MY
FAVORITE YEAR (1982)
Starring
Peter O’Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna,
Bill Macy, Laine Kazan, Lou Jacobi, Cameron Mitchell, George Wyner,
Selma Diamond. Directed by Richard Benjamin. (92 min)
ON
BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Mr. Pawsđ¸
It
probably wasn’t much of a stretch for Peter O’Toole to play a
hard-drinking, womanizing movie star. After all, he reportedly spent
half of his career completely hammered. So while Alan Swann
may indeed be based on Errol Flynn, it’s highly likely O’Toole
drew a bit from personal experience. Maybe that’s why his
performance in My Favorite Year is one of his best...and
funniest.
A
sleeper hit in 1982, My Favorite Year is the kind of
old-fashioned farce that wasn’t really being made anymore. Mark
Linn-Baker narrates as Benjy Stone, a naive young writer for the
fictional variety show, Comedy Cavalcade. It’s 1954, when TV
was performed live, which has everybody concerned over upcoming guest
star Alan Swann’s reliability. Since Stone idolizes Swann – as
well as being the low man on the totem pole – he’s charged with
keeping the man sober and out of trouble until showtime.
 |
| "He's clean." |
Naturally,
that doesn’t happen, otherwise no movie. My Favorite Year is
a fast & funny mixture of broad farce and clever humor with a
wonderful eye for period detail. Though he certainly rises to the
farcical aspects of the film, O’Toole is obviously well-aware that
even the most hopeless drunks have moments of clarity. Sure,
Swann’s frequent stupors are amusing – sometimes hilarious –
but it’s far from a one-note performance. How he reacts to Benjy’s
oddball family, as well as his nervousness when attempting to visit
his own daughter, suggests a little remorse over his reputation and
behavior.
But
O’Toole isn’t the whole show. He’s backed by a crack supporting
cast of character actors who more-than-rise to the occasion,
particularly Joseph Bologna as brash TV host “King” Kaiser and
Bill Macy as perpetually shouting head-writer Sy Benson. Between this
film and Perfect Strangers, Mark Linn-Baker forged a nice
little career as a beleaguered straight-man. Just as O’Toole is
naturally adept at playing a drunk, Linn-Baker seems to know his own
character quite well.
The
film occasionally threatens to turn serious, but those moments are
fleeting. My Favorite Year sets a congenial tone right away
and seldom wavers, culminating in a madcap climax with shades of
classic Mel Brooks (perhaps no accident, since he’s an uncredited
executive producer). An affectionate look at a bygone era (with a
star who probably lived some of it), this is a hard movie not to
like.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.
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