 "Widower than what?" | 2009-09-26 |
| - Reviewed By la_solinas |
Going home to see your family is daunting enough, but in a Draculean castle with a werewolf, a dead transvestite, and a new will that makes you a walking target?
That's the basic plot behind "Haunted Honeymoon," an amusing and vaguely Mel Brooksian comedy movie about a man with a crumbling mind, a new fiancee, and a really abnormal family. The plot is pretty much a mess -- full of holes and dangling plot threads -- but the brilliant comic actors and hilarious scripting ("Oh, it's so COMPLICATED!") magically keep it from collapsing.
Larry Abbot (Gene Wilder) and Vickie Pearle (Gilda Radner) are actors in the hit show Manhattan Mystery Theater, and newly engaged. Unfortunately Larry's engagement has sparked off a psychological meltdown, and his uncle Dr. Paul Abbot decides there is only one way to cure him: scare him more. So he sends off Larry and Vickie to the old gothic estate where Larry grew up, to stay with his family.
Well, they're not quite the Addams Family. Actually, they're way worse -- most of them are broke, one is a transvestite, one is a creepy magician, and one is a creepier lawyer. One may also be a werewolf. The only decent one seems to be kindly, filthy-rich Aunt Kate (Dom Deluise).
And dear ol' Aunt Kate has left all her money to Larry (unless he expires before she does, in which case everyone else will get a share). And soon some very bizarre happenings are cropping up around the old mansion -- including a murdered werewolf, a cobra, and a dead body that pops up in Larry's bed. Is Larry going insane, or is a member of his family trying to make him that way... for filthy lucre?
I get the feeling that "Haunted Honeymoon" was made up on the fly -- it's basically a disintegrating mass of subplots that are introduced and then left to flap in the breeze. Sylvia, Monty's vaguely vampiric, glowy-eyed hypnosis, the dog's hatred of Susan, and other seemingly important plot elements turn out to be red herrings... and I'm not sure what's going on with the guy in the werewolf suit.
So basically the actual plot has more holes than a ripped-up sieve. Fortunately everything OTHER than the plot works. The presence of so many brilliant comic actors keeps it from completely falling apart -- there's plenty of funny dialogue ("Whoever you are, may God strike you DEAD! Now let's have coffee and dessert in the music room...") and humorous comic scenarios (the scene in which Larry sexily cuddles a dead body, mistaking it for Vicki). And it's one of my life's goals to greet a group of people with the line, "I know that one of you is a werewolf."
And those actors do a brilliant job -- though this was the last movie Gilda Radner ever did (and she looks painfully emaciated), she and Wilder are both hilarious and have plenty of loving chemistry. Dom Deluise has plenty of fun as the eccentric, dramatic and rotund Aunt Kate, and has plenty of great lines as well ("... and when the police dragged him out of the ladies' room at Saks Fifth Avenue, THAT was fun too!").
Admittedly not all the actors are great -- Jo Ross, Jim Carter and Eve Ferret give merely adequate performances. But there are some great lesser performances from Jonathan Pryce, Ann Way, and especially Bryan Pringle as a butler with a dual personality... or an evil twin ("I just found Cousin Francis in my bed!" "Was he wearing a dress?" "Yes, he was!" "Just ask him to leave, sir. Tell him you have a headache").
"Haunted Honeymoon" lacks something vital -- a plot that doesn't totally unravel. If it weren't filled with awe-inspiringly good comic actors and dialogue, it would be a disaster. As it is, it's an amusing fluff piece. |
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 "Haunted Honeymoon A Hoot!" | 2009-06-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A260YG4P9QIV9M |
| I had seen Haunted Honeymoon many years ago when it first came out. I have always been a Dom DeLuise,Gilda Radner and Gene Wilder fan. This movie brought them all together in one FUN movie. Sometimes, an escape from reality is a good thing and Dom DeLouise in drag throughout most of the movie is just that. (He actually looked like a teacher I had in elementary school) Don't expect a deep message, there isn't one in this movie. It's just fun to watch. |
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| "Funny, that's all one can say!" | 2009-04-22 |
| - Reviewed By b244 |
Enjoyed it immensely. Very ingenious and compelling. The acting was spot on and I loved the line, "You drunken sot!" That little old lady and her drunken husband, as supporting cast, was hilarious.
Scaring Gene Wilder to death in order to cure his fear, can there be a funnier set up for a movie? Anything with Gene Wilder is worth watching, and this movie is no different.
This is a definite recommend. |
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 "Not As Good As Young Frankenstein" | 2008-12-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1P2X10MLYSKDS |
| Gene Wilder is very funny,so is Dom Deluise,and The late,great Gilda Radner,but this film wastes their talents.Gene wrote this film,and it was Supposed to be A spoof of old time Bob Hope/Jack Benny Haunted House Pictures.There are A few funny moments,and A decent supporting cast including Johnathan Pryce as Gene's cousin,and Paul Smith(Bluto in Popeye the Movie)as Gene's psychiatrist Uncle. What really hurts The film,is that it,doesn't make sense at times.A shame really;Gene,Gilda,And Dom,in A movie together should have been hilarious.This is not nearly as funny as Gene's other horror spoof classic"Young Frankenstein",I recommend it,over this diappointing comedy misfire. |
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| "Hauntingly Hillarious!" | 2008-05-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1604TGS7XQONS |
| I LOVE THIS MOVIE! Everyone I show it to loves this movie. All ages. If you love Gene Wilder, you can't miss. |
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| "Haunted Honeymoon is a CLASSIC" | 2008-02-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2U8EC6GA48E1N |
| This movie is a true classic, if you love Gene Wilder you should own this movie. It's so funny, something the whole family can enjoy. |
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