- 1991movierewind
Episode #38: Delirious
560Listen to Episode 38 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - In Delirious, John Candy plays Jack Gable, the head writer for the soap opera “Beyond Our Dreams.” His days are spent dealing with the drama of the cast and the producers that want to take the show in a different direction. One night, he receives a head injury and wakes up to find that he has been magically transported into the fictional town of the show. Even though he’s now a character, he still has the ability to change the world around him by using his typewriter.
Screenplay by Lawrence J. Cohen and Fred Freeman; Directed by Tom Mankiewicz, and released on August 9, 1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
After a very long sequence involving a cable guy, the story actually gets going when John Candy meets Muriel Hemmingway and we get to see how she will be getting the brunt of the comedic physical abuse throughout.
Including our second instance we've seen on the podcast of being on the side of the road with a broken down car and having mud splashed on her.
There are a ton of characters, some played by actors with significant soap opera experience.
The general conceit of the movie was interesting, but it didn't go far enough.
We wanted more fantasy, but instead he's just good at horse riding (until he's not) and good at piano. That's not all that exciting or funny.
There are some fun moments, though.
A lot of the story comes from the dynamics between characters and how they sometimes say things that John Candy's character is clearly manipulating.
Most of the comedy didn't land for us, but we did both enjoy the progression of Dylan Baker's character and the side effects from his medication.
Every time he appeared on screen, something new was wrong and it was great to see how far they would take it.
We also discussed the cameos from uncredited stars Robert Wagner
And Margot Kidder making a brief appearance after a 1990 car accident.
Awards Talk: I'm afraid there are none to speak of this time around.
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we don't have any true crime segment to talk about once again, so we jump right into music.
Here are your Billboard 100 Top 5 songs for the week of August 10, 1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You - Bryan Adams - it's been a while since we've added the video to the show notes, so here you are.
P.A.S.S.I.O.N. - Rhythm Syndicate
Every heartbeat - Amy Grant
Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince - Why is this not #1 for most of the year?
It Ain’t Over Until Its Over - Lenny Kravitz
Moving on to TV, here is what you may have been watching that day
Continuing our trend of trying to find lesser known shows, we talked about "Fantastic Facts" - http://www.tvtango.com/series/fantastic_facts
And also "Prime Time Pets" - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407435/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 2 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 1 1/2 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - It held our attention, but we kept waiting for it to be funny. Still, Nikki said she would. Jon would prefer to dive deeper into some of the other lesser known John Candy back catalog or maybe watch Eddie Murphy's Delirious instead. And if you want a better 1991 movie involving soap opera stuff, there's "Soapdish."
If you want to watch Delirious, as of this recording in October 2021, it’s available on Pluto TV, Hoopla, Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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