Review of My Favorite Year (1982) by Melissa J — 22 Dec 2009

I laugh my head off every time I've seen this film, and I get a lump in my throat at the end every time too. This is as close to perfect as a film comedy gets, in my opinion. Peter O'Toole is way over-qualified for his role as Alan Swann, but rather than phoning in his performance he puts so much detail into every scene that I still see nuances I hadn't noticed before. Mark Linn-Baker is wonderfully manic as the terrified junior writer trying to babysit his matinee idol hero. Jessica Harper plays the thankless role of the only non-funny person on the set of a live comedy show with strength, sympathy and sweetness. Joseph Bologna, in a thinly disguised portrayal of Sid Caesar, rants, bullies, taunts, and out-divas every showbiz cliche' there is. Lainie Kazan plays way over the top as the ultimate Jewish mother. Anne De Salvo and Basil Hoffman play great writing sidekicks to Linn-Baker and Macy; she does all the talking for the two of them. Cameron Mitchell as the union boss/gangster takes a stereotype and plays it way over the top. Broadway's Adolphe Green, as the producer of the show, has a ball with a rare screen appearance. Lou Jacobi, with less than ten minutes screen time, leaves an indelible impression as the relative you love to hate in the memorable Dinner-At-Mom's scene ("That's a lovely dress." "I only wore it once."). Selma Diamond gets one of her greatest laughs of her career in a confrontation with O'Toole in a bathroom. Tony DiBenedetto, as the sympathetic limo driver, is the friend every down-on-your-luck person should have.

Flawlessly directed by Richard Benjamin, produced by Mel Brooks--with a story loosely based on his early days as the junior writer on Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," when a very young Brooks had to chaperone Errol Flynn around New York and keep him sober and on time to rehearsals--this is a valentine to the early days of television and a bittersweet tribute to cinematic heroes. Behind the hilarity, the message that there is a hero within all of us if we are brave enough to show it comes shining through.

After writing this, I'll have to watch it again.