1966 Don Knotts funkRating: 16/20 (Dad: 18/20; Dylan: 14/20)
Plot: Don Knotts isn't asking for a lot in life. He wants to make it as a newspaper reporter. He wants the pretty girl. He wants a little respect. He gets his chance on the twentieth anniversary of the crime that made the local "murder house" infamous when he agrees to spend the night in the supposedly haunted abode and write about his experiences. Some creepy things happen during his stay, and once his ghost-written article is published, he becomes an overnight sensation. But when the owner of the house threatens his story's authenticity and sues him for libel, he's forced to fight to protect his reputation.
Had to entertain my step-father while the women folk went to the ballet, and this was about all I had that would interest him, a fan of the oeuvre of one Jim Varney. And the inimitable Don Knotts did not disappoint. From his first moment on the screen in this, he's funny. His mannerisms and his goofy deliver in a lovable loser role are pitch perfect. Knotts was born to play these sorts of roles (and Mr. Furley, of course), and everything he does in this is hilarious. It's a simple appropriate-for-families tale, one that wouldn't have made Disney execs uncomfortable. And it's filmed pretty much exactly like one of those wacky, dated Disney comedies, too. No, this isn't the most intelligently written comedy. Any movie with a tag line that starts with stuttering ("G-G-Guaranteed") and ends with a promise that you'll "be scared until you laugh yourself silly" isn't going to be. But there's something hilarious about watching Don Knotts practice his karate moves, moves that like Indiana Jones with his whip or Luke Skywalker with his lightsaber were impossible for me not to imitate, and say more than once that his "entire body is a weapon." And a repeated gag, an offscreen "Attaboy," starts funny, gets old, makes you groan, and then becomes side-splittingly funny once again. Delightful fun!
One of my goals for 2011, by the way, is to found a religion based on the worship of Don Knotts. Who's in?
ATTABOY LUTHOR!!!
ReplyDeleteThis one gets a 17 from me.
Apparently the Farrelly Brothers are big fans of this film. They used the above "Attaboy Luthor" in the film Kingpin. I was the only person in the theater to get that when I saw Kingpin back in the mid 1990's. Well maybe Cory got it too....since I saw it with him.
That is cool. I didn't catch that watching 'Kingpin' but I did catch something cool in 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' which I saw bits and pieces of in school a few weeks ago. They use the sound effect from 'The Man in the White Suit' for one of the farmers' cider-makin' machines.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to adjust my rating to give this a heftier Don Knotts bonus. 15/20 seems awfully low for one of Knotts' best.
Its not ONE of Knotts best. Its just flat out his best movie.
ReplyDeleteI did like The Shakiest Gun in the West quite a bit, and The Incredible Mr Limpet was a little thing I loved as a kid. (Although sitting through it now is difficult.)
But there are very few moments on film where its all about Knotts. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is one of them.
Sadly, I have not seen this, and so I needed Mr. Moore to explain it to me... and I freakin' hate it when that happens.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen his first film "No Time For Sergeants" (with Andy Griffith, no less)?
sidenote: I'm not sure where you are with taping, but tomorrow night TCM is playing "Sweet Smell of Success (a current "five") and "A Face in the Crowd" ("Winter's Bone"'s replacement) back-to-back. In case you didn't already notice.