TV Cream

Films: M is for...

Man with Two Brains, The

Steve Martin films are funny things, and we don’t always mean ‘funny’ in the good sense. The Jerk is of course one of the Best Films Ever – witness please, “He hates these cans!” if you will – but then Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is a good idea rendered marginally amusing by just going on for too darn long. All of Me was great but Roxanne was a tad pointless. Then he climbed up his own arse and started starring in dreadful soul searching nonsense like Grand Canyon but still managed to pull Bowfinger out of the hat. Go figure. Anyway, none of this has anything to do with the reason we sent for you this evening which was to watch one of Martin’s better turns in this excellent piece of nonsense also starring David ‘Suitable Case For Treatment’ Warner, Kathleen ‘I’m just drawn that way’ Turner and a cameo-ing Merv Griffin as the Elevator Killer (not that he kills elevators, you understand).* Carl Reiner directed this and he also directed The Jerk. Mind you, he was behind Dead Men… as well.

* – This would normally regarded as a spoiler of worse-than-Hitler proportions, but seeing as no bugger in this country knew who Griffin was anyway, and the joke went for naught, we feel we can put it up without being descended on by hordes of time-rich shouty men posessing what a polite onlooker would call ‘their own take on this crazy thing called life’.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. paulus - bangkok

    May 24, 2010 at 5:39 am

    Funny;….. at the time
    Much like Steve Martin himself.

  2. Matt Patton

    October 6, 2012 at 2:18 am

    “I love it when your veins bulge like that. It makes me feel closer the the reading of the will.”

  3. THX 1139

    July 1, 2020 at 12:32 am

    Steve Martin’s gorilla observation is a joy forever. This is his best film, it’s absolutely, sublimely ludicrous. RIP Carl Reiner, you excellent man.

  4. richardpd

    July 1, 2020 at 10:45 am

    As you mention Steve Martin’s film career has been quite hit & miss, wobbling between truly funny & I’ve got to pay the rent” material.

    Eddie Murphy has had a similar wayward patten of films.

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