Tim Makes Angela Watch: The Frisco Kid (1979)

 

The Frisco Kid (1979) Starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. Directed by Robert Aldrich. Written by Michael Elias and Frank Shaw

TIM SAYS:

A very funny movie that seeds its humor with great characterizations and real emotion. In 1850, a Polish rabbi is sent to oversee the Jewish community in San Francisco. Landing by ship in Philadelphia, he has quite the oddysey treking across the nation, much of it in the company of a bank robber who becomes his loyal friend. The unlikely friendship the two form is the backbone of the movie, with the clever script and strong performances making us believe that they could indeed become friends.

What impresses me the most is that Avram (played by Gene Wilder) is the source of most of the movie's humor, but the laughs are generated in such a way that we never think of him as merely a clown. That he is a thoroughly decent and kindhearted man and a man of extreme faith is always obvious to us throughout the film. We laugh with the film without ever laughing at anyone.

ANGELA SAYS:

At first this movie seemed to have an odd combination of stars and setting. I don't think of either Harrison Ford or Gene Wilder as western hero types, but they both worked in this film. Ford played a thief with a heart of gold (in the prostitute with the heart of gold vein that is common in many westerns). At first Wilder seemed to be playing the obligatory gullible tinhorn that gets fooled by every schemer and conman within fifty miles. But it soon becomes apparent that Rabbi Avram isn't really that foolish; he just prefers to look for the good in people first.

At the beginning of the movie we see the Rabbinical council deciding who to send to San Francisco and Avram isn't at the bottom of their list; he isn't even on the list. But the head of the council overrules them and sends Avram anyway. One wonders if he just wanted to get this problem child out of his hair (Avram graduated 87th out of 88 students) or if he saw something in Avram. Because the one adjective to describe Rabbi Avram is persistence. He IS going to get to San Francisco; despite thieves who steal his money, no sense of direction whatsoever, and a “partner” who robs a bank along the way. Avram WILL get there. No matter the problems; he just keeps putting one foot in front of the other.

Tommy (Ford's character) feels sorry for Avram; afraid he would wind up back east or wandering in circles forever so he takes the Rabbi under his wing and guides him across the American prairie. We quickly come to see that Tommy isn't the hardened robber he tries to be because he refuses to leave Avram along the way, despite some provocation. Ford and Wilder are great as the unlikely friends, buddy movie duo and play well off of each other.

Each has a crisis of faith toward the end of the movie. Tommy learns that friendship is worth the problems it can create and the outlaw path isn't really what he wants. Avram learns that life can give you situations where there is no good solution, and it takes more than training to be a man of God.

The character development and friendship was believable and the religious people (Jewish and Amish primarily) were given the respect they deserve for their beliefs and not shown as kooks, simpletons or superstitious; something lacking in many modern movies. Although I would have preferred a movie with much cleaner language (initially some was justified to depict the gap between the two characters; in my opinion, it went too far and became unnecessary); I loved it.

Angela Makes Tim Watch: The Thrill of It All (1963)

 

The Thrill of It All. Released in 1963. Starring Doris Day & James Garner. Directed by Norman Jewison. Written by Carl Reiner from a story by Larry Gelbart

ANGELA SAYS:

I've seen this movie before and remember thinking it was funny, and this re-watching did not disappoint. Day was convincing as a harried housewife and mother and the children were typically precocious and entertaining.

 

The movie begins with Andy, who is about five, talking to his father on the telephone and attempting to relay messages to his mother, setting up a series of missed phone calls and messages that anyone under thirty will not quite understand. In today's era of cell phones and texting, most of what is funny in this movie would just not have happened today. The beginning of the movie also centers around Beverly Boyer's consideration of the household finances. It would seem that the family is financially secure; able to afford a very nice house, live in housekeeper and convertible. But Boyer is frequently referring to how much things cost (even if it is strange to hear her talk about $1 an hour for a babysitter).

 

She seems to be sincerely worried about finances, which causes her to take on the role of marketing spokesperson for Happy Soap. In this role she initially bombs dramatically, but her sincerity and freshness encourage the company to sign her for a year at $80,000. This amount would be a good salary today so it must have been a small fortune in the 1960s, making it very difficult to turn down. Unfortunately, the shooting schedule for the television, print and billboard ads means she is frequently away from home, which causes her husband's frustration level to gradually increase until it boils over into a poorly planned strategy to make his wife jealous.

 

The antics mount throughout the movie as one crazy event results in another.  One of my favorite scenes is the city maintenance men clearing out a mound of soap suds that is higher than the two story house where the Boyers live (you have to watch it to believe it). The movie’s main plot is resolved with a hilarious sequence where a first time mother is giving birth in the back of a limousine while her husband is frantically running up and down a street full of cars while stuck in a traffic jam.  Although, Arlene Francis, who plays the first time mother, just looks too old to be believable. She is fifty-five when the movie is filmed and just can't pull off a women in her late thirties to early forties. Fortunately, this minor detail doesn't spoil the fun of the film.

Overall, this is a fun movie with a lot of classic screwball moments. Well worth seeing, even if you are my husband and a fan of comic books, war movies and westerns.

 

 

 

TIM SAYS: I had seen Doris Day and James Garner in Move Over, Darling—the other movie in which the two co-starred as wife and husband—some years ago and enjoyed it. Both are talented comedic actors and both are enormously likeable, so I’m not really surprised I enjoyed this one as well. Day and Garner play off each other very well.

 

And the plot is a fun one. Angela picked up quicker than me that Beverly (Day’s character) is shown to be a bit money-conscious, which provides a great motivation for an otherwise happy stay-at-home mom to want to become a star of a soap commercial. From there, the movie effectively builds one gag on top of another. Angela noted that the opening scene is one that would have been spoiled by cell phones and texting. This is actually true throughout the movie—confused or missed messages play a role in the plot on several other occasions.

 

I do like that Beverly is never portrayed as being star-struck or indifferent to her husband and kids. The amount of time her job takes sneaks up on her and the tension between the Boyers is believable enough to engage us emotionally even as the dialogue and performances keep it all funny.

 

So thumbs up to Angela for “making” me watch this one.