Funny Farm (1988)

THIS ISN'T FUNNY AT ALL............ 6.0 is very nice to give this film Nothing about it is Funny I haven't laughed until I read some of these comments that I totally agree with....It would have been more likable if they went in another direction with him stealing her manuscript. CHEVY CHASE THIS WAS GOD AWFUL. I mean really this is bad I've Seen bad films this is worst than an Adam Sandler film.. Chevy Chase has done some good movies and TV shows this is something I wouldn't watch EVER these Scenes are horrible The dog running away them going into the river Sheriff with no driver License. Them Blaming to the Town.. However My friend is enjoying this I'm a good friend to sit threw this id rather have dental surgery with no Novocain.

The film wonderfully skews the convention of the innocent country rubes moving to the big city and being overwhelmed by its meanness and craziness. Here, it's the cityfolk who move wide-eyed to the country - and are amazed to find there a roll call of crazies, misanthropes, and just plain wierdos. Does this view of country life have any basis in reality? Probably not, but then the film isn't really trying to be a satire but instead a pure lunatic comic fantasy. And it gives us a rich array of supporting characters - from the town sheriff who hasn't yet passed his driving test and so must ride around in cabs, to the owner of an antiques store whose merchandise are all personal. All these characters are priceless, and the film just keeps coming up with more and more of them - until it has created this pleasantly bizarre and warped Otherworld, of a kind that only comedy can truly provide.Best of all is the way in which Chase and Smith react to all of this and try to make some sense of it. I very clearly say "Chase and Smith" because the film belongs equally to both of them. It had to be billed as a Chevy Chase Comedy, of course, since he's the big star here, but this is no star trip; from the very first, the wife is made an equal partner in the trials and the laughs, and it's the way the two go through their new life together that provides much of the comedy. It also helps take the edge off of the usual Chevy Chase persona: in Funny Farm he's neither glib and disinterested (as in the Fletch movies) nor over the top silly (like in the Vacation movies). He comes across instead like a normal, personable guy who just finds himself caught in insane circumstances.Finally, the climactic sequence of the film is absolutely priceless - one of the most brilliantly sustained comic set-pieces you'll see in any movie, of any era. Funny Farm is the type of movie which gives you a great time and leaves you with a big, dopey grin on your face after it's all over. Trust me, even if you don't normally like Chevy Chase, you'll love Funny Farm.

Chevy Chase is normally associated with the Caddyshack, Fletch and Vacation series meaning that his one-shot movies mostly fall by the wayside. Films like Spies Like Us, Nothing But Trouble and Funny Farm have went largely unseen since the advent of DVD in 1997. Neither of these movies have received widescreen releases and have been out of print for years. I was beginning to wonder what Warner had against giving them definitive releases until I discovered an HD master of Funny Farm on the PlayStation Network.I saw it only once, when I was about 9, and remembered very little. If you're a fan of Clark Griswold then Andy Farmer isn't too far removed. Andy is a sports journalist who retires from the big city to the Redbud, Vermont hoping to enjoy and idyllic, peaceful life and finally write the great, American novel (The Big Heist). When he gets there he and his wife discover that almost everyone and everything is weirder than the last. There are giant snakes in their pond, a dead body buried in their garden, a Sheriff who can't drive, a crazy mailman and a town who basically hate them. And top of all this Andy has severe writer's block while his wife manages to churn out a successful children's novel without really trying.With careful, measured direction from George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy, The Sting) Funny Farm, based on a novel by Jay Cronley, manages to be a little classier than Chase's usual fare. This makes the lack of a home video version even more puzzling. It has never been released on DVD in the UK, and the 1989 VHS is long gone. If you have access to the PlayStation Network then go for it. I have a funny feeling that Funny Farm and Spies Like Us will probably be released as a Warner Blu Ray Double Feature in the near future, but nothing has been announced so far.Don't let the mistreatment of this film put you off, it lives up to it's title and is the perfect vehicle for Chevy Chase and his goofy humour.

FUNNY FARM tells the story of a husband and wife, who are fed up with big city hassles. Chevy Chase plays Andy Farmer, who chooses to quit his job and move to a country home in Vermont so that he can write a novel.The first hour of the movie is almost a parody of Chevy's brilliant role as Clark W. Griswald,in the original "Vacation" film. There are some very funny scenes involving movie day, a fishing trip, a dog, and a snake. However, there is not enough good quality writing in the script to make FUNNY FARM particularly worthwhile or memorable.Credit must be given to Chevy for doing his best. But it is a shame that in FUNNY FARM he didn't have a better script. The movie's first half has its moments without question. However, the last half-hour is void of any humorous material as the film tries to take on a more serious tone. A Christmas holiday theme is brought into the story without any build up and the ending is much too pat as the townspeople forgive Chevy for all of the unintentional trouble he caused, (for the most part.) Chevy and his wife decide to stay in the country.Considering the talents of director George Roy Hill (i.e The Sting, The Great Waldo Pepper--director) this is a major disappointment. What made Chevy's role so wonderful in "Vacation," was the superb comic chemistry between the characters and a fun story all the way through. FUNNY FARM'S writers just seem to say, "Well, Chevy was SOOOOO good in "Vacation," that we will give him some traditional bit jokes that worked great in that movie, and take on a "feel good" Christmas holiday storyline at the end, when the jokes are finished.The main problem with FUNNY FARM is that there is not a strong enough story line with quality humor to sustain viewer interest throughout the film. FUNNY FARM starts funny at the premise, but falls apart by the conclusion.