The Tall Guy (1989)

Director:

Mel Smith

Writer:

Richard Curtis (writer)

Release Date:

21 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Dexter King plays straight man to unpleasant comedian Ron Anderson. He falls in love with Kate, a pretty...

Plot Keywords:

Comedian | Elephant Man | Elephant | Love | Nurse

Cast

Jeff Goldblum	...	Dexter King
Rowan Atkinson	...	Ron Anderson
Emma Thompson	...	Kate Lemmon
Geraldine James	...	Carmen
Anna Massey	...	Mary
Kim Thomson	...	Cheryl
Hugh Thomas	...	Dr. Karabekian
Emil Wolk	...	Cyprus Charlie
Harold Innocent	...	Timothy
Joanna Kanska	...	Tamara
B.J. Rambo	...	'Elephant' Chorus
Jan Lloyd	...	'Elephant' Chorus
Peter Kelly	...	Gavin
Tim Barlow	...	Mr. Morrow (as Timothy Barlow)
Charles Lamb	...	Old Man in Wheelchair

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

London Weekend Television (LWT)

Trivia:

Jeff Goldblum was only free because of an actors strike in the USA.

Goofs:

Continuity: Kate and Dexter would not have been able to place ladders against the poster of Ron Anderson; the next scene shows an awning that would have been in the way.

Quotes:

Dexter: God take my testicles and fry them up with bacon!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Elephant Man (1980)

Soundtrack:

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Side-splitting and sweet-natured: a sleeper gem.

The Tall Guy is one of my all-time favorites. One's taste in comedies is a highly personal thing, and not everyone will find this movie to their taste, but if you like the inimitable flavor of British humor (as I do) and enjoy Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson, you will probably find this movie to be extremely rewarding -- that is, hilarious and, perhaps, a bit touching.

It's got its flaws, of course. There are plenty of spots where nothing really happens, the music is pretty uneven, and a few gags fall flat. There are one or two key plot points that are a little hard to follow (especially the scene with Emma Thompson on the television). And surprisingly, the last quarter or so turns a bit grim, and comes a bit close to losing sight of the whimsicality which is so much of this movie's charm.

But I'll gladly put up with all that for what this movie has to offer. It's incredibly hard to make a good comedy, and all too many comedies nowadays are either too tame, or too scatological...too cruel, or too meek...too earnest, or too smug in their irony. The Tall Guy proves that there is ground between these extremes, and what fertile ground it is! I don't know if one could make this movie in America; the entire film is permeated with a uniquely British sensibility that makes it irresistible. And in the midst of all this, Jeff Goldblum is absolutely spot-on as the bemused American; his facial expressions and reaction shots in this movie are priceless. It's a pity that so many of his recent roles have been in action movies; at his best, Goldblum is a fantastic comic actor, and this movie depends completely on his charm, wit, and expressiveness.

One of the centerpieces of the movie, by the way, is a musical based on "The Elephant Man". It's a tour-de-force of parody, brilliantly satirizing the tastelessnesses and mediocrities of modern musicals; indeed, I wish we could get to see even more of it.

I recently revisited The Tall Guy for the third time, watching it side-by-side with There's Something About Mary, and I can't begin to tell you how much the latter movie suffered by comparison. They have a few traits in common -- both movies revolve around the pursuit of a beautiful woman by a misanthropic-but-oddly-handsome male Jewish lead, both have a strong sexual element to their humor, and both feature a prominent handicapped character (a blind man in the Tall Guy, a man on crutches in Mary) whose misadventures are played for laughs. But where There's Something About Mary is coarse, mean, and obvious, The Tall Guy is witty, absurd, and completely good-natured -- and in my opinion, far superior.

I suspect there are a fair number of people who won't "get" The Tall Guy, and that's a shame. But if it sounds like it's on your wavelength, rent it if you can find it. It's an incredibly sweet and funny movie that is well worth the watching.