Rodney meets Wally
Added 9/9/2009
Crude. Crass. Lowbrow. These words describe both the film & its title character. A real life fan of shows like "Jerry Springer", "Meet Wally Sparks" was obviously subject matter Rodney Dangerfield was anxious to base a comedy on. Just by watching the outrageously insane montage of the opening credits, you know immediately that this is not a "sophisticated" comedy...what would you expect from mining humor from the crazy world of "tabloid" talk shows, in which anything can--and usually does--happen? Rodney is, of course, obnoxious T.V. personality Wally Sparks, who is pressured by network top brass (Burt Reynolds) to "clean up his act or else". In desperation, he tries to arrange an interview with a distinguished Southern Governor (David Ogden Stiers, who was doing his share of silly comedies around that time with "Doc Hollywood" & "Jungle 2 Jungle"), who despises Sparks. Through plot twists--and Sparks' own deception--Sparks becomes an almost permanent houseguest, systematically wrecking the mansion & pushing the flustered Governor to his limits. Then Sparks stumbles upon a scandal which could destroy the Governor's career & personal life. Amidst all the loud craziness is a genteel message: Which is more important--your career or your children?
The film is chock full of cameos from all kinds of celebrities. Debbie Mazar is wily & typically bewitching as Sparks' assistant, who becomes his devil's advocate. Cindy Williams has some amusing moments as the Governor's somewhat dippy wife. Reynolds, unfortunately, doesn't have enough screen time to make an impact. Some of the comedy is heavyhanded & obvious: Sparks accidentally emasculating a male statue; Sparks "loosening up" Williams & her bridge-playing partners with Long Island Iced-teas; and Reynolds' bumbling network assistant trying--and failing--to expose Sparks' shenanigans, most of his attempts looking like a poor man's Inspector Clouseau. Most of the time, the film tries to get laughs from having a room full of people run around & scream. What you can rely on is Rodney himself. He tosses out some pretty good--and racy R-rated--one-liners like the pro he is. He seems to be having much fun during the surrounding chaos. Certainly, MWS is not Rodney's best, but not his worst either. If you want crude belly laughs in the tradition of "Caddyshack" or "Easy Money", then this one's for you.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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'Meet Wally Sparks' (Lion Gate) Running time: 105 minutes
Added 10/6/2008
In my humble opinion, an excellent off-the-wall outrageously funny movie about an all-too zany talk show host Wally Sparks (Rodney Dangerfield). One thing I liked about this flick was that every character had their share of good lines. Things go nuts when Sparks rides into the Governor's mansion riding a horse - then gets injured, having to recover in a guest room at the mansion. Then, everything really gets out of hand when the 'Wally Sparks Show' gets broadcasted from the mansion as the whole place gets transformed into a media circus. Couple of the others that have a vital role that show up here are Wally's sexy assistant Sandy Gallo (Debi Mazar), Governor Floyd Preston (David Ogden Stiers) - his wife Emily (Cindy Williams, still cute after all these years following Laverne & Shirley) and the deceiving porn actress Lola Laura (Cindy Ambuehl). Mama-mia! They rarely come along any hotter than this one. Highly recommended.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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[Three out of Four] Raunchy at times, but Rodney's third best film
Added 9/8/2006
Real good performances from Dangerfield,
Reynolds, Ogden Stiers, et, al. Some of
Rodney's obvious right wing views come
through (For more of this, go to the
scene in Back to School when he and
History Teacher, the late Sam Kineson
have there exchange about the p****y
wimp Truman who wouldn't let Mac Arthur
'go in there and blow them Commie Bas****ds
out!" Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
Here, Reynolds plays Rodney's Producer;
Rodney is obnoxious talk show host who's
rating are dropping - his main target is
Ogden Stiers who plays Southern Governor.
If you haven't been brainwashed by 'Poli-
tical Stupidity', then you will almost die
laughing wacthing Rodney ride a DRUNK
Horse through a ballroom, with a drink
in one hand and a Confederate Battle Flag
(Starry Cross) in the other. HilArious!
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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It's not "Back to School" or "Caddyshack", but it will work
Added 7/3/2006
This movie is not quite as good as Caddyshack or Back To School, but it's still pretty funny... at least as funny as Easy Money. Something you have to know going into a Rodney Dangerfield movie is that you cannot expect the most cerebral movie you've ever seen. With that in mind, if you are looking for a Rodney Dangerfield movie where he does the whole silly one-liner thing, and you've already seen the other 3 movies I've mentioned then this movie will hit the spot.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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This movie has a lot of good performances, especially by the actors. I have to admit that this movie has special meaning for me, however, because of Rodney Dangerfield. In my front yard I have a tree that looks EXACTLY like Rodney Dangerfield, I mean EXACTLY. Just the other day a motorist driving by yelled "Hey, your tree looks like Rodney Dangerfield!" I'm hoping to put up a website with a picture of this tree soon so keep your eyes peeled.Also, be warned: this DVD is in the overrated widescreen format. I was one of the very few supporters of the tallscreen format that enjoyed a mild popularity in mid-late April 1996 (only 3 films were shot in this unusual aspect ratio-"The Tall Guy," "Tall Marge," and "Big & Tall"). Needless to say, on my Tall-Screen Television set (60 inches high by 5 inches wide), I have to put up with enormous black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Nonetheless, this movie tells a great story. I would recommend ordering this item from Amazon (at least for us fat cats who own mailboxes).
3 out of 15 people found this helpful.
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Rodney meets Wally
Added 9/9/2009
Crude. Crass. Lowbrow. These words describe both the film & its title character. A real life fan of shows like "Jerry Springer", "Meet Wally Sparks" was obviously subject matter Rodney Dangerfield was anxious to base a comedy on. Just by watching the outrageously insane montage of the opening credits, you know immediately that this is not a "sophisticated" comedy...what would you expect from mining humor from the crazy world of "tabloid" talk shows, in which anything can--and usually does--happen? Rodney is, of course, obnoxious T.V. personality Wally Sparks, who is pressured by network top brass (Burt Reynolds) to "clean up his act or else". In desperation, he tries to arrange an interview with a distinguished Southern Governor (David Ogden Stiers, who was doing his share of silly comedies around that time with "Doc Hollywood" & "Jungle 2 Jungle"), who despises Sparks. Through plot twists--and Sparks' own deception--Sparks becomes an almost permanent houseguest, systematically wrecking the mansion & pushing the flustered Governor to his limits. Then Sparks stumbles upon a scandal which could destroy the Governor's career & personal life. Amidst all the loud craziness is a genteel message: Which is more important--your career or your children?
The film is chock full of cameos from all kinds of celebrities. Debbie Mazar is wily & typically bewitching as Sparks' assistant, who becomes his devil's advocate. Cindy Williams has some amusing moments as the Governor's somewhat dippy wife. Reynolds, unfortunately, doesn't have enough screen time to make an impact. Some of the comedy is heavyhanded & obvious: Sparks accidentally emasculating a male statue; Sparks "loosening up" Williams & her bridge-playing partners with Long Island Iced-teas; and Reynolds' bumbling network assistant trying--and failing--to expose Sparks' shenanigans, most of his attempts looking like a poor man's Inspector Clouseau. Most of the time, the film tries to get laughs from having a room full of people run around & scream. What you can rely on is Rodney himself. He tosses out some pretty good--and racy R-rated--one-liners like the pro he is. He seems to be having much fun during the surrounding chaos. Certainly, MWS is not Rodney's best, but not his worst either. If you want crude belly laughs in the tradition of "Caddyshack" or "Easy Money", then this one's for you.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
'Meet Wally Sparks' (Lion Gate) Running time: 105 minutes
Added 10/6/2008
In my humble opinion, an excellent off-the-wall outrageously funny movie about an all-too zany talk show host Wally Sparks (Rodney Dangerfield). One thing I liked about this flick was that every character had their share of good lines. Things go nuts when Sparks rides into the Governor's mansion riding a horse - then gets injured, having to recover in a guest room at the mansion. Then, everything really gets out of hand when the 'Wally Sparks Show' gets broadcasted from the mansion as the whole place gets transformed into a media circus. Couple of the others that have a vital role that show up here are Wally's sexy assistant Sandy Gallo (Debi Mazar), Governor Floyd Preston (David Ogden Stiers) - his wife Emily (Cindy Williams, still cute after all these years following Laverne & Shirley) and the deceiving porn actress Lola Laura (Cindy Ambuehl). Mama-mia! They rarely come along any hotter than this one. Highly recommended.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
[Three out of Four] Raunchy at times, but Rodney's third best film
Added 9/8/2006
Real good performances from Dangerfield,
Reynolds, Ogden Stiers, et, al. Some of
Rodney's obvious right wing views come
through (For more of this, go to the
scene in Back to School when he and
History Teacher, the late Sam Kineson
have there exchange about the p****y
wimp Truman who wouldn't let Mac Arthur
'go in there and blow them Commie Bas****ds
out!" Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
Here, Reynolds plays Rodney's Producer;
Rodney is obnoxious talk show host who's
rating are dropping - his main target is
Ogden Stiers who plays Southern Governor.
If you haven't been brainwashed by 'Poli-
tical Stupidity', then you will almost die
laughing wacthing Rodney ride a DRUNK
Horse through a ballroom, with a drink
in one hand and a Confederate Battle Flag
(Starry Cross) in the other. HilArious!
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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