Review of My Blue Heaven (1990) by Jesse O — 20 Dec 2016

Talking about people I miss seeing in movies, Rick Moranis is one of those that I also miss. I saw Honey, I Shrunk the Kids about 10,000 times when I was a little kid. But, at the very least in Moranis' case, he had a self-imposed hiatus from acting in order to raise his children after his wife passed away.

So, as much as I miss him, he gets a lot of respect from me for, really, giving away a career that made him a millionaire in order to do what was right for his family. It takes a real man to do that, so I've got nothing but respect for him.

And, really, I've always loved Steve Martin as well, so this was a movie that I really needed to see. Well, not really needed to see. Nobody ever really needs to see a movie, but I definitely wanted to, just to see what these two could do together.

You know, the weird thing about this movie, is that it's based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. If you're familiar with this, then you know that Wiseguy was developed into GoodFellas, a masterpiece of crime cinema and just cinema in general.

And both movies were released in 1990, within a month of each other actually, so that must have been quite something to see. The only difference is that this movie, obviously, is far more comical than GoodFellas.

And it was actually written by Pileggi's wife. As far as the movie is concerned, I can't say that it was a great comedy. I don't think it even comes close to that, but I was certainly more than entertained by this.

I'd say it was a solid movie at best and, really, nothing more than that. Rick Moranis and Steve Martin have some real good chemistry and that's what really carries the movie past its relatively basic set-up.

Yes, it features an FBI agent having to deal with a former mob member, who has been put in the witness protection program, and his antics as he prepares to testify against his former boss at a trial. These antics involve stealing cars and other misdemeanors.

But, really, the film is more about how Vinnie, Steve Martin, helps Barney, Moranis, come out of his shell after his wife left him for a baseball player. It's certainly a movie that you have seen before and, will more likely, see again.

There's nothing really that unique about it, but that's not really the point of it all. Though if you are looking for something that's new and fresh, this certainly won't be it. If you're looking for something that's easy to digest and will entertain you, but not enthrall you, then this will do just fine.

I think the main problem is the fact is that, honestly, time hasn't been kind to the film. Well, time has certainly been kinder to this film than others of its ilk. But some of the jokes in the film do fall flat.

Maybe they also fell flat back in the time, so that's also very possible. But, I don't know, some of them really did miss the mark. By and large, however, the movie did keep entertained thanks to Moranis and Martin's chemistry.

Is it the best comedy you will ever see? No, of course not. I enjoyed it, even if I wouldn't fully recommend it. It's not a movie that you really need to go out of your way to see. It's just if you have it available on any of your chosen streaming services, then watch it if you want something silly.

You don't need to buy it or anything like that. Solid movie, so I can't really complain much.