tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post7803695174020506732..comments2023-12-18T23:20:31.042-06:00Comments on Scriblerus Club: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982).PrisonerNumber6http://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-77706352669405798682020-03-22T15:58:25.429-05:002020-03-22T15:58:25.429-05:00Slow yet steady is how I have to make my way throu...Slow yet steady is how I have to make my way through that.<br /><br />ChrisCPrisonerNumber6https://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-62193647439951159232020-03-21T23:08:24.427-05:002020-03-21T23:08:24.427-05:00Having rewatched a few of these fairly recently, h...Having rewatched a few of these fairly recently, here's an impromptu Mcmolo-approved top 5:<br /><br />1. LA Story<br />2. All of Me<br />3. The Jerk<br />4. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid<br />5. Planes Trains and Automobiles.<br /><br />Actually, 2-5 are pretty much interchangeable, or one goes way ahead depending on the mood/context of when you watch it.<br /><br />#6 would be Leap of Faith. (Unless it's #1. In which case, I'd probably put Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid at #6. But that one's so funny, though! Life isn't fair.)B McMolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02706178983936146307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-64040394430931293992020-03-21T22:16:12.935-05:002020-03-21T22:16:12.935-05:00I'm playing catch-up here also. I haven't ...I'm playing catch-up here also. I haven't even seen "The Jerk". So, again, can't see no reason to apologize for anything. <br /><br />"Plains, Trains, and Automobiles" ears its spurs, that's for sure.<br /><br />ChrisCPrisonerNumber6https://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-9087128577799036382020-03-21T17:36:45.342-05:002020-03-21T17:36:45.342-05:00I left a comment on this one, but I think Blogger ...I left a comment on this one, but I think Blogger ate it. Can't have been much of a meal; it wasn't much of a comment!<br /><br />The upshot of it was that while I love Steve Martin, I've got some major gaps in my knowledge of his work. For example, I've never seen:<br /><br />Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (which sounds great)<br />The Man With Two Brains (ditto)<br />The Lonely Guy<br />Planes, Trains and Automobiles (unthinkable, unforgivable -- what am I waiting on?!?)<br />Leap of Faith<br /><br />I'm also waaaaaay overdue to see most of his classics with fresh eyes. Because I've technically seen "All of Me" and "Roxanne" and "The Jerk" and loved them, but it's been a long time.<br /><br />Bottom line: this post makes me want to do all of that.Bryant Burnettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01189356171455609865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-90720318863018580542020-03-02T11:31:23.234-06:002020-03-02T11:31:23.234-06:00(2) That makes sense, then. I got into Steve Marti...(2) That makes sense, then. I got into Steve Martin's movies right around the time he was transitioning from his 70s stuff into his 80s work, but there was another switch at the end of the 80s for Steve Martin where he was taking more dramatic and more mainstream roles, like the ones you mention (although "Bowfinger" was fairly wacky). But there seemed to be a change in his approach around that time. "LA Story" was a great one, as well; I watched that one an awful lot back in the day and it still holds up pretty well I think. <br /><br />If you haven't seen "All of Me," that one's a personal fave. I'd say that and "LA Story" are my faves, although "The Jerk" and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" could be, any day of the week.<br />B McMolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02706178983936146307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-12677684117452035562020-03-02T06:33:05.429-06:002020-03-02T06:33:05.429-06:00(1) Yeah, I was mainly going by personal experienc...(1) Yeah, I was mainly going by personal experience here. That and the fact that the IMDB reviews, and the scant amount of vlogger attention on YouTube sort of painted this idea of "Plaid" as like this obscure piece that no one seems to have noticed. So I based the angle of this review off of just what I got from others before jumping into the fray. My basic thought was, "Well, got the work cut out for it this time, that seems for damn sure". I'll come back to this.<br /><br />(2) No, no again, and no, sadly. When it comes to a lot of this stuff I'm the automatic role of the guy who has to play catch-up. Martin wasn't even really a figure occupying much of my attention until I read what Semlyan had to say in his book. That's wher I ran across the other side of Martin (who now has my permission to steal that phrase for whatever creative project he wishes).<br /><br />Up till then, the most I was familiar with him was in stuff like "Bowfinger", "Parenthood", "Father of the Bride", and "Plains, Trains, and Automobiles". This was like discovering your stuffy old uncle used to work in Vaudeville, or something like that.<br /><br />(4) I think that's like m favorite sequence in the entire film, helped in no small part by the inclusion of the always reliable and welcome services of the Maestro of Meance, i.e. Vinnie Price. It's just too bad the actor himself didn't decide to take part in those sequences, now THAT would have made it one for the ages!<br /><br />(5) Come to think of it, you're right. It's amazing how not many people, even "Simpsons" and "Family Guy" fans seem that much aware of just how far back it goes. That's yet another reason for the tone of this piece.<br /><br />(6)(7) I'm not saying anything against "South Park". Again, I was going by what I read and saw, and here's where the disbelief at artistic subtlety comes in. Everything I saw told me that we've become so used to shock value that it's like the finer comedic nuances are in danger of getting lost in the mainstream, in which case you have a phenomenon (Modern Comedy) that suffers from an identity crisis because it has no fundamental or historical sense of itself. Question: what happens to comedy if it lacks a sense of self-awareness? Does the art form itslef lose motivation and go "out of season" until some new revitalizing artistic agent comes along to kick things back into high gear? These are just the questions that interactions I've observed around this film lead me to wonder about.<br /><br />(8) Yeah, I was lucky to pick up on that one. Not bad for a girl holding an entirely different conversation with someone who isn't there. "Hello, I'm Steve Martin, and I'll be out here in a minute"!<br /><br />(9) Again, no, say sorry. These are all things I need to remedy. The good news is that it does seem like this recent Martin re-discovery shows signs of just getting started.<br /><br />(10) My favorite one-liner in the entire movie: Martin (spoken to a lady like Ingrid Bergman):"...Woof, Huberman, WOOF!<br /><br />ChrisC PrisonerNumber6https://www.blogger.com/profile/03156430802462353459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917612005522287441.post-65838158340855408602020-03-01T09:06:44.914-06:002020-03-01T09:06:44.914-06:00(1) I must dispute the assertion that DEAD MEN DON...(1) I must dispute the assertion that DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID is an obscure film. It's celebrated as one of Steve Martin's best and most unique films in a variety of places. I don't disagree it may not be as well-known among younger viewers (and as you established in your review from last time, perhaps de Semalyn should've researched a bit more out of his immediate comfort zone)but, I mean, so's something like Bad Day at Black Rock, or even High Noon. Doesn't make these films obscure by any means, just that people's appetite for canon has whittled away, perhaps by design or by attrition, who knows. Anyway! It was puzzling to me to see the film introduced as something unfamiliar to most people; has it really become that? This was ubiqutious in reruns in the 80s, at least in the Northeast.<br /><br />(2) Does this mean, perchance, you have not seen THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS? That one - and "All Of Me" and "The Jerk" - always seemed to be on cable/ UHS, as well. <br /><br />(3) Steve Martin's comedy/approach was very much right place/ right time. Outside of the 70s it's difficult to conceive his becoming the biggest comedy star in the world. The 70s, for whatever faults they have, incubated a great deal of America's best art! "It's a style of humor that's meant to reward audiences for being intelligent about fart jokes." ha! Exactly.<br /><br />(4) I still say "pa-YAM-as!" as a result of this film.<br /><br />(5) What's funny, too, is how later in life I saw all the films referenced in this and was like "oh geez, I really had no idea..." It's kind of surreal how films like BLAZING SADDLES and DEAD MAN DON'T WEAR PLAID (which is such a great noir title) were early versions of mash-up/ sample culture. (Although we could say the same for THE MONKEES, too.) They were onto something that really exploded/ became institutionalized in the coming decades.<br /><br />(6) Martin's deadpan is truly admirable. I can't keep a straight face at all, so I admire the ability in other people. Martin's whole approach during this period seemed predicated on being able to seriously get across such silliness. I can't say I agree with its being a polar opposite to Martin or that its audience repudiates his or anything. But admittedly, the boundary-less-ness of all comedy after the 80s makes it harder (or perhaps obsolete) to employ Martin's approach. It's like the subtlety of sexual interaction in old movies - doesn't make much sense in a world of Tinder and Grindr and all else. Things change with technology/ taboos dropped. <br /><br />(7) Personally, I think SOUTH PARK is rather brilliant (and badly needed/ much appreciated) satire, and somewhat in this Martin vein of relying on the audience to be intelligent about fart jokes/ even worse.<br /><br />(8) Good call on the Stanwyck phone clue/ second viewing. That was my experience as well.<br /><br />(9) Forgive me I may have asked this last time but have you read either SHOPGIRL or PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE? I loved both when I read them last, but it's been awhile.B McMolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02706178983936146307noreply@blogger.com