FUNNY FARM (1988) **1/2 "All male writers, incidentally, no matter how broke or otherwise objectionable, have pretty wives. Somebody should look into this."--Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake. Nah, no one should, they'd just find it depressing. They'd find that not only is the quotation true but that writers, the more clever ones however "successful," also make their own hours, spend more time with their kids, drink in the morning when they feel like it, speak in a condescending manner to and of local dignitaries and captains of industry, initiate interesting conversations with post office and grocery store functionaries during routine errands, and ultimately develop severe crease lines from smiles. Is Chevy Chase such a writer, then? Well, he's a sportswriter, so it's all the same there's just a little less of it. George Roy Hill directs, and Elmer Bernstein provides music, in a mod sort of way, which to them is a bit jaunty and jazzy. Chevy is understated by his standards, which works nicely because it gives Madolyn Smith room to develop a character that we feel sorry for. One foundation of the premise is very, very funny, but it wouldn't have worked without the special touches that Chevy (look how he dresses) and Madolyn (do these writer's wives never stop working? Is that a key? Were they looking for someone high-maintenance?) put into their characters. I want to read his stories on the local softball league. Writers can also be petty and vindictive, and get personal at inappropriate intervals, and that's the only thing that makes many of them worth reading.
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