Movies-TV

Nice look at early TV "Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar...

PETER O'TOOLE is the nominal star of this brisk farce about an alcoholic action hero (based on Errol Flynn, in case anyone doubts it), given the fictitious name of Alan Swann. When he is assigned to appear in a live TV show as guest star, his reputation for booze gets him assigned to the care of Benjy Stone (MARK LINN-BAKER), a Brooklyn kid whose job it is to protect O'Toole from further exploits with the bottle so that he can perform as scheduled before a live audience.That's basically the plot, derived from a true-life situation involving Errol Flynn's appearance on, presumably, Sid Caesar's Saturday night live show, "Your Show of Shows". In the film, we have Joseph BOLOGNA in the Sid Caeasar role, an egotistical bully in over-sized suits who struts around bellowing orders to everyone. And once the tale leaves the studio to the home of Benjy Stone's abode in Brooklyn, the comedy gets into even higher gear for laughter--thanks largely to LAINIE KAZAN as Benjy's Jewish mother.Well paced, stacked with laughs, and played to the hilt by an ingratiating cast of comic professionals. Richard Benjamin can take a bow for directing this with flourish. Peter O'Toole gives one of his best, wickedly funny performances as the matinée idol who finds it hard to separate his adventurous screen self from real life. He performs his various pratfalls and stunts (or someone else does) with apparent ease. While O'Toole is great, his co-star, Mark Linn-Baker comes close to stealing several scenes with comic finesse.Trivia note: That's GLORIA STUART as the lady at the Stork Club that O'Toole dances with. She played "old Rose" in TITANIC.A barrel of laughs, well worth viewing--and nostalgic for those of us who remember Sid Caesar's Saturday night antics.

IF YOU WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED...

...BUY this DVD immediately!
Peter O'Toole plays a better "drunk" than Dudley Moore's "Arthur," for starters. But there is Heart and SOUL to this film--a delightful homage to the days of live TV...and to ANYONE who has had a childhood idol...if YOU fall into this category, you'll be instantly warmed to the main characters, and their relatives..(!)--all played by veteran TV, stage, and film veterans. A wonderful way to spend an evening! Period.

doesn't get much better than this!!!

if you haven't seen this film? rent or buy it!! now!! it's one of my all-time favorite comedies. there are many films out there that have quotable lines. this is one of the best. every single person in this film has great dialogue with impeccable timing. it's the last great role of peter o'toole. (when is he going to get the oscar he so richly deserves?) enjoy.
ps - the only reason i'm not giving this dvd 5 stars is because it needs more behind the scences bells and whistles.

I only comment when I can say this "If you have a heart it will be touched"

The other reviewers have said it all.
One of them said that he gets choked up every time he watches it. So do I.
In fact I got choked up reading his comments. When I was in 7th grade, (so many years ago) I saw Sid Caesar in a movie called "Tars and Spars" In it he did a sketch called "Wings over Bermerschnitzen" I stayed for a second show and came back the next night and memorized it. Now 57 years later I can still do it. Needless to say every Saturday I was glued to the TV watching "Your Show of Shows" Even though I was at an age when I should have been out chasing around. So when I see a truly outstanding movie based on these people, I am doubly touched. I have heard that Dick Benjamin is an extremely kind and gentle person.
That must be true as Benjy tells Alan, "nobody's that good an actor without the courage in himself" Well to Dick Benjamin I say, "Nobody's that good a director without the heart in himself"As you watch this movie,
IF YOU HAVE A HEART IT WILL BE TOUCHED!!!!!!

If I had to be stranded on an island...

Everyone's played that game - "If you were stranded on a desert island, with a working DVD player, what 10 movies would you take?" My Favorite Year would be in My Top 5! This movie never fails to make me laugh out loud, and so many lines have come back to me in situations I find myself in. My husband and I have made this one of our best Friday night date movies. Anyone who has not seen this yet is missing out on a comedy that captures the spirit of television during its infancy, Peter O'Toole's in all his comedic glory, and one of the greatest mother-son relationships I've ever seen. Get this today - I promise you won't be disappointed!

A Laugh Riot Must See!!!!

I can only agree with all the other reviewers that this is one of the funniest films I've ever seen. O'Toole is unforgettable as Alan Swann, the movie star petrified of live TV, giving another one of his larger than life performances.

The rest of the supporting case is equally superb. Joseph Bologna, Selma Diamond, and Mark Lin-Baker provide solid foils for O'Toole's barbs.

The scene where Linn-Baker brings O'Toole to his house for dinner is one of the funniest scenes in the picture. Lou Jacobi and Lainie Kazan are superb as the Jewish mother and uncle, with Jacobi managing to embarrass everybody when he asks O'Toole, "You know that girl you shtupped ..." after promising not to, "Whaddya think, I was born in Minsky-Pinsky?" This rates as one of the funniest sit down meal scenes in all of filmdom. (See also the one in "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills").

Linn-Baker's admiration turns to contempt after O'Toole refuses to do the show when he learns it is live TV and being broadcast to millions of viewers with no second "takes". O'Toole gets drunk, but all's well that ends well, and he springs onto the stage where a real fight between King Kaiser and gangsters, which the audience thinks is staged, and saves the day.

Buy this film and view it countless times. You'll never tire of it!!!

"Oh God, this makes me happy!"

I can't add much more than the other 5-star reviews here. This is the only film I ever took 8 different people to see on 8 different occasions when it was released. Genuinely funny, an abundance of memorable lines and one great scene after another make this a classic. There isn't a wasted moment in this, and the performances are letter-perfect. Of course with Mel Brooks working behind the scenes here - drawn from his own experiences with Sid Caesar - it doesn't get any more accurate than this.

The only gripe I have is the one I've been whining about for years: When will this finally be released on DVD!?!

A true gem in comedy movies

"In 1954, television was live and comedy was king". An era before my time maybe, but still a memorable time to bring us back to from 1982 (the year this movie came out). Veteran "movie star" Peter O'Toole plays fictional veteran "movie star" Alan Swann who has to appear on a live comedy series for the first time. Mark Linn Baker (in his first role, before he would be famous as Larry on Perfect Strangers) as the young writer on the staff who has to keep him sober til show night. Other cast members include Bill Macy as the head writer, Joe Bologna as the star of series, Cameron Mitchell as a gangster who Bologna spoofs in one of his skits, Lani Kazan as Baker's mother (she would reprise the role in a Broadway musical remake in the 90s) and Lou Jacobi as his (Baker's) uncle. An extremely funny movie all around. Especially the climax scene where O'Toole and Bologna beat up the gangster's henchmen in front of the studio audience AND the television audience.

An extraordinary effort by Peter O'Toole, proving his excellence as an actor not only in drama, but in comedy.

Since the start of his career, Peter O'Toole has provided the world with memmorable dramatic roles. In a few of these roles Peter O'Toole has had moments of sheer comedic energy. However, these moments fade as Lawrence fires a gun for the first time or as the king mourns the loss of Becket. Yet in "My Favorite Year", Peter O'Toole is given a comedian's chance and has truly glimmered with pure hilariousness.

Summoning Up Your Inner Flynn

Peter O'Toole, who's been known to take an occasional drink himself, probably had a lot of experience to bring to the part of Alan Swann, swashbuckling movie star of bygone years who's gone to seed. O'Toole has a tax problem and he's agreed to do an appearance on a top rated television comedy show of the Fifties to satisfy Uncle Sam's lien on his future income and to avoid deportation. But by now he's a boozy shadow of his former self and the star of the show Joseph Bologna assigns his most junior writer, Mark Linn-Baker to keep him in reasonable condition to perform.As it turns out it means bringing O'Toole into his world which is Jewish Brooklyn of the Fifties, something I'm somewhat familiar with myself. Baker and O'Toole become a marvelous comedy duo themselves here. I'm surprised they did not team to do a whole lot more films than this. O'Toole's performance succeeds on a lot of levels. Yes it's pretty funny, sidesplittingly funny at times. But there's also an element of sadness in it as well. You see in film clips the man O'Toole once was and now only commands attention by making a public spectacle of himself at times. I knew someone like that in my life, one who hardly had any kind of a career, but also HAD to be the center of attention at all times and usually did it by getting riotously drunk and acting abominably dumb. He had a certain charm and could get away with it, a lot though not the way O'Toole does.Based on Mel Brooks's recollections of having to work with Errol Flynn, the film lets you know it's Flynn were remembering. Note the almost step by step choreographed duel recreation of Flynn and Basil Rathbone's final duel from The Adventures of Robin Hood. Joseph Bologna is great as the egotistical comedy star and the Brooklyn vignette has a great performance by Lainie Kazan as Baker's most Jewish mother and Lou Jacobi as his most Jewish uncle.Still it's what goes on and what's between O'Toole and Baker that makes My Favorite Year an all time comedy classic.

Drinkin and Humpin with Many

Spoilers herein.I especially appreciate films that fold reality - that somehow build parallel layers of reality and illusion.Here is the oldest formula for folding, but done better than anywhere I know.On the first layer, we have the reality of O'Toole, a once-energetic actor brought low (and nearly killed) by drinkin and humpin with buddies Richard Harris and Richard Burton. What a sight that competition must have been. Then we have him on another level as our character Swann who himself is an actor confused with the roles he plays.Fresh from a similar but more nuanced role in `Stunt Man,' O'Toole shifts among these three layers with aplomb. He is extraordinary, but the situation would not have been, were it not for all the little multilayered embellishments:-Real life Brooks (the man behind the production) appears as a character, Sy Benson, the guy who writes for the stage no less.-Another character, Kaiser, is a portrayal of real life Caesarso far, still pretty ordinary but then:-the writer and the actor write a skit that parodies a `real' man, taking the actor/real levelling in a new dimension. And of course that `real' man is a film stereotype himself.That's pretty sophisticated structure. Its not highly cinematic like deVito would have done (`Smoochy'), instead arranged as the sort of skits depicted in the skits. And it does reference Proust (Swann) while using his layering devices, just as Brooks had begun the previous year with `Elephant Man.'You get a summary of what this is all about in the first scene, this project is figuratively sex with multiple, simultaneous partners.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 4: Worth watching.

"Our humble Chapeau"?

A Priceless gem of a film recounting th early days of LIVE Television. A great cast including Bill Macy and Bologna and O,Toole really deliver the correct nuances of what it was like writing a weekly comedy series( Your Show of Shows).

A visit to Brooklyn is justly hysterical with Lanie Kazan and Lou Jacobi.

Thanks to Richard Benjamin who directed with skill and love>

Double the Lads bet for me you Toad..

Pretty strong words from a man who does not know the show he signed on for is a Live Broadcast and in front of an audiance. Movie Starhas been, Alan Swan is about to get a second chance. Not at his carrier,But at Life, Benji Stone is about to help him. He is going to escort his Film Idol and learn Hero,s are Human to. It is a wonderfullife lesson for both and a ton of laughs for us. Joe Bologna as King Kiser T.V.Big time star. is pricelessTaking on the mob boss CarlRocheck with a less than flattering sketch on his show titled Boss Highjack.When they get together in Kings office with their attorneys, Its a classic scene. O'Toole is at his finest. And once again supporting cast is top notch. Watch for the line of his in the Ladys Restroom when he is told Hey this is for Ladys only.He turns and says This is to Ma but every now and again I have to run a little water thru it.Priceless Film work. That should not be missed.Highly Recomended. Praise indeed..

An Unexpected Good Time!

I had never heard of this film until today. In fact, I had no intention of watching this movie at all. Peter O'Toole was being honored at the Savannah Film Festival and they had scheduled to show The Lion in Winter. That being one of my favorite flicks I immediately bought a ticket. Due to some kind of problem though they changed it and showed this instead. Well, all I can say is I'm glad I stayed for this movie! It was so funny and very witty. Peter O'Toole's delivery is unabelievable especially since I don't usually associate his name with this kind of comedy. It was hysterical! A lot of those in the theatre were college students like me and hadn't seen the movie either and everyone was rolling with laughter. I highly recommend this movie for a great time and an excellent performance from O'Toole!

One of the great thespianic comedies...

Actor Richard Benjamin made his directorial debut with this movie farce, based on actual events when a somewhat drunkenly Errol Flynn guest starred on TV's "Your Show of Shows" in the 1950's. Farce as a comedic form is unbelievably difficult to pull off on stage, yet alone in a film. Timing is everything, and if you are a student of comedy, MY FAVORITE YEAR is a must-see.Among the great lines of dialogue in the script (penned by Dennis Palumbo and Norman Steinberg) are the memorable line by Swann: "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!" As well as his memorable encounter in the ladies room with the show's costume designer who tells Swann the room "is for ladies only!" To which Swann unzips his fly, and answers "So's this mum, but every now and then I have to run a little water through it."The production design is theatrically pleasant, creating a mystical world within the television studios, while making use of real New York locations, transforming the then 1981 (the year the film was made) streets into the 1950's.The other great "thespianic" comedies? The Tall Guy (with Jeff Goldblum) Waiting For Guffman (by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy) The Producers (Mel Brooks) and The Impostors (Stanley Tucci)

A surprising little (dare I say it?) O'Toole vehicle (I said it)

Unaware of Mel Brooks's uncredited contribution and of most of the obvious parallels to real life, I began watching this and was eventually surprised I had heard so little of this minor nugget. While it is actually true that the humour here isn't too original, the execution is so irresistibly sure all can be forgiven. Even certain emotional, life lesson -like moments didn't bother me, for they have been done with utmost class.The film flows flawlessly through its duration, and hardly anything seems out of place; there's no forced (I stress that word) emotionality to be found. Those things alone are something you don't often get. It has a splendid look to it, with the bright colours and the design, the costumes contributing to the wonderfully old-fashioned and fresh feel it has (how convenient).The script is full of almost-priceless moments and witty one-liners and otherwise hilarious dialogue. I would imagine the film is of high re-watch value. It is by no means without its share of problems, though. As said, there's little that's not been done elsewhere, but the finished film works so well as a whole I can but say that all the praise is deserved. Needless to say, while the rest of the cast delivers, it is O'Toole's magnificently (un)steady and hilarious performance that lifts this one to heights.

Funny Movie Set in 1950s New York

My Favorite Year is a comedy set in New York in 1954. The plot is based on Errol Flynn's appearance on Sid Caesar's Show of Shows. Mel Brooks was a young writer on the show and had to chaperon Flynn and keep him out of trouble. In this movie Flynn becomes Allan Swann (Peter O'Toole) and Benji Stone (Mark Linn Baker) plays Brooks. Swann is a famous hell raiser, women find him irresistible but he ends every evening drunk. Stone hero-worships Swann but fails to make him behave. Most of the comedy comes from Swann's amusing and outrageous antics. The cast are funny, wise-cracking New Yorkers. Joe Bologna is particularly good as the star of the show. O'Toole is brilliant and lovable. This was Richard Benjamin's first and probably finest film as a director. I saw My Favorite Year with a cinema audience in 1982, who thought it was hilarious. It loses a lot on TV, but it's still enjoyable.

I love this movie!

Peter O'Toole is my favorite actor of all time. His performance in this
film is, by far, the saving grace of the movie. I cannot think of another actor who could have played the part with such tenacity and vigor.


The central story revolves around a young, green, comedy writer who is given charge of his alcoholic, trouble-prone movie star idol -- while said movie star is making an appearance on the comedy writer's live television show. The movie star's series of escapades that occur during this time make for hilarious comedy.


Set in the 1950's, My Favorite Year is a true "period piece". It's a joy to see the costumes, set designs, and mannerisms of 1950s America. The supporting cast has a great 50s look and feel about them as well.


While this movie has some serious flaws, the opening scene with O'Toole for one example, Jessica Harper's performance for another, it is a good
film and one that leaves you feeling uplifted in the end.

If you love comedy, and you love O'Toole, then My Favorite Year is right
down your alley.

A fast-paced look into early TV.

This film is likely the best view in the world of early television. Though most of the audience didn't know it at the time, the large part of TV performers were second-rate, washed-up, or suffered with substance abuse. Surprisingly, many of them had great success in this new format.The cast all fit the time period excellently. Peter O'Toole is perfectly cast as the aging drunkard who wishes for his former glory and Mark Linn-Baker is good as the ambitious young writer. The whole film is brimming with energy and cleverness, more than it's share, but kept together by director Richard Benjamin.7.1 out of 10

O'Toole at his comedic best!!

Most of my friends do not get as excited as I about this picture, but I have watched it at least 10 times and will watch it another 10 times.

It takes me back to the 50's when our movie heroes were so real and so important to us. We dreamed about these heroes and at times pretended to be them.

Is it believable---I do not know, but I do know that this movie, My Favorite Year, has become one of my favorite movies.