Nothing But Trouble (1991)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Dan Aykroyd

Writers (WGA):

Peter Aykroyd (story)
Dan Aykroyd (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 February 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

All they wanted was a little getaway. All they got was nothing but trouble.

Plot:

A businessman finds he and his friends the prisoners of a sadistic judge and his equally odd family in the backwoods of a bizarre mansion.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Chase | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Dysfunctional Family | Speeding

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Chevy Chase	...	Chris Thorne
Dan Aykroyd	...	Judge Alvin 'J.P' Valkenheiser / Bobo
John Candy	...	Dennis / Eldona
Demi Moore	...	Diane Lightson
Valri Bromfield	...	Miss Purdah
Taylor Negron	...	Fausto Squiriniszu
Bertila Damas	...	Renalda Squiriniszu
Raymond J. Barry	...	Mark
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Brian
John Wesley	...	Sam
Peter Aykroyd	...	Mike the Doorman
Daniel Baldwin	...	Dealer #1 (Artie)
James Staszkiel	...	Dealer #2 (as James Staskel)
Deborah Lee Johnson	...	Dealer #1's Girlfriend
Karla Tamburrelli	...	Dealer #2's Girlfriend

Also Known As:

Git (USA) (working title)
Valkenvania (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Applied Action

Trivia:

The police badges, seen in the revolving frames on both sides of the Shire Reeve's bench, are actual badges from Dan Aykroyd's personal collection.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Dennis catches Chris speeding, he says he will not mention the speeding to the Reeve. However, Miss Purdah saw the whole thing, and could tell the Reeve just as easily.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Fausto: [as they leave a car and go into a building to a party] 20 minutes, hello, good-bye.
Renalda: Ok.

Movie Connections:

References "Flipper" (1964)

Soundtrack:

Garden In The Rain

Just like a bunch of spiders in a birthday cake

I love the production values of this film. The setting is amazing, because the house is surrounded by acres of old junk. The production design is fascinating, because it is a mixture of various nineteenth- and twentieth-century art, advertising, pop culture, architecture, furniture, machinery, folk art, and household products. Dan Akroyd, unrecognizable as the elderly Judge Valkenheiser, gives a mesmerizing performance. My favorite part is when they're eating "Dutch country heifers" (hot dogs) and Akroyd says: "Here's how I like 'em, and I suggest you eat 'em the same way." If ever a movie captured the unpleasant juxtaposition between the normal world and the abnormal world, it would certainly be this one (with the dining scene in Eraserhead coming in a close second: "They're new!").

The above things are the only good parts of the film, while the rest of it is just plain silly.