Fire Sale

Now I have to tell you that I thought that this movie was just a figment of my imagination, as no one I know except my date for the evening in 1977 has ever even heard of this movie. I was a 17 year old on a date with my soon to be (1 ½ later) husband. I found it funny. Hilarious in fact. I would love to buy the movie and see it again as a mature adult, to see if it is as funny now. But alas, I've never found this movie for sale. The movie itself starts with a strange scene with a noise in the dark. When the lights come up and you figure out what is going on, I remember laughing so hard. For me, that's the way the entire movie was. Slap shot comedy perhaps.

This movie was definitely overlooked as a classic. Strange, yes; bizzare, oh yes! but funny if you have a strange sense of humor. Monty Python and Benny Hill fans may like the strange and off-beat humor of this movie, other humor fans may be wondering what this is about. The secret is that what you see is what you get: what you see on the screen is what this movie is about. This is a disfunctional family before the term became fashionable. I loved the characters' goofiness, and the way that the actors portrayed them. Alan Arkin, Vincent Gardenia, and Rob Reiner were the "stars" of this movie, but they wouldn't have gone anywhere without the supporting cast of characters. Uncle Sherman, Marian, Ruthie,and of course, Captain F#@k, rounded out the chaacters. Not getting into the plot of the movie (which there was none, really) : there was no stoy plot or character arc - it was just fun and goofy comedy. I just wish it was offered on VHS or DVD!

Everyone to his own taste. Leonard Maltin is a wonderful critic, but this time I disagree with him. A friend of mine showed me a tape he made of this movie in 1979. I could not stop laughing. Sometimes a movie doesn't have to have a message when it's being funny (Ace Ventura, as a case in point). The stars of this movie are comedy giants, but the supporting cast is just as funny. Richard Libertini steals the movie as a house painter cum psychiatrist. Alex Rocco as a clothing salesman is hilarious. I have an old VHS tape of this movie that I made off HBO. I would love to see this movie released on DVD. If there is any good reason why this movie is not being released I'd like to hear it. I've showed the tape to my kids, and they went crazy for it. I think the time has come to let the world enjoy this laugh riot. I'm surprised that cable hasn't shown it either instead of the same tired retreads over and over. Let's hear it for comedy that isn't pretty.

Like many of the previous reviewers, I only ever saw this movie once, and that was a long, long time ago (again like them). But even though I was only a teenager, where for me the world of the US East Coast Jews may as well have been on another planet, what gags I did understand (and I realized that there were many, many gags that I didn't!) were exceptionally funny. Leonard_M - loosen up a little. The movie IS funny.

Four stars? - give me a break!

I was thrilled and amused when I saw this as a kid - so many unconventional scenes, so many people who don't behave ...

Alright this is not that entertaining for people of today who have lost any attention span. And it's not as brilliantly made as "Where's Poppa?", also written by Robert Klane, but it does have its moments, i.e. most scenes that Arkin and Gardenia are in. Reiner is pretty inept here as usual, though. Kay Medford is very good as a Mother out of touch with reality. A good cast in general.

Some scenes lack a better execution but on the whole this is an original idea that has several subplots which are nicely tied up. Greed, ineptness, dysfunctional families, madness and irritation manifest themselves in many different ways.

Most locations are pretty "awful" by today's viewing habits but that is the exact charm of this movie as opposed to all the slick and sterile over-produced forgettable comedies of today. The settings make this movie look "real" and might tend to make people uneasy about the story because it seems people don't really get their way - no matter how they try. That makes for good comedy because this is how life is when you constantly overreach: You make a fool of yourself.

The main problem with this seems to be that the ideas are funny but better production and direction would not have hurt. This could very well be remade but I doubt people today want to see anyone on the screen who is over 40 years old... And that is pathetic.