Delirio

This is a much more watchable film than many of the lightweight vehicles Candy took part in in his post-SCTV career. His part could have been played by any number of comic actors, but John steps in and gives it his best shot. He's always fun to watch on screen, and he has a good time here without going over the top, which he tended to do.

DELIRIOUS is a weird mixture of Groundhog Day, Soapdish, and various Rod Serling scripts in which the characters in a story are being controlled by someone at a typewriter. It's a workable premise, and the actors make the most of the stock soap opera characters they play. David Rasche, Emma Samms, Raymond Burr et al were well-chosen for their parts. Bit parts by Robert Wagner and Marvin Kaplan (the voice of Choo-Choo on TOP CAT) are also memorable. Mariel Hemingway takes some flak on this comment board for her part, but she seemed suited for the role and moved smoothly from her gawky character to the soap opera "devil woman." This is a pleasant comedy but not as consistently funny as SOAPDISH. The script by veteran writers of Gilligan's Island and Bewitched suffers from a lot of unnecessary "language" (for what could otherwise be a family film) but moves along at a brisk pace (except for the longish horse-riding scenes).

That's John Candy's dilemma in Delirious. Candy's a writer for a popular television day time soap which seems to bear more resemblance to the night time big budget soaps so popular in the Eighties. Anyway after some creative differences with fellow writers Jerry Orbach and Renee Taylor, Candy gets into a nasty car wreck and when he wakes up finds himself in the hospital of his own show being treated by a couple of the characters of same, doctor David Rasche and nurse Andrea Thompson.

After seeing this, I see where the creators of Pleasantville got their idea. Pleasantville of course was a bit more serious in its subject matter. Delirious was a good idea that didn't quite come off although the players do give it a good try.

Part of the problem is that even in the fantasy Candy's thinking with his hormones. He's got it bad for his show's star Emma Sammes who is doing a nice Joan Collins impersonation. There's good girl Mariel Hemingway who is auditioning in real life for a part on Candy's soap opera and she shows up in the fantasy as well.

I have to give special kudos to Raymond Burr who plays the family patriarch of this soap opera with tongue firmly in cheek. Burr's occasionally flashes a twinkle which you have to be sure to catch just to let you know how much he's enjoying this. Nice he took time off from Perry Mason here.

Sammes and Burr are the real treats of Delirious. It could have been a lot funnier, but I think someone like Mel Brooks should have directed it.

I guess that "Delirious" was mostly one of John Candy's innocuously silly placeholders in between his really great roles, but it's still a fairly entertaining one. Maybe not rip-snorting hilarity - after "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", it's hard to imagine Candy in a funnier role - but an OK way to pass time. As a screenwriter who gets knocked out and wakes up a character in his own show, Candy makes the most of his role. Among the other cast members are Mariel Hemingway, Raymond Burr (in his final theatrical role), Jerry Orbach, Robert Wagner and Margot Kidder.

Oh, and if you think that you recognize "Hungarian Rhapsody #2", the classic Looney Tunes cartoons often used it: "Rhapsody in Rivets", "Rhapsody Rabbit", "Wise Quackers" and "What's Up, Doc?", to name a few. Later, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" had Daffy Duck and Donald Duck play it on pianos and undermine each other's performances.

I can watch this movie over and over and never get tired (then again, I haven't ever tried watching it 10 times in a row in the same day)... Candy does his own sort of persona with his trademark charm without getting annoying, and the way the film turns constantly as he tries to solve his dilemma is great (particularly when he starts to write while drunk). Not a masterpiece by any standard, but a fun flick...

The all time best line in the movie -- John Candy rescuing Emma Samms on horseback -- "This stranger knows no danger!"

A bit spotty -- can't maintain a high comedy level throughout but nonetheless is enjoyable and a vehicle for John Candy to demonstrate comic range. Excited he will get to spend a romantic weekend tryst with Emma Samms (and misunderstanding her feminine wiles), he finds himself lugging umpteen of her suitcases to the taxi cab, then knocks himself out with the trunk door as he tries to load the suitcases. Wakes up in the pleasant little village where she reappears as new character, daughter of Raymund Burr, along with others in town, Mariel Hemingway et al. Plenty of lines for Candy in trying to write the new soap opera about family conspiracies with a stolen formula, and the rapid disintegration of Emma's brother while none in the family seem to notice or care. Again the highlight to me was the rescue chase by Candy when Emma's horse took her on a wild ride and Candy rides up and self congratulates later as modern day Zorro or Lone Ranger. All in all, enjoyable.