials
Some ten or twelve years ago I saw A FINE MESS at the movies and laughed a lot. Give it a try. Director Blake Edwards reaches for the slapstick ring he grabbed with his PINK PANTHER movies in A FINE MESS and many of the jokes succeed. Actor Ted Danson's character reminded me of the bumbling ladies man he played on the TV show "Cheers" and he's just as funny here. It would seem that the wardrobe budget was cut for actress Julianne Phillips' role.

Great silly comedy! I love this movie.
This is Howie and Ted at their best. Richard Mulligan made me bust out in gut laughs. My wife says that it's silly humor, but there is a need for silly.