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."
