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Show 'Hysterical' "HYSTERICAL" By Dr. Allen Hasson Make no mistake, we are in the midst of a movie trend. Here are some indicators: "Tootsie" and "My Favorite Year" were big hits in 1982. Recent releases in 1983 included "Screwballs," "Spring Break," "Wacko," "O'Hara's Wife," "Monty Python's the Meaning of Life,'" and "Yellowbeard." Current releases include "Man with Two Brains," "Porky's II," "Stroker Ace," "The Survivors," "Trading Places," "Smorgasboard," "Hysterical," and "Cheech and Chong's Still Smokin'". Soon to be released are National Lampoon's "Vacation," "Easy Money," "Cheech & Chong as the Cor-sican Cor-sican Brothers," "Mr. Mom." "Kid-co," "Kid-co," "Curse of the Pink Panther," "Private School," "Going Berserk," "Smokey and the Bandit III," "Crackers," "Get Crazy," "Spinal Tap," "Romantic Comedy," and "Strange Brew." You guessed it. This is the year of the comedy. Even some of the more "serious" films blatantly smack of humor, including "Superman III," "Return of the Jedi," "War Games" and "Spacehunter." We, for one, agree that what the world needs is a good laugh. But as a noted actor said on his deathbed, dying dy-ing is easier than doing comedy. The Continued on page 10 Continued from page 5 proof is, of the 14 recent and current comedies mentioned, only two, "The Survivors" and "Trading Places," are skillyfully done; only "Survivors" can stand in company with "Tootsie" and "My Favorite Year." Comedy is like 3-D: you hardly ever see a good one. New World Pictures, the people who brought you "Screwballs," have unleashed "Hysterical," now groveling grovel-ing at the theatre near you. This one is a ghost story. The writer (Bill Hudson) of a bestselling lesbian novel, "Mouth to Mouth," journeys to an Oregon coastal town ("Cape Hellview, Population: Strange"), to enjoy the good life. He hopes to write "the Great American Novel, without sex, nazis or running." (That quote was the only funny part. ) He and other looneys, including two scientists (Mark and Brett Hudson) tangle with the ghost of a murdered lighthouse keeper. The ghost, "Capt. Howdy" (Richard Kiel, "Jaws" in James Bond films) axes folks, turning them into zombies. The Hudsons' incoherent script neither justifies nor clarifies what happens in the end. (or the middle, mid-dle, or the beginning.) What can you say about a tasteless movie that spoofs "Jaws," "Raiders," "Poltergeist," "The Exorcist" (complete (com-plete with pea soup), "Chariots of Fire," racism, classical music, Tom Snyder, Johnny Carson, romantic musicals, vaudeville, horror films and town-with-a-terrible-secret films? Less than subtle is the casting of Murray Hamilton who played the greedy mayor in "Jaws" as the greedy mayor in "Hysterical," who is trying to keep the town's ghost from hurting the tourist trade. Cute Cindy Pickett is grotesquely out of place as a serious romantic interest, as are Charlie Callas, Keenan Wynn and Clint Walker in bit parts. Those who choose this type of comedy com-edy may enjoy jokes like lisping coroner cor-oner whose hands are bloody even when he dresses formally, a sanitarium called the "Home for the Terminally Strange," and a boat cruise called "Bob's Big Bouy." The Hudsons vainly try to recreate some of Abbott & Costello's lesser accomplishments, ac-complishments, but fail to go beyond what we did in high school drama class. We kidded aroung by imitating, in a crazy way, current well-known . films and performers. But we seldom if ever progressed to the artistry of a Laurel or a Hardy, the satirical wizardry wizar-dry of our idol Stan Freberg, or the far-out far-out craziness of a Steve Martin. Neither do the Hudsons. Not even |