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Haunted Honeymoon

Haunted Honeymoon

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: fab film!
Review: ...i think it is one of the bset films made in recent years, the actors and plot are next to none, just the feel of the film being a spoof of chillers such as the spiral staircase is great, aunt kate plays the best part Dom does this part really well, also the set is wonderfully dramatic and liveing in england i have actually been to the mantion used in the film, Knebworth House, witch is in Hertfordshire, if ever you are in the UK you must go there
its good to know there are other haunted honeymoon fans out here...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weak with a few funny Moments
Review: Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner have made some excellent movies together. Gilda appeared in 'Blazing Saddles' as an extra. She made 'Hanky Panky' (which typically does not rate well, but which I like) and 'The Woman in Red' with Gene. Unfortunately this movie would be her last original movie. Unfortunate because it was her last, and it was far from her best.

The movie takes place in 1930 or 1940 something. Gene and Gilda have a hit radio program. They are about to get married, and as we watch the movie, the plot moves to Gene's family home, where there is a cast of characters as weird as any that have ever been in a comedy or horror movie. Gene's Aunt Kate (played in drag by Dom DeLuise) has changed her will to leave everything to Gene. Unfortunately, someone overhears Aunt Kate discussing the change in wills, and that someone decides it's time to take action.

As the movie proceeds there are a variety of slipups and bumbling police, several 'comedic' vignettes, ultimately leading to the unmasking of the killer and the end of the movie.

This movie has several problems. The first problem is that the comedic plot is unbelievable. We knew the plot of 'Young Frankenstein' was unbelievable, but the one-liners and periodic slapstick were funny because the characters tried hard to appear to play it straight. In 'Haunted Honeymoon' the characters are going for the laughs, and it's usually not funny. The plot is so thin that it makes tissue paper look thick, and the humor appears too forced.

The next problem is that the humor often isn't humorous. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Gene is sitting atop of the butler so that Gene is matched with the butler's legs. As the butler (knocked unconscious in a struggle with Gene) moves his legs while waking up, Gene does a variety of things that are funny. Don't get your hopes up because that scene is the funniest of the movie.

The dialogue is awful. There's nothing more I can say about the dialogue.

For all my negative criticism, the movie is slightly entertaining. The house is great; I wish I could live there. There are a few humorous moments (though too few). The atmosphere of the movie seems to try hard to recreate the atmosphere of 'Young Frankenstein', though some sets are used way too often. I'm glad I watched the movie, but I do not see me watching it again.

I absolutely do not recommend you buy this movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun Performances, Really Bad Story
Review: I enjoy Gene Wilder, and certainly I'll be the first to say that he has done some wonderful work both on screen and behind the scenes in many films. But he is also the frothy sort of artist who is at his best when firmly grounded by the restraint of a hardnosed director--and for HAUNTED HONEYMOON he had no such restraints. He was writer, director, and star, and the result is way too much froth and not nearly enough substance.

The premise of the film is clever, a parody of the spooky-comedies of the 1940s and 1950s that were popularized by the likes of Red Skelton, Abbot and Costello, and Crosby and Hope. Two radio stars (Wilder and Radner) have become engaged and they rush off to the groom's ancestrial home for the wedding... and promptly encounter everything from cobras in the closet to werewolves in the winecellar. And the script and production values are often quite amusing, with repeated references to James Whale's 1930s classic THE OLD DARK HOUSE, and even the score borrows a few phrases from "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? But the plot goes no where, and not even the stars of the film can save it.

Which brings us to why the film is nonetheless worth watching. Wilder is excessive, to say the least, but his failings here are as director and writer; as a performer he manages quite well. And his co-star is the late and much missed Gilda Radner. Sadly, Radner never found her place on the big screen before her untimely death, and HAUNTED HONEYMOON is no exception; Wilder doesn't seem to know how best to display her talents. But even so, there are moments when she illuminates the film to a remarkable comic degree, giving the viewer a glimpse of what might have been if the role had been more carefully tailored to her talents. And then there is Dom DeLuise, who offers a hilarious throw-away performance in drag as Aunt Kate... And when Gilda and Dom join forces to perform the old Vaudeville song "Ballin' the Jack" the result is pure movie magic.

Unfortunately, though, it isn't enough. The story is just too weak, too many of the one-liners fall flat, too often cast members who might have given great comic performances are neglected. I'll give it three stars out of five... one each for Wilder, Radner, and DeLuise. But I'm erring on the generous side. Incidently, this film is not to be confused with a Robert Young-Constance Cummings effort of the 1930s, also entitled HAUNTED HONEYMOON and based on the play and novel by mystery author Dorothy Sayers--a very good film, by the way, which sad to say has never been released to the home market.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun Performances, Really Bad Story
Review: I enjoy Gene Wilder, and certainly I'll be the first to say that he has done some wonderful work both on screen and behind the scenes in many films. But he is also the frothy sort of artist who is at his best when firmly grounded by the restraint of a hardnosed director--and for HAUNTED HONEYMOON he had no such restraints. He was writer, director, and star, and the result is way too much froth and not nearly enough substance.

The premise of the film is clever, a parody of the spooky-comedies of the 1940s and 1950s that were popularized by the likes of Red Skelton, Abbot and Costello, and Crosby and Hope. Two radio stars (Wilder and Radner) have become engaged and they rush off to the groom's ancestrial home for the wedding... and promptly encounter everything from cobras in the closet to werewolves in the winecellar. And the script and production values are often quite amusing, with repeated references to James Whale's 1930s classic THE OLD DARK HOUSE, and even the score borrows a few phrases from "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? But the plot goes no where, and not even the stars of the film can save it.

Which brings us to why the film is nonetheless worth watching. Wilder is excessive, to say the least, but his failings here are as director and writer; as a performer he manages quite well. And his co-star is the late and much missed Gilda Radner. Sadly, Radner never found her place on the big screen before her untimely death, and HAUNTED HONEYMOON is no exception; Wilder doesn't seem to know how best to display her talents. But even so, there are moments when she illuminates the film to a remarkable comic degree, giving the viewer a glimpse of what might have been if the role had been more carefully tailored to her talents. And then there is Dom DeLuise, who offers a hilarious throw-away performance in drag as Aunt Kate... And when Gilda and Dom join forces to perform the old Vaudeville song "Ballin' the Jack" the result is pure movie magic.

Unfortunately, though, it isn't enough. The story is just too weak, too many of the one-liners fall flat, too often cast members who might have given great comic performances are neglected. I'll give it three stars out of five... one each for Wilder, Radner, and DeLuise. But I'm erring on the generous side. Incidently, this film is not to be confused with a Robert Young-Constance Cummings effort of the 1930s, also entitled HAUNTED HONEYMOON and based on the play and novel by mystery author Dorothy Sayers--a very good film, by the way, which sad to say has never been released to the home market.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor script, slow clumsy plot that never evolves, a Stinker
Review: It's a rare event that I find someone who knows about this movie other than myself... but those who HAVE seen it absolutely adore it! Gene and Gilda together at their best, in love on film as in life... what more can you say? Funny, touching, memorable. You MUST see this movie. Dom deLouise in drag is worth it, if nothing else. ;)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hilarious sleeper!
Review: It's a rare event that I find someone who knows about this movie other than myself... but those who HAVE seen it absolutely adore it! Gene and Gilda together at their best, in love on film as in life... what more can you say? Funny, touching, memorable. You MUST see this movie. Dom deLouise in drag is worth it, if nothing else. ;)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not the greatest, but still worth a look
Review: Looking at the cast alone, you anticipate great things from this film. Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner playing opposite Dom DeLuise in drag. How can it miss? I'm a huge fan of spooky comedies, so I definitely had high hopes. While I didn't come away from the movie bitterly disappointed, I wasn't completely impressed either. The plot has a great set up, but doesn't really seem to go anywhere. Gene Wilder's character is a radio actor who goes to spend the weekend with his Great Aunt in his spooky childhood home. For some reason, there's a psychologist who is trying to scare Gene Wilder "to death" to help him confront his inner demons. Then there's a werewolf prowling around, and people getting killed, and a shadowy figure slipping through secret passages....it sounds great, doesn't it? But it's all played with pretty cheesy dialogue and a confusing plot. Then when we make it to the end, everything is wrapped up in a nice little bow when we find out it was all supposed to be a radio program and not actual events. Then they throw in the cliche, "or WAS it?" kind of twist just before the credits roll. Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. The actors are great and there are some great jokes. There's even a cool musical number with Dom and Gilda. This movie really has the makings of a true hit, but it never quite makes it....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wildly Funny and Sophisticated
Review: Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder fans have to see this. Wilder directed this and star with his then wife Gilda Radner (R.I.P.). Dom Deluise gives a great comedic performance as well as Jonathan Pryce in the role of the heavy. Check it out if you're in any way a fan of Wilder's work and Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wildly Funny and Sophisticated
Review: Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder fans have to see this. Wilder directed this and star with his then wife Gilda Radner (R.I.P.). Dom Deluise gives a great comedic performance as well as Jonathan Pryce in the role of the heavy. Check it out if you're in any way a fan of Wilder's work and Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor script, slow clumsy plot that never evolves, a Stinker
Review: Ok this is by far one of the the overall worst movies of all time. In defense of Radner and Wilder she was suffereing health problems while the movie was filmed and I can understand this-- but gheesh the editing didn't make any sense- Dom DeLuise gives the audience a warning in his monologue when he says-(paraphrased) It gets worse than this-- and it does!!The script becomes a parody of itself- the acting was ok - but the story never evolved. There were one or two special effects that almost sparked an interest 3/4 of the way through the movie. Should have never been released-- The real horror in this film is the fact that one doesn't realize how bad it is until they sit through it-- A good cure for insomniacs...


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