X
- 1986
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
- 1986
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
Summary An actor and a chef fathom a plot to fix a horse race and attempt at capitalizing it, while striving to tackle two of the hitmen responsible for the scheme.
Directed By: Blake Edwards
Written By: Blake Edwards
- 1986
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
- 1986
- PG
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
A Fine Mess
35
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Summary An actor and a chef fathom a plot to fix a horse race and attempt at capitalizing it, while striving to tackle two of the hitmen responsible for the scheme.
Directed By: Blake Edwards
Written By: Blake Edwards
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
35
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
64% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
35
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
36% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
64% Negative
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
The gags in A Fine Mess aren't particularly inspired (there's a lot
of eye-gouging and groin-kicking), but Edwards' stylistic assurance often has
enabled him to do a lot more with a lot less. He's off his game in this one
--lingering a fraction of a second too long over gags that don't deserve
it, cutting up the action into two or three shots when a single image would
have expressed the idea more clearly--and the results are pretty grim. [8 Aug 1986, p.AC]
It’s not really a bad movie. In some ways, it’s a better directed farce than the current hits “Back to School” or “Legal Eagles.” But it’s erratic, and often weightless or uncentered; the pieces keep flying apart.
And in the leads, Danson and Mandel won't make anyone forget Laurel and Hardy, or Namath and Gifford, for that matter. Not that there's any time for them to develop any chemistry -- Edwards is always revving up the rock 'n' roll and launching into another slapstick car chase. Which makes "A Fine Mess" the best argument yet for the 55 mph speed limit.
Unless you're a constipated horse or a lover of truly tasteless cinema, A Fine Mess is one you don't want to wander into. [8 Aug 1986, p.D15]
Mr. Edwards, who on happier occasions gave us the Pink Panther movies, piles on the pileups until you may suspect that he is trying to distract the audience from the absence of a diverting story or dialogue.
Blake Edward’s obsession with the slapstick comedy genre has produced some all-time comedy classics and some best-forgotten clinkers. A Fine Mess belongs in the latter category.
The biggest disappointment is Danson, who created an exquisite satire on the American superstud in TV's Cheers; his extension of the role here, as Sex Machine Spence, is a downright embarrassment.
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