"Movie Movie" is one of the finest examples of deadpan spoofery to ever hit the big screen. In the same vein as the iconically deader-than-deadpan Leslie Nielsen in "Airplane!" except predating it by 2 years, here we get a buffet of fine dramatic actors like George C. Scott ("Patton"), Eli Wallach ("The Good, the Bad & the Ugly"), Harry Hamlin ("Clash of the Titans") plus fantastic stage legends like Ann Reinking ("All That Jazz") and Barry Bostwick ("Rocky Horror") all pouring their talents into a riotously absurd script. They do it so straight-faced that you'll probably miss at least 25% of the hilarious lines, and that's why this is such a great flick for repeat viewings.
Honestly, I found myself watching the entire film with my remote in hand so I could rewind and catch all the sneaky zingers that slipped past while I was still laughing at the last one. This is the kind of movie that you can quote endlessly to your friends until you have no friends left.
Some choice lines include:
(door knocking) "Oh! That must be the door."
or "It's been my lifelong dream! For years."
or "Can I walk you home?" "Sure, New York's a free country." (that one took me a while)
Played totally straight with no rim shots, laugh tracks or often without even a comedic beat, these gags truly put the tongue so firmly in cheek that you'd think you're at the dentist. George C. Scott, fresh off his Academy Award for playing the stone-hearted General Patton, is surprisingly perfect in this deadpan role as you might've guessed from his performance in "Dr Strangelove" 15 years earlier. In fact, the humor here is very similar to that classic film with clever, absurd wordplays driving the entire show. So if you cracked a smile at Strangelove's "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room" then I guarantee you'll have plenty to keep you laughing during this flick.
The story. "Movie Movie" is essentially a mockup of a 1930s double feature, right down to the hilarious previews at intermission. The first segment is a black & white drama about a young New York boxer "Joey Popchik" (Harry Hamlin in his 1st film) who needs to make $20,000 real fast so his sister can afford eye surgery in Vienna---plus $5000 "for car fare". This segment is a surprisingly meticulous homage to the golden age of Hollywood, with first class cinematography and lighting that would put it on par with the best film noir masterpieces out there. Dialogue is similarly right in sync with the wisecracking lingo and accents of the time, and if you didn't know better you'd think you were watching a lost reel from "On the Waterfront" (by the way Marlon Brando's older sister Jocelyn plays the mother). If you're familiar with Hollywood's b&w classics, it helps to get you in on the jokes but it's not required. The witty dialogue is plenty enough to tickle your ribs right under your nose behind your back.
The 2nd "feature", starring the same actors often in nearly identical roles, is a lavish, colorful MGM type musical that would make Mel Brooks bust a gut. Again, there are no overt sight gags or ba-dum-ching zingers, but even funnier, it's pure straight-faced & straight-laced deadpan awesomeness. The opening scene with George C. Scott ("Spatz") talking to his doctor (played by Art Carney) had me in stitches.
DOCTOR: You have 6 months to live.
SPATZ: 6 months from today? Well, that's not too b--
DOCTOR: 6 months from your last appointment, which was 5 months ago.
SPATZ: So that's 1 month. Well at least I have 30 days--
DOCTOR: This is February.
Again, I can't stress enough how great the delivery is. I can't think of any other films that nail the tone & timing so well except for the aforementioned Leslie Nielsen in "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" (Leslie himself being a serious dramatic actor who simply read his lines without any comedic twang). This is definitely an unusual type of comedy, if not the only one of its kind. But if you're a fan of this sort of humor, you absolutely must see it. My review can't do it justice. Or as Joey says in the movie: "It was the late great Gloves Malloy who said how hard it is to say what there are no words for."
