A burnt-out shrink needs a temp. A charming escaped convict takes over his practice and radio show.A burnt-out shrink needs a temp. A charming escaped convict takes over his practice and radio show.A burnt-out shrink needs a temp. A charming escaped convict takes over his practice and radio show.
- Director
- Writers
- Ken Kolb(novel)
- Steven Kampmann(screenplay)
- William Porter(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohn Williams Burns, Jr. (Dan Aykroyd) has the same prison number, 7474505B, that his earlier characters Jake Blues and Louis Winthorpe III had in "The Blues Brothers (1980)" and "Trading Places (1983)" respectively.
- GoofsWhen Burns jumps from the building, his stunt man is easy to detect despite the angle in which the scene was shot.
- Quotes
Female announcer: An important message from Mentor condoms.
Condom Father: Dear son. The other day I was rummaging through your room. There was an odor coming out and I wanted to see if your hamster had died. Turned out to be just your old gym socks. Then I ran across a box of your favorite mementos. A four leaf clover. A vending machine photo of you and Sally. And a partially used box of Mentor condoms. It made me proud to think that my son is one of those people who can have his cake and eat it too. Son, I'm proud of you and I'm proud of your choice of condoms. Love, Dad.
- SoundtracksFever
by Otis Blackwell (as John Davenport) and Eddie Cooley
Hudson Bay Music, Inc. on behalf of Fort Knox Music, Inc. / Trio Music Company, Inc.
Akyroyd stars as John Burns, a career crook who fakes insanity to escape prison. Now, a dumb comedy would just be about this. But "The Couch Trip" uses this as a springboard for everything else. Beverly Hills psychiatrist George Maitlin (Charles Grodin, subtly hilarious here)has a nervous breakdown and a replacement is selected: Lawrence Baird, who happens to be Akyroyd's psychiatrist! You can pretty much guess what's going to happen, but the great thing about "The Couch Trip" is not what happens, but how it is done.
"The Couch Trip" gives Dan Akyroyd the best role he has ever had. His John Burns is one of the truly original comic creations in movie history. Wicked one liners and physical humor are a part of it, but what makes it special is that Akyroyd makes Burns a lovable character. We root for him and grow to like him a whole lot during the 98 minute running time.
But Akyroyd isn't alone here. He gets strong support from other great comic actors. Walter Matthau joins the hilarity as a con artist minister who catches on to Burns' secret and commits genteel blackmail. Charles Grodin "slow burns" his way to another great comic role as the burned out psychiatrist. Grodin has been one of the most underappreciated actors in Hollywood. It's criminal they haven't used him more often. Richard Romanus plays Grodin's slimeball lawyer to perfection.
"The Couch Trip" is one of many films made by the now-defunct Orion Pictures Corporation that are currently unseen. MGM spent a fortune buying the Orion library but have yet to truly cash in on their acquisition. "The Couch Trip" joins "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out" and countless others in gathering dust rotting in the vault. Shame on MGM for their inaction. Hopefully, with new management, "The Couch Trip" will find the audience and respect it deserves.
**** out of 4 stars
- KatMiss
- May 29, 2001
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $11,005,304
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,351,891
- Jan 17, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $11,005,304
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