Funny Farm (1988)

A couple swap city life for the country, but their picturesque new hometown turns out to be just a little bit different to what they were expecting.

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writers:

Jay Cronley (book), Jeffrey Boam (screenplay)

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith Osborne, Kevin O'Morrison

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Andy Farmer
Madolyn Smith Osborne	...	Elizabeth Farmer (as Madolyn Smith)
Kevin O'Morrison	...	Sheriff Ledbetter
Joseph Maher	...	Michael Sinclair
Jack Gilpin	...	Bud Culbertson
Caris Corfman	...	Betsy Culbertson
William Severs	...	Newspaper Editor
Mike Starr	...	Crocker
Glenn Plummer	...	Mickey
William Duell	...	Old Character
Helen Lloyd Breed	...	Old Operator
Kit Le Fever	...	Young Operator (as Le Fevre)
Dakin Matthews	...	Marion Corey Jr.
William Newman	...	Gus Lotterhand
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Ethel Dinges

Storyline

When Andy and Elizabeth buy a farm in Vermont, they can't imagine the trouble that awaits them. Andy has quit his job as a sports journalist and is planning to use the peace and quiet of the country to write the Great American Novel. From the moment the movers' truck gets lost with their furniture, though, there's little peace and less quiet. From a manical mailman to a dead body buried in the garden, Andy is distracted by the town and its wacky inhabitants. His effort at a novel is mediocre, at best, and he's threatened by Elizabeth's foray into writing when she attempts a children's book. Can the Farmers survive the townsfolk and each other?

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | vermont | mailman | children's book | small town | 

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Taglines:

Chevy Chase finds life in the country isn't what it's cracked up to be!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Funny Farm

Filming Locations:

The Apthorp building - 2211 Broadway, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,537,221

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cornelius Productions, Pan Arts, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both the the name of the movie's main star, Chevy Chase, and the picture's title, Funny Farm (1988), were alliterated.

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Goofs

The cow that Andy moves away from is not the same cow that he photographed (missing collar).

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Quotes

Elizabeth Farmer: What's going on, Andy...? You're sinking into a pit of self-pity, defeatism, and alcohol... and you're enjoying it!

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Alternate Versions

To receive a PG certificate the 1989 UK video version was cut by 3 secs by the BBFC to remove one use of 'fuck you' and several uses of 'shit'.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Funny Farm/Rambo III/Big/Call Me/Crocodile Dundee II (1988)

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Soundtracks

The Washington Post
(uncredited)
Written by John Philip Sousa
Performed by John Philip Sousa and the United States Marine Band

User Reviews

Chevy's Best Film

I realize that comedy is subjective and things that I think are funny others may not think is too funny. But I am dumbstruck at some of the negative reviews for "Funny Farm." Far and away this is Chevy's best film. I think the screenplay is beautifully written with so many small touches of humor hidden within a scene that to list them would take forever. I will agree that the last act takes a bit of a wide turn in reality but it doesn't stray so far that the film goes off track.

The main story is your typical fish out of water story but what person can't identify with Chase's Andy Farmer in one way or another? Of course the film takes it to the extreme and it's all the funnier for it. And the characters are a biting reminder that not everyone is normal or sane for that matter. The waitress who serves lamb fries without explaining what that really is until it is desperately too late. The sheriff who has to take a cab because he flunked his driver's test. The mailman who throws the mail to the road because he is drunk by the time he reaches the Farmer's residence.

And the small touches? How about the dog that runs away from home just after being brought home for the first time? Or the umpire whose strike zone is a bit wide. The odd fate of Claude Musselman? And let's not forget the phone operator who can tell the sound of two pennies being dropped in a jar but fails to realize it's not a pay phone Chase is calling from? I laughed hard and often which is something odd for me in any film with Chevy Chase. In all the years with all of his films I can honestly say I have only enjoyed five of them (Foul Play, Vacation, Fletch, Christmas Vacation and this one. That's right I am not a fan of Caddyshack)and this is his best.

One more small moment sums up the film's humor for me. Chase is fishing with some men he has just met. One of them men gets a hook stuck in his neck. Instead of trying to pull it out Chase thinks it easier to knock the man out so THEN they can pull the hook out. After punching the man three times in the face one of the other men finally steps in and says "You're not knocking him out, you're only beating the p*ss out of him."