Crazy People (1990)

A bitter ad executive who has reached his breaking point, finds himself in a mental institution where his career actually begins to thrive with the help of the hospital's patients.

Directors:

Tony Bill, Barry L. Young

Writer:

Mitch Markowitz

Stars:

Dudley Moore, Daryl Hannah, Paul Reiser

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dudley Moore	...	Emory Leeson
Daryl Hannah	...	Kathy Burgess
Paul Reiser	...	Stephen Bachman
J.T. Walsh	...	Drucker
Bill Smitrovich	...	Bruce
Alan North	...	Judge
David Paymer	...	George
Danton Stone	...	Saabs
Paul Bates	...	Robles
Dick Cusack	...	Mort
Doug Yasuda	...	Hsu
Floyd Vivino	...	Eddie Aris
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Dr. Liz Baylor
Ben Hammer	...	Dr. Koch
David Packer	...	Mark Olander

Storyline

Emory works in advertising, and is beginning to crack-up. His latest idea is honesty, e.g. "Volvos, Yes they are boxy, but they're safe". This doesn't go down too well with the boss, so Emory is sent to a psychiatric hospital to 'recover'. Meanwhile, back at the office, Emory's work is accidentally sent to the printers. His ads are a huge success. But now Emory has fallen for Kathy (another patient) and so doesn't want to leave.

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Plot Keywords:

mental institution | advertising | female psychiatrist | mental patient | mental illness | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about truth in advertising.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 April 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les fous de la pub

Filming Locations:

Chatham, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$13,236,513

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Intuitive TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cinematographer Victor J. Kemper replaced D.O.P. Bill Butler as director of photography.

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Quotes

Charles Drucker: Harris. Say something honest, no holds barred. GO!
Harris: I like... small boys.
Charles Drucker: About the product, you fucking idiot!

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Crazy Credits

A disclaimer appears stating, "Characters in this film do not depict persons with mental illnesses. Mental illness is a serious disease which affects many millions of people."

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Crazy People/Impulse/In the Spirit/The Gods Must Be Crazy II/Mama, There's a Man in Your Bed (1990)

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Soundtracks

BRANDENBURG CONCERTO No 5 - ALLEGRO
By Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Karl Richter and his Chamber Orchestra
Courtesy of Teldec Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

This movie won't just make you laugh, it'll make you stop breathing and die.

Well, I almost did. The first time I saw Crazy People, I thought it was a work of comic genius. Now, several years later, I still do.

Emory and Steve (Dudley Moore and Paul Reiser) are ad executives who need to come up with new advertisements in a hurry. When Emory's relationship falls apart, he becomes disillusioned with the whole business of lying and makes up some honest ads. As his partner, Steve is naturally concerned, and has him committed to a mental hospital. While they're doing that, the honest ads accidentally get printed. People everywhere are told that they should fly United Airlines because, quote, "Most of our passengers get there alive." This is just one of the hilarious and truthful ads we get to see in the film.

When the honest ads become wildly popular, the head of the ad agency wants Emory to come back to work. He doesn't want to leave the hospital, so the members of his group therapy group become ad writers to help him. As it turns out, the lunatics are very good at writing honest commercials. The New York tourism campaign was particularly good. Ad #1 told us that "It's not as filthy as you think," whereas Ad #2 assured us that "There were fewer murders last year."

There is a bit of tension in the middle of the movie, but I'm not going to spoil that for those people who haven't seen it yet. Trust me, it's worth the rental price. If you're looking for a good laugh, get ahold of this movie. If you're looking for intelligent discourse on the subject of dishonesty in society or mankind's relative dishonesty with himself or others, rent something else along with this movie.

One more ad, in case you're not totally convinced yet: "Metamucil: It helps you go to the toilet. If you don't use it, you'll get cancer and die."

Go on. You know you want to. Okay, go to the toilet first. But then, rent this movie!