MIXED NUTS A film review by Ben Hoffman Copyright 1994 Ben Hoffman
It is Christmas when many are so saddened by their lot in life that they would like to end it all by suicide but that will not happen, of course, if the screenplay is written by Nora and Delia Ephron and a cast of stars who go all out to be their zaniest. So, relax. There is lots in this lightweight film that will make you laugh.
Philip (Steve Martin) runs his own suicide prevention hotline service in Venice, California, a hip little town near the beach just south of Santa Monica. Everything is going wrong tonight for him and his dedicated bunch of volunteers who answer the phones. For starters, the landlord (Garry Shandling), is is about to evict them. Catherine O'Shaughnessey (Rita Wilson), has a secret love for Philip; she is also afraid of ending up an old maid.
Running away with the movie in one of her funniest roles is Madeline Kahn playing Blanche Mutchnik, who picks on everyone, the callers and the volunteers. Everything happens to her, too, including getting stuck in an elevator in a most hilarious scene only Kahn could pull off.
Also in the cast are Chris (Liev Schreiber), a lonely transvestite who does a great dance with Philip; Gracie (Juliette Lewis in as far away as one can get from her Natural Born Killers killer role); Felix (Anthony Paglia), with whom she has an argument on Christmas Eve; Rob Klein as a miserable tenant and his three dogs: Dr. Kinsky (Rob Reiner) a veterinarian ... and more.
While the film does have one funny scene after another, it just quite misses out on being a "must see," but go see it anyway if only for Kahn and Martin.
Directed by Nora Ephron.
2.5 Bytes 4 Bytes = Absolutely must see. 3 Bytes = Too good to be missed. 2 Bytes = So so. 1 Byte = Save your money.
Ben Hoffman
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