Movie – Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

In the seven years since the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith came out, it has become best remembered as the one Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were in together before they broke up their respective relationships to start dating.  This is unfortunate because it is an entertaining film that should be remembered for what is on the screen, not for what happened after it was released.  So what is on the screen?  A good combination of action and comedy, with the added bonus of some great chemistry between two of the most sexually appealing people on the planet.

Movie – Raising Arizona (1987)

I first saw Raising Arizona when it came to HBO back in the late 1980s.  I laughed quite a bit and remember thinking those Coen Brothers had a good future as makers of comedic movies.  I had no idea they had already done a dramatic crime movie prior to this one.  This film was the first time I had ever heard of them.  I had seen Nicolas Cage before, but this was also the first time I ever saw Holly Hunter in a movie.  As it turns out, it was her first starring role.  Both she and Cage do great jobs playing stylized characters with very distinctive vocal patterns – something that would become a Coen Brothers trademark.  In future movies both would go on to win Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.

Movie – What’s Up, Doc? (1972)

The movie What’s Up, Doc? is a love letter to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.  Co-writer/director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show) sets this film in San Francisco and makes inventive use of a number of famous locations in the city, most of them during an extended and very funny chase scene involving dozens of characters.  This film touches on, or even reproduces, many of the events from classic screwball comedies.  But by making the movie in the 1970s Bogdanovich was able to get away with some jokes that would not have been allowed back in the 1930s.

Movie – Seven Chances (1925)

Seven Chances is not often mentioned first when people are naming the greatest Buster Keaton films of all time, but it is one of my favorites.  It contains a constant sequence of gags capped off by one of the most insane and funniest foot chases in movie history.  Anyone who has seen a Keaton movie knows that he uses his physicality and athletic ability to do any number of crazy stunts.  While this movie doesn’t have some of his wildest, like hanging off a waterfall or having a house fall on him, it does have him dodging a virtual avalanche.

Movies with Funny Chases

“Son, you got a panty on yore head.” – Hayseed in Pickup, Raising Arizona

Way back in 1998 IMDB first created message boards.  They didn’t look like they do today.  They were divided into “Men’s Room” and “Ladies Lounge” and the idea was to give each gender a place to discuss movies.  The real reason for the separation was likely the fact that Amazon had just bought IMDB and they wanted to link to gender-specific products in each message board.

I mention this because the very first post ever made in the Men’s Room was “What is the best car chase in movies?”  All the usual suspects were named.  Since then the same question has been asked several thousand more times (and that’s probably a conservative estimate.)

While I’m not ruling out doing a car chase category in the future, I figured I’d put a little different twist on the subject and recommend some movies that have funny chase scenes in them.

The movies I am going to write about involve a man looking for a bride, a mix up over some suitcases, a bickering husband and wife in a van, and a man just looking to pick up some Huggies.

As I post the reviews, I will come back and add links here for those posts:

Seven Chances (1925)
What's Up, Doc? (1972)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

On to the reviews…