The Tall Guy (1989) User Reviews (54)

Ironically, its Rowan who plays the straight man in Richard Curtis' fictionalised version of his frustration playing straight man for Rowan.

[Ben_Cheshire · 6/10 · 27 June 2004]

Richard Curtis has written some impressive romantic comedies (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, Love Actually) and had his hand in the writing of some of the top British TV comedy of our time (Mr Bean, Not the 9 O'Clock news, Blackadder). This was one of his first scripts to be turned into a feature film.

He wrote this script about his own experience playing straight man to Rowan Atkinson on his early tours. Curtis was frustrated in real life with being under the shadow of Atkinson, but the script obviously makes a caricature out of this by turning Atkinson into a terrible, nasty villain. But, Rowan fans beware, this is not as fun as it sounds. The unkindest touch of all was added by Rowan himself. He makes himself appear completely unfunny. He plays his backstage self without a touch of humour or subversion - one would almost swear that Rowan just really was a nasty bast*rd.

But anyone who's seen Rowan's stage shows, or Not the 9 O'Clock News, knows that Rowan can play a bastard with ironic humour, where we know he's only kidding - on stage, Rowan specialised in bastards like the vicars and schoolmasters he's played, and nobodies like Mr Bean. Here, Rowan knew it was important for the story for Rowan to not actually be funny, and the straight man to actually be funny. Plus, we need to root for the straight man (played by Jeff Golblum). Rowan's being a villain is the story's main source of conflict and dramatic tension. Without it, there isn't a story. So Rowan has, ironically, done a brave and humble thing by agreeing to play it completely straight, humourless and cold - and he shows himself a really good dramatic actor (though the experience may be disheartening for Rowan fans).

So if you're a Rowan fan, this will not be for you. If you're a Richard Curtis fan, this is a fairly simple and conventional script, but its quite a fun romantic comedy nonetheless. Emma Thomson is suitably cold and severe, and Jeff Golblum makes a good everyman. 6/10.

oddball character

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 10 April 2016]

Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is the oddball sidekick to domineering comedian Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson) in a long running two-men play. His landlady Carmen is a sex maniac. He has a bout of hay fever and falls for nurse Kate (Emma Thompson).

Jeff Goldblum is very broad in this shy awkward oddball character. It doesn't really work. I don't buy him and he's not necessarily funny. It's super quirky but it's also head-scratching. The flashbacks are hit and miss. Goldblum has a slightly off sense of humor. It doesn't really work here. Emma Thompson is lovely as usual. This is a quirky movie that isn't that funny.

King Jeff!

[Pax73 · 7/10 · 9 November 2000]

I think this comedy express well the British humor,it's soft,lovely and never rude.Jeff Goldblum ,is Dexter King,an American actor who survives with many problems in London playing in minor roles ,his life is everything but brilliant until he meets a nurse and falls in love with her..Goldblum is really good in this role and can express really well his comic side and once again shows to be a complete actor able to play different roles. Some scenes of the movie are very nice like when he's fired by the unbearable star of the theatre (Rowan Atkinson before being Mr.Bean) or when he asks about his look to a blind man.Emma Thompson is also good but nothing new..we're used to seeing her always perfect ! Even the rest of the cast is good,from the weird Dexter's landlady to the wise blind man..maybe it's not a film you'll never forget but some fun is sure!

One scene alone makes it worth seeing

[jessfink · 13 March 2001]

Now, I have to say that I went to see this based on the review of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, both of whom could not get through a sentence without breaking into laughter when discussing several key scenes. I had never seen either one of them behave that way before, so I went out--this is, what, twelve years ago?--and plunked down my $5 and proceeded to laugh my butt off for two hours. I found both the sex scene and the scene of the musical to be minor gems, and can't recommend this film highly enough, particularly if you are A) a Jeff Goldblum fan, B) an Emma Thompson fan C) a Rowan Atkinson fan, or D) a musical theatre aficionado. You will laugh about the musical theater scene for years to come, particularly if you think Andrew Lloyd Webber is the antichrist, as I do.

Good late-night entertainment

[Laitue_Gonflable · 6/10 · 21 July 2003]

I had never heard of The Tall Guy, and essentially still haven't, until it was shown on television a few years ago at about two o'clock in the morning. I was idly flicking channels and came across a scene with Jeff Goldblum and Rowan Atkinson. Thinking to myself that this was an interesting-looking cast, I stayed with it, and was later also introduced to Emma Thompson, and much to my surprise, extremely small one-line roles for Angus Deayton, Robin Driscoll and Charles Augins.

It was fun while it lasted. Rowan Atkinson has some more memorable scenes as a snide, unlikeable character, and Jeff Goldblum is actually quite fascinating in romantic, love-me mode.

Considering it was very late at night, I hope I can be forgiven for not regurgitating the plot correctly here, but I seem to remember that Goldblum played a reluctant straight-man to Atkinson in his stage show and decided to step out on his own, which eventually led to him getting the lead role in a musical production of "The Elephant Man". I'm not sure if it was all as corny as that sounds but it was roughly it. It was certainly enough fodder for a few laughs and a few smiles all around. I wouldn't mind viewing this film again while fully awake, but I'm sure it would be just as entertaining. I give this one three stars out of five.

A good bit of fun

[mjw2305 · 7/10 · 5 February 2005]

Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is an actor, who plays straight man to Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson) and is desperate to do something more with his life. With an Allergy to most things, he goes for his jabs at the hospital and finds the women of his dreams, Kate Lemmon (Emma Thompson) and there begins his quest for the girl. The adventure has many funny moments and lots of memorable scenes, as dexter loses his job, gets the girl, gets a new job, loses the girl, gets the girl, etc.

Surprisingly the humour mostly revolves around Jeff Goldblum and not Rowan Atkinson, who is basically an egotistical Ar*ehole who is there for us to hate, and although not the Rowan Atkinson we all know, he is still amusing. Emma Thompson shows us her talent for comedy also, and the results are pretty good.

Worth a Laugh 7/10

Great Modern British comedy before Four Weddings.

[Bing-18 · 7/10 · 18 May 1999]

This movie is proof that Britain was creating great comedies before Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Written by the same man responsible for Four Weddings in Richard Curtis, this is a wonderfully funny movie following the ups and downs of an American actor's career and love life in London.

But as good as the main characters played by Goldblum and Thompson are, it is the supporting cast that are the real highlight, from Goldblum's slightly deranged landlady, to the star of the stage show he acts in played by Rowan Atkinson, with an ego the size of the theatre he's playing in. All are superb and have flashes of scene stealing brilliance.

Add in a great musical piece from Suggs, and you have a greatly overlooked gem of a comedy.

What the heck am I watching...

[morphricky · 2/10 · 7 July 2012]

I suppose this movie was supposed to be funny, but most of the jokes just comes off as awkward and ridiculous. The story felt very bland and boring, so did the characters. Rowan Atkinson is a fantastic actor, yet you barely get to see him in this movie. The other actors were good as well, but there just wasn't anything interesting about their characters.

And what was the big point of this movie? Dexter and the nurse getting together? Being successful in his career? Rowan Atkinson's character ending up unhappy? Judging by the sappy music in the end, I suppose it was all of them.

Even though I am hugely interested in the story about the Elephant man, not even that part was interesting enough to ever want me to watch this movie again.

Side-splitting and sweet-natured: a sleeper gem.

[rhombus · 10/10 · 17 September 2000]

The Tall Guy is one of my all-time favorites. One's taste in comedies is a highly personal thing, and not everyone will find this movie to their taste, but if you like the inimitable flavor of British humor (as I do) and enjoy Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson, you will probably find this movie to be extremely rewarding -- that is, hilarious and, perhaps, a bit touching.

It's got its flaws, of course. There are plenty of spots where nothing really happens, the music is pretty uneven, and a few gags fall flat. There are one or two key plot points that are a little hard to follow (especially the scene with Emma Thompson on the television). And surprisingly, the last quarter or so turns a bit grim, and comes a bit close to losing sight of the whimsicality which is so much of this movie's charm.

But I'll gladly put up with all that for what this movie has to offer. It's incredibly hard to make a good comedy, and all too many comedies nowadays are either too tame, or too scatological...too cruel, or too meek...too earnest, or too smug in their irony. The Tall Guy proves that there is ground between these extremes, and what fertile ground it is! I don't know if one could make this movie in America; the entire film is permeated with a uniquely British sensibility that makes it irresistible. And in the midst of all this, Jeff Goldblum is absolutely spot-on as the bemused American; his facial expressions and reaction shots in this movie are priceless. It's a pity that so many of his recent roles have been in action movies; at his best, Goldblum is a fantastic comic actor, and this movie depends completely on his charm, wit, and expressiveness.

One of the centerpieces of the movie, by the way, is a musical based on "The Elephant Man". It's a tour-de-force of parody, brilliantly satirizing the tastelessnesses and mediocrities of modern musicals; indeed, I wish we could get to see even more of it.

I recently revisited The Tall Guy for the third time, watching it side-by-side with There's Something About Mary, and I can't begin to tell you how much the latter movie suffered by comparison. They have a few traits in common -- both movies revolve around the pursuit of a beautiful woman by a misanthropic-but-oddly-handsome male Jewish lead, both have a strong sexual element to their humor, and both feature a prominent handicapped character (a blind man in the Tall Guy, a man on crutches in Mary) whose misadventures are played for laughs. But where There's Something About Mary is coarse, mean, and obvious, The Tall Guy is witty, absurd, and completely good-natured -- and in my opinion, far superior.

I suspect there are a fair number of people who won't "get" The Tall Guy, and that's a shame. But if it sounds like it's on your wavelength, rent it if you can find it. It's an incredibly sweet and funny movie that is well worth the watching.

not that remarkable a comedy

[didi-5 · 6/10 · 10 March 2005]

'The Tall Guy' teamed several big names from British comedy together - Richard Curtis was writing, Mel Smith directing, Rowan Atkinson and Emma Thompson appearing on the screen. The nominal lead role went to American actor Jeff Goldblum.

The flimsy plot concerned a patsy (Goldblum) playing straight man to funny performer Atkinson. There's a musical version of 'The Elephant Man' (which is quite funny and has echoes of 'The Man in the Moon' segment from 'Mame'); and a hilarious sex scene between Goldblum and Thompson around an entire room and over as many props as they could cram together.

Not much of a film otherwise though, and Richard Curtis in particular went on to hit to the big-time cinema wise with such undemanding fare as 'Four Weddings', 'Notting Hill', and 'Love Actually'.

A Curiosity of a movie in which Richard Curtis and Mel Smith are visibly learning their trade.

[Paddy-49 · 3/10 · 31 December 2013]

Released in 1989 this is a "work in progress" movie for both writer Richard Curtis and Director Mel Smith. Both were to move on to much better things! That said there are weak signals of Curtis's talent later to be fully realised in "Four a Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill" and "Love Actually". But a few good lines does not a coherent movie make and the plot is shallow and the characterisation sketchy at best. Jeff Goldblum's Dexter seems bewildered by everything - not least his subservient position to comic superstar Ron Anderson played with believable malevolence by Rowan Atkinson. Emma Thompson, then just 30, looks lovely and shows her developing talent as a comic actress. The best thing in the film by some way.

Mel Smith's direction drags a bit and it is only in the very funny mock musical "Elephant" - based improbably on the "Elephant Man" - that the film comes to life. The musical is a chance for Smith to satirise the musical genre of the time with references to Les Miserables and especially to the Lloyd-Webber songbook. A Sarah Brightman lookalike does a number straight out of "Phantom" and it's very funny.

The film is quite daring with an explicit sex scene between Thompson and Goldblum that is so energetic that they destroy the former's bedroom, The relationship between the two is a forerunner of Curtis's boy/girl romances in later movies. Always a slip or three between cup and lip!

This is not a great film nor even a very good one. It is worth study as an exercise in how Richard Curtis's talent was first applied in a movie rather than television for which he was previously known (especially for Blackadder).

Tall Guy--a romp for the cast!

[richard-764 · 8/10 · 29 November 2005]

This is a very funny film. Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson are stand-outs. Rowan Atkinson is excellent as a smarmy "leading man" in the musical "Elephant!" who tries to sink Goldblum's chances in the musical.

The love scenes with Thompson and Goldblum are inspired, particularly the first time they have sex. I can't recall a film that treats the act in such a spontaneous, slapstick and totally hilarious manner as it's done here. The actor's quirky takes and interaction are most funny, and the entire film is simply a delight.

I've told many friends to seek out this movie, and those who have taken my advice have thanked me profusely for letting them know about it.

I can't recommend it too highly--for a fun night alone, or with your special someone. It'll put a smile on your face you can't wipe off.

The Tall Guy

[phubbs · 7/10 · 13 April 2019]

In the long quirky career of Jeff Goldblum there sits this 1989 British comedy that feels somewhat out of place, an oddball offering, much like the man himself really.

Directed by the late great chubby British comedian Mel Smith, this movie follows the somewhat dreary and lonely life of one Dexter King, a tall American actor living and working in London. He is single, something of a nerd, a frustrated and desperate thesp, and renting a room from his nymphomaniac landlady friend. When he goes for injections to help with his hayfever allergies he stumbles across Kate Lemon (Emma Thompson) the nurse.

Instantly becoming smitten he keeps going back trying to build the courage to ask her out. Eventually he manages this and the two hit it off. The pair enjoy a wild ride together while Dexter gets fired from his straight man job on a long-running comedy revue show to netting a role on an upcoming West End show. Despite this success complications arise and Dexter loses Kate. It then becomes his new mission to win her back.

This is a rom-com with a difference. It is of course outrageously British but because of the time it was made it is also highly cheeky, highly naughty, brilliantly witty, and actually highly intelligent. Yes the movie is somewhat smutty and rude, but it clearly has much thought behind it. Smith's direction definitely seems to be homaging Mel Brooks on some level (minus the spoofing) when taking into the account the quite brilliant mocking of your typical West End musicals. The latter half of the film is indeed a really solid take on the Andrew Lloyd Webber scene. You watch it and think they could actually make this musical on the elephant man, the stage sequences are that well done. But it's not just that, its the clever editing of the comedy, the quick flashbacks that Dexter has gelled with the top writing from Richard Curtis (another British comedy legend).

But it's all the performances that really help sell this. Rowan Atkinson plays an extreme version of himself (I'm guessing it's not what he's really like) as Ron Anderson, a highly popular comic genius who is a complete and utter bastard. This guy basically thinks he's God's gift to comedy and cannot stand to be upstaged by anyone. The disdain he holds for pretty much anyone, but especially Dexter, it's most amusing. As is his apparent arse kissing stories involving the Royal family.

Goldblum is basically Goldblum but his style fits like a glove here. Dexter is just your everyday guy, a tall guy, but an everyday guy. He is relatable, his experiences are relatable, you feel for him, you like him and want to see him succeed. Goldblum is able to engage you with his likable persona. Its actually quite surprising how good Goldblum is with comedy here, both physical and subtle. There are so many great scenes and little moments where a simple facial gesture or double take are hilarious. One highlight has to be the sequence where he ends up getting multiple travel inoculations.

Then you have Thompson as Kate. Again another entirely likable character who is also entirely relatable in every way. Just your average woman doing shift work, renting in a crappy London maisonette, looking for love? I mean really, in this film Thompson is the absolute prime example of 'the girl next door' type. Neither her or Dexter are particularly pretty people, they are both oddballs in their own ways, but love is in the eye of the beholder is it not.

There is of course a whole host of other cameos and smaller roles played by top British talents from both the big screen and British TV. Some are straight, others are quite bonkers much like Geraldine Carmen as Dexters sex obsessed landlady Carmen and Mr. Morrow the blind man who likes being blind. But none more so than Suggs of Madness fame in a cameo which is essentially a small music video. If you think along the lines of 'The Young Ones' then you're halfway there. In the middle of this film there is a musical interlude with the lovely song 'It Must Be Love' by Madness where almost everyone breaks the fourth wall (except for Dexter and Kate). It's most odd really as you'd think this would be better in the closing credits.

As with everything there are some silly bits, inescapable I'm afraid. The entire sex scene (which was quite infamous when I was a kid) is way too silly and overblown. I get the idea of it being a deliberate attempt to be overblown but it doesn't really work. For starters why on earth does she throw her duvet cover out of the window?! Could of just put it aside. Then there's all that food they keep rolling in, eww. They do it on a piano and eventually fall out of a cupboard that was closed, eh?

When Dexter goes to get his travel inoculations for his imaginary trip to Morocco (all so he can see Kate and try to ask her out), Kate has to leave for an emergency. But instead of leaving Dexter remains and allows the eccentric trainee doctor to give him the shots, much to his alarm. Why didn't he just leave? He didn't actually need the shots. During the film they mention how tall Dexter is a good number of times as if he's the only person in London to be tall. Like they've never come across a tall American before.

And in the end when Dexter must rush to the hospital whilst still in his elephant man makeup, he gets pulled over by the police. Seeing his deformed face (makeup) the police think he's really needing help so they give him a police escort. When at the hospital Dexter tears off a portion of the makeup, yet the police don't stop him? Wouldn't they be somewhat pissed that they'd just been tricked? This eventually leads to the rather daft finale where, of course, Dexter and Kate get back together in front of a crowd of patients. It's cute but really silly.

By today's standards this is a somewhat cliched film with its typical rom-com tropes. Indeed Curtis has reused many of these tropes again in his subsequent movies. That's not a bad thing as said tropes do work well but to anyone seeing this for the first time they will stick out like a sore thumb. The film is obviously incredibly British in its approach and humour which I'm sure many non-British folk would find both charming and confusing (there is an American cut for this film I believe). It's definitely a forgotten gem of British comedy and easily a forgotten gem in Goldblum's filmography too.

7/10

Minor comedic offering has some sweet moments...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 5 September 2006]

Jeff Goldblum is well-cast but over-eager playing under-appreciated actor who finally lands a leading role: he's the new star of a musical interpretation of "The Elephant Man" in an offbeat stage revue. Original, if not entirely successful or satisfying British-made comedy hurt mostly by an overabundance of eccentric supporting characters (the main character's tics are enough to take on). Goldblum tries too hard; he's over-committed about being amiable on the screen, and is finally off-putting. Emma Thompson, sweetly cast as Goldblum's love-interest, is surprisingly at home here and ends up stealing the picture. ** from ****

Great fun

[Dodger-9 · 21 August 2000]

Take an obligatory American - Jeff Goldblum - a gorgeous nurse (Emma Thompson), a script by Richard Curtis, long before going on to pen Four Weddings and a Notting Hill; get Mel Smith to direct and rubber-faced Rowan Atkinson to play the villain of the piece. The result is The Tall Guy, probably the greatest comedy of 1989.

I remember going to see it twice at the time and laughing all the way through it, amazed that British comedies could be this good.

It has a huge amount going for it with intelligence, cracking lines and some highly stylised photography by Adrian Biddle.

Curtis' semi-autobiographical script is based on his own days as a fall guy for Atkinson and the result is well worth a look.

Humor Or Humour?

[DeanNYC · 7/10 · 9 June 2008]

Both the good and the bad thing about "The Tall Guy" is that it is a British comedy with an American sense about it. That may mean that it's not terribly appealing to either people who like the British form of comedic style or those that like the American type, but it works surprisingly well!

It's an absurd tale of an American actor (Jeff Goldblum) relegated to perform as a second banana for a West End favorite (Rowan Atkinson) in a London theatrical production. His allergies force him to go to the infirmary, but his view of a nurse (Emma Thompson) gets him over his dislike of injections and begins getting weekly shots from her, just to spend a moment of pleasurable pain in her presence. After finally getting a date, and upstaging his fellow thespian, and after getting sacked for it, he then lands the lead role in a new musical, all about the life of John "The Elephant Man" Merrick! But, of course, complications arise.

The plot is helped greatly by the performances of unbelievable moments from the musical, and by a very raucous love scene with Goldblum and Thompson, one of the most violently joyous ones I've ever seen in a film! The three leads are all brilliant in their performances, especially Atkinson, who is much more Blackadder here, and not at all Mr. Bean.

OK. It might not become your favorite comedy ever, But it's very cute for what it is, and is definitely charming and wonderfully funny.

Charming, warm and very funny (ie, typical Richard Curtis)

[jmburton · 7/10 · 29 July 2003]

Interesting to see how people's opinions of this film are so polar - They either love it or hate it. I'm of the former and can't understand why others find it so bad. This is a heartwarming, clever and very funny movie. Not as commercially successful as Four Weddings or Notting Hill, but I think it's just as good.

Cute and Silly!

[Sylviastel · 7/10 · 11 April 2013]

Jeff Goldblum is a fine American actor who works in London, England at a theatre playing straight man to Rowan Atkinson, Britain's Bean and Black Adder. In this comedy written by Richard Curtis, he falls in love with a nurse played by Emma Thompson before she became famous. The film is satisfactory with a great cast like Anna Massey who played her agent and Geraldine James OBE. The film is funny at times with a silly song. There are the awkward sexual moments in the film which is outrageous and out of place at times. I enjoy Rowan Atkinson who plays a British comedian who does his show eight times a week with Goldblum as his second in command. When he gets an unlikely role as the Elephant man, he becomes funny even though the Elephant Man musical is a ridiculous idea. Still, the cast is worth watching.

Sticks it to modern musicals

[pderocco · 4/10 · 12 March 2002]

There is of course no accounting for sense of humor, and I suppose there are intelligent people who will find the entire movie funny. I managed to crack a few smiles. But for those of you who find modern musicals (that is, since about West Side Story) pretentious and self-important, this movie contains a brilliant extended sendup of the genre. We've been subjected to musical Peronism, heard the Hunchback break into song, seen the Savior Himself presented as a rock star, and put up with the ridiculous chronicle of a deaf, dumb and blind kid who "sure plays a mean pinball." Well, it was only a matter of time before they got around to the Elephant Man, in a musical called "Elephant!"--with the obligatory exclamation point.

I can't remember how any of the songs go, but then I can't remember how any of the songs go in A Chorus Line either. When this happens in a real musical, one wishes for the days of Rodgers and Hart or the Gershwins. When it's a satire, it's hysterical. If in the middle of a movie about something else, they can throw together ten minutes worth of song and dialog that mimic the style so flawlessly, the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim are knocked down at least one peg. Couldn't happen to a nicer couple of guys.

One of my all time favourites

[Suppiluliomas · 9/10 · 16 January 2003]

I wouldn't say this film is great outstanding art, but there is something about it. The way it is poking fun at the entertainment business (good to see Rowan Atkinson taking the p**s out of himself!)? The way it doesn't take the musical "Elephant" serious? Does the film take itself serious? I don't know really.

The story as such is not worth a comment. The movie is hardly more than an array of hilarious scenes wrapped in an average love story. Though the love story seems not to be the major message, I was on the edge of the seat all the way through. There are so many clever jokes in this plot, at short intervals at that. Perhaps this makes the difference.

Jeff Goldblum is doing well in this European style comedy (didn't expect him to). Emma is doing great too. The music is well chosen from the 80th Britpop charts... Only the ending goes a bit flat, but I can live with it.

Finally I can't resist to comment on the sex scene. I was rolling on the ground, couldn't stop laughing. The best of its kind, by distance.

Minor-league romantic comedy.

[Hermit C-2 · 6/10 · 16 October 1999]

This is one of those movies you wish you could like a lot more than you do, but it just never gets beyond ordinary at best. Jeff Goldblum is the title character, a Yank who sticks out like a sore thumb among the Brits. He works as the straight man for a stage comedian (played by Rowan Atkinson, and his fans will be disappointed that he's not featured more) and he falls for a blunt, independent-minded nurse (Emma Thompson) with whom he has a rocky romance.

It's not the stars' fault, but this alleged romantic comedy doesn't really deliver much romance or comedy. Fans of Emma Thompson will want to see it just for her, but even her extraordinary talent isn't going to make a silk purse out of this script. A sex scene, of sorts, does prove one thing that many of us Thompson fans have been saying all along--she IS sexy! But that's about the biggest thrill you will get from this film. It's good for a few chuckles, but no guffaws.

went straight from opening night to oblivion, and deserved it

[gandalf-25 · 2/10 · 10 August 1999]

I heard Emma Thompson talking about this movie on a talk show several years ago and eagerly awaited it at the box office. After a year or so, I forgot all about it until I saw a copy of it on sale at the video store for five dollars. Thinking that I couldn't go wrong for five bucks, I purchased it and took it to a friends to view it. All of us were fans of Jeff Goldbloom, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson. As the closing credits rolled by, one of my friends commented that "this movie is so bad that it must have been made by the government". Everyone present was in agreement. If you want to buy my copy, let me know.

A Forgotten Gem

[dafoat · 9/10 · 29 August 2019]

I own a copy of this on VHS, and it's basically the only reason I haven't thrown out my VCR. I watched this for the first time in college, and it's had a special place in my heart ever since. I'm so frustrated that it's not available to stream anywhere. Honestly, if you told people, "You know, the guy who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral wrote a movie where Emma Thompson and Jeff Goldblum have sex on top of a piano" - who wouldn't want to see that?

Deliberately ridiculous?

[gcd70 · 5/10 · 20 September 2007]

Very silly film about an out of work actor who resurrects his career on the stage and finds true love with the nurse who gives him his hay fever injections.

Emma Thompson is quite likable as the nurse in question, while Jeff Goldblum is okay as "The Tall Guy". Unfortunately Rowan Atkinson deprives us of seeing his real comic genius in full flight.

Smith's film is very ridiculous - but that was probably the idea - and the comedy rather patchy, and often fairly stupid. Hilarity eventuates though, in the form of an unusual sex scene and a riotous sequence involving a nutty psychiatrist and a series of four needles.

Friday, July 3, 1992 - Video

Elephant!

[DarthBill · 7 June 2004]

Jeff Goldblum plays a gawky, downtrodden American actor living in England who plays straight man to an obnoxious, unpleasant comedian. Rowan Atkinson is the obnoxious, unpleasant comedian who torments Jeff. Emma Thompson is a pretty, deadpan nurse who gives Jeff's life hope and meaning when he falls in love with her and vice versa. After parting ways with Atkinson, Jeff lands the lead role in "Elephant!", a musical version of "The Elephant Man", in which he plays, of course, the Elephant Man. Jeff's eternal happiness is nearly thwarted by a cute co-star who threatens his romance with Emma Thompson. Will Jeff come out on top? Of course he does. This isn't "The Fly" after all.

Too long but still very funny, with Jeff well cast as the title character. Atkinson is a great antagonist and Emma Thompson has her moments of inspired deadpan humor. And of course, the actual "Elephant" sequences are a riot.

"Vengeance shall BE MINE!" Jeff as Dexter King, AKA: The Tall Guy.