Funny Farm (1988)

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith Osborne star in this 1988 comedy based on the book. This tells of sports writer, Andy Farmer (Chase) and his wife, Elizabeth (Osborne) who give up city life and move to the country in small, Vermont town, Red Bud. Soon, things go terribly wrong for them when meeting odd, new people, getting into mishaps and finding unexpected things on their property. Andy also tries writing a novel and when Elizabeth decides to write too, they drift apart. I watched this growing up and always liked it. Chase is great as usual, he & Madolyn have good chemistry and the late, Elmer Bernstein's score is great as well. I recommend this good 80's comedy.

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.

Well I thought I had seen Chevy Chase's worst film until I saw this. This is BY FAR his worst movie. My all time favorite is Vacation with Christmas Vacation and European Vacation tied for second. I didn't especially like Vegas Vacation but even that seems like a classic compared to this garbage. Not crazy about the Fletch movies but they are better than this. I know Roger Ebert gave this dull movie 3 and 1/2 stars but I wonder if we were watching the same movie.My least favorite before this was Three Amigos but that is better than Funny Farm. Caddy Shack was a good movie but Chase's role was trounced by Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray. Chase almost ruined that movie if you ask me, and he was the weakest comedian of the 4. When Chase is too laid back like in Caddysahck and Funny Farm, he is not funny.Talk about milking a character to death. The Saturday Night Live persona Chase created would only stretch so far. I would rather watch paint dry than ever watch this dud of a movie again.

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.