IT'S ABOUT MONEY, BUT IT'S NOT ALL THAT FUNNY.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Show of hands a raising of hands to indicate judgment; as, the vote was taken by a show of hands. See also: Show , please: Everyone who's been waiting since 1997's ``Vegas Vacation'' for Chevy Chase Chevy Chase (chĕv`ē), town (1990 pop. 8,559), Montgomery co., W central Md., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; founded as a village, inc. 1914. to headline a movie comedy, please raise your hand. Thank you, Mrs. Chase. Anybody else? No? Well, want it or not, Chase is back on the big screen in ``Funny Money,'' a farce about as devoid of wit as its title. Chase stars as Henry Perkins Henry Farnham Perkins (1877-1956) was an American zoologist and eugenicist. External link
Ap-peel-ing occurrence Real special seasoning arrives in the form of a retro brown briefcase containing $5 million in cash. Henry picks it up during a subway mix-up. He thinks it's his own fake banana-filled workbag work·bag n. A bag to hold implements needed for work or material, such as needlework, that one is working on. Noun 1. workbag - container for holding implements and materials for work (especially for sewing) . Of course, it belongs to a Romanian mobster (``Funny Money's'' most effective accomplishment is almost convincing us that its Bucharest locations are New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Hoboken). More of the same kind of rarely seen briefcases pop up containing police evidence and sex toys. It's that clever a story. Henry rightly figures that he'll get killed when the bad guys track him down, so he and Carol may as well skip town with the loot. But before they can rush to the airport, a series of delays in the form of crooked cops, overzealous cops, jealous friends, party-happy friends, jive-talking cabbies and oversexed o·ver·sexed adj. Having or showing an excessive sexual appetite or interest in sex. business colleagues descend on their home. Henry has to make up increasingly preposterous lies and draw more people into his conspiracy while nervous Carol just keeps drinking. By the time the gangsters show up, so many folks are confused about what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. that they just feel like shooting them all. By this point, most audience members will be on the crooks' side. From stage to screen Based on a British stage play by Ray Cooney, ``Funny Money'' may work on stage if the proper come-and-go rhythms and antic energy are established. It is much, much harder to make such farce mechanics work in the film medium. (The last time I recall it being done successfully was in Peter Bogdanovich's 1992 adaptation of Michael Frayn's ``Noises Off.'') It takes painstaking direction and a crack ensemble to pull it off. A smart silly script, rather than one built from century-old premises and stereotypes, helps too. ``Money'' director Leslie Greif is no Bogdanovich; his main experience comes from executive producing such television gems as ``Gene Simmons: Family Jewels'' and ``Walker, Texas Ranger Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television western/police dramatic series, created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It aired on CBS for eight seasons, from April 21 1993 to May 19 2001, and was broadcast in over 100 countries. .'' He has absolutely no sense of cinematic space and pacing, and I don't think that's just because he was working in the Romanian time zone. The cast is uniformly pretty terrible, too, playing what are already broad situations over the top. The one exception to this approach is Chase. He seems more interested in this project than in anything else he's done for the last quarter century or so, but he still appears to be sleepwalking sleepwalking /sleep·walk·ing/ (slep´wawk?ing) somnambulism. sleep·walk·ing n. The act of walking or performing another activity associated with wakefulness while asleep or in a sleeplike state. through half the proceedings. It looks like 10 years of rest haven't been enough to recharge the once-brilliant comedian's creative batteries. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com FUNNY MONEY - One star (Not rated: language, mild violence) Starring: Chevy Chase, Penelope Ann Miller, Armand Assante, Robert Loggia loggia Hall, gallery, or porch open to the air on one or more sides. It evolved in the Mediterranean region as an open sitting room with protection from the sun. It is often a roofed, arcaded open gallery on an upper story overlooking a court, though it can also be a , Christopher McDonald. Director: Leslie Greif. Running time: 1 hr. 37 min. Playing: One Colorado, Pasadena; Mann 8, Agoura Hills; Beverly Center 13, West Hollywood; Westpark 8, Irvine. In a nutshell: Dumb farce, poorly acted, about a briefcase full of money. Any given episode of ``Deal or No Deal'' is more suspenseful and funnier. |
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