Run, Waiter, Run!

I saw Vrchni, prchni! When it was making the rounds in art house theaters in the 80's. A sweet comedy about a bookstore owner who owes alimony to several failed marriages tries to moonlight as a violinist to make ends meet. In doing so, he inadvertently finds a new occupation as a small-time but ubiquitous grifter.

Please be aware of spoilers in Pavel Vetesnik's and other reviews. They'll kill the surprises.

This movie is packed with inventive gags, clever writing, and wry comedy, and escalates towards an elaborate, over-the-top climax.

Interestingly, the American theatrical release ended with a title card noting that during his time in prison, he became so good at the violin that he was hired into the Prague Symphony Orchestra after his release. This is missing from the Czech DVD release (from which a friend converted a US-readable copy).

Like one of the previous reviewers, I was lucky enough to catch this gem of a film on a coach trip to Prague when I was living in the Czech Republic. It was the first Czech film I saw, and is still my favourite. Of course anyone who didn't grow up under communism will miss a lot of the humour and references, but generally speaking it has a wide-ranging appeal, and the convoluted situations are really funny at times, especially the incidents with his neighbour. The music is good too - mostly man-and-a-guitar type songs. I wish it were possible to find this in Britain, but foreign language films are a tiny market here, especially obscure communist-era East European films... Overall though, this is thoroughly recommended and if you're ever in Czech on a yellow Student Agency coach make sure they show this!

It's been over 20 years since I saw this movie in The Nuart, L.A.'s premiere art house theatre, and it's still one of the funniest, most memorable films I've ever seen. A suave but down-and-out would-be concert violinist on his way to an audition, is mistaken for a waiter and discovers a new, if not terribly legal or honest, source of income. I won't say anything more, I don't want to spoil the fun.

Good writing, creative gags, a fine sense of irony, and a refreshing respect for the audience's intelligence. I wish this movie were available in the USA on DVD or VHS, I'd snatch up a copy without hesitation.

First I would like to say it's a comedy for sure. But I would also add the genre crime to the movie.

In this movie there's a guy playing a fake waiter. That's not his only crime though. But the other crime is more in a moral way. But i'm not gonna spoil for you what that is. But basically these two "crimes" play a mayor part in this movie.

If you have a chance to see it be sure to grasp that chance. It's not a superb comedy, but a nice little comedy. There are enough jokes to keep you amused during the movie.

Greetings from the Netherlands.

This film is very funny and skilfully made. It uses a wide range of film humor styles, from farce including slapstick to satire. It reflects on human (male) behavior in general and on Czechoslovak communist society. At the end of the film, there is a fantastically shot chase scene. I do not agree at all with the qualification "small comedy", because the film is based on a very developed script that contains many sub-plots with people commenting or reacting on the behavior of the main character. The result is a picture that gives you pleasure and enjoyment while watching it and amusement after when recalling different scenes and characters.