Harvey

I was flipping through the channels and saw this was on this afternoon. It is a very poorly done remake. Many of the lines were so poorly delivered that I got the impression that the actors new it wasn't going to be very good.

On the other hand, I highly recommend the original Jimmy Stewart version. It has all of the charm that this version lacks. Stewart's Dowd cannot help but be loved, while Anderson's Dowd feels wooden, and I ordinarily like Harry Anderson. When watching the original, you find yourself hoping that Harvey is real and you come to love him. In the remake, you find yourself not believing that any of the characters are real. They all come across as actors on a stage acting a part rather than actually being the characters. If you want to see Harvey, do yourself a favor and see the original. This version is not very good.

I happened to catch this on TV the other night. I was pleasantly surprised. The casting choice of Harry Anderson more than did justice to Jimmy Stewart's performance. Credit the director for maintaining the classic ambiance of the film with original dialogue and 1950s set. 4 stars for this heart-felt, oh-so-pleasant remake.

I was blessedly unaware of this version of the film until today. I am a great lover of the original starring James Stewart, and was today flicking through the TV channels when I came across this remake.

I cannot understand why the film was remade, especially with no real changes, just another cast and filmed in colour. The actor playing Elwood has none of the innocence and charm of James Stewart's portrayal and as far as I can tell is just trying to impersonate Stewart and failing terribly. The ultimate result is farcical, where the original is heart warming. The only scene that has any connection to the original is the taxi driver's speech towards the end, which verges on the magic of the original.

Leslie Neilsen gives a dreadful unconvincing hammy turn as the doctor, and the other actors are similar pantomime-esquire when compared to the 1950 version. If you have not seen the original I urge you not to watch this dreadful imitation first and see the real thing.

Pointless and an insult to the genius of the original.

From what I read, I wasn't expecting much from Harry's performance. Jimmy was...extraordinary. And I kept comparing Harry to him, until the part where he meets Mrs. Chumley.

There, Harry just seemed to shine a bit and I forgot about comparing. I just concentrated on Harry as Elwood, instead. Not too bad.

I love Swoosie Kurtz. I like to watch her films. She's a fun actress. Veta is just a tough role to perfect. I'd say it is the strongest. I don't find Josephine Hull to be an easy actress to match. It's almost like the role of Veta was 'made for her'.

Hull's character was irritating but, also oddly charming and she nailed better than the other 'Veta' characters. Kurtz did have a few good moments. It just takes a certain kind of lady to make that role work on film. Otherwise, a stage performance may work better.

This movie is more of a 5/10 but, I'll give it a 6/10 due to Harry's effort.

Anyone who wants to remake "Harvey" better have a very good reason... It's hard to improve on a classic! But the creators of this "Harvey," and the actors in it, are predictably short on vision. The parts are miscast and misinterpreted -- again, how to improve on the original? Some of the choices are baffling -- Mrs. Chumley, a blond bombshell? (And a poor actress to boot?) I thought Nurse Kelly was supposed to be the sexy romantic lead. And who took the edge off Wilson's comic relief? Key parts of the script have been altered, and scenes added and deleted -- Mary Chase's pulitzer material wasn't good enough, apparently. Even Anderson is an embarrassment -- he seems uncomfortable with the project, as well he should be. Do yourself a favor -- boycott the silly remake and see the original!