Up Your Alley

My review was written in July 1989 after watching the movie on IVE video cassette.

"Up Your Alley" is an engaging shoestring production in which numerous comedians play it straight in limning the plight of homeless street people. Pic had a brief theatrical run in Miami in April ahead of video release.

The brainchild of erstwhile bag-over-head "Unknown Comic" Murray Langston, pic is a sweet tale of marginals, investigated by undercover reporter Linda Blair, who fakes being one of them. The largely unsung Czech director in Hollywood, Hugo Haas, made similar pics, "Paradise Alley" and "Edge of Hell", 30 years earlier.

Some extraneous suspense is introduced in a subplot of a mad killer preying on L. A. bums, but it works in its character study of oddball types. Langston scores as the taciturn, sometimes drunken beggar whose demeanor is softened by the friendship of a big, slow-witted guy fresht to the streets (Bob Zany), as well as a platonic romance with Blair.

Blair has a nice change of pace from her horror assignments. Various standup comics, including Langston, inject needed comic relief with their crazy routines, which fit the characters.

Linda Blair does look pretty cute in this, which makes any romance between her and Langston a bit of a stretch. Langston gets off one or two good one-liners, but this film is guilty of sort of romanticizing or playing for cuteness the life of the homeless. I will say I remember when this film was actually playing in theatres. It came to Atlanta for a week or two when I was in high school. All told, not a success, but a good sort of underdog movie with a heart.

Finally, a decent Linda Blair movie! Blair is very charming in this lightweight, nothing-budget comedy about a novice reporter out to get the scoop on the homeless in her community, disguising herself as an unfortunate and falling in league with loner Murray Langston (terrific) and needy, chatty Bob Zany (equally good). A fresh, funny movie that probably didn't need the sub-plot about a killer on the loose; however, the concluding events are tied up nicely and Blair and Langston turn out to be a wonderful on-screen match. Langston in particular proves to be a sharp, smart comedian. Available on VHS, and well worth a viewing. **1/2 from ****

This is Bob Logan and Murray Langston aka The unknown comic's. Attempt at adding a little social commentary to they're low budget comedy. Thiss film came out around the same time as Mel Brook's Life Stinks. Both films are set in the homeless community's and for me both films have plenty of laughs.

But strangely, I would give Up Your Alley the edge over the larger budgeted Brooks film.

This is due to the fact that Logan and Langston actually have a rather nice storyline that has to do with a reporter played by the ever likeable Linda Blair who goes under cover as a homeless person to get a story on a serial killer who has been killing members of the street community.

But where's the comedy I hear you ask? Well, that's where Langston and Bob Zany come in. Langston plays David, a washed up drifter who takes a naïve young guy Sonny (played by Bob Zany)under his wing. They team up With Blair and encounter a bunch of eccentric and sometimes hilarious characters. Ruth Buzzi's Marilyn, a nutty middle aged street woman who believes she's very desirable and Johnny Dark as Nick the Crazy street cowboy are stand out turns.

But what I really like about this film is that these are ultimately tragic characters. The film never shy's away from this, and although they make us laugh , we also know that there's a lot of truth to them.

Up your alley is a low budget affair , so don't expect it to be as polished as a big studio picture. But it does have a certain amount of heart which many big budget comedy's lack. I just hope it gets a re-release on DVD or Blu-ray.