"Where's Poppa?"

[Maxwell]

This Carl Reiner movie aired tonight on a new Chicago low-power channel that is carried on Comcast. It has been one of my three favorite black comedies for decades, along with "The Loved One" and "Dr. Strangelove."

I haven't seen the movie in probably a decade and had nearly forgotten this bit of dialogue among George Segal, Trish Van Devere, and a courtroom guard. For those not familiar with the movie, Segal is a lawyer who has been trying to do in his mother (Ruth Gordon) because she has been literally driving him crazy due to her dementia. (As I said, it's a black comedy...very black.)

Segal has been up all night dealing with her and his brother, played by Ron Liebman (who spent the night in jail for reasons I won't talk about here except to say that it is an utterly tasteless black comedy). He is dead on his feet as he tries to elicit testimony from a football coach, played by Vincent Gardenia, who apparently puts teams together by kidnapping non-English speaking kids whose parents apparently don't object because of the bonus checks he gives them for "drafting" their children.

Segal staggers out of the courtroom after he sees Van Devere (Gordon's new nurse and the girl of his dreams...until she had to deal with Gordon at what was supposed to be an intimate supper), but apparenly the trial continues without him. In his fog eventually sees her standing behind him. Segal has lost her, and he's desperate to get her back. This is a close paraphrase of the dialogue.

Van Devere: "I'm flying back home."

Segal: "Where's that?"

Van Devere: "Waukegan, Illinois."

Segal: "Isn't that where Jack Benny is from?"

Van Devere: "Yes."

Segal: "Did you know him?"

Van Devere: "No, I didn't know him."

Guard: "Didn't they name a high school after him?"

Van Devere: "It's a junior high."

Guard: "Oh. I thought it was a high school."

The dialogue then finally gets back around to the fact that Segal has to do something about his mother in order for her to stay.

There are excellent performances by Segal and Gordon, Ron Liebman, Van Devere, Rob Reiner, Barnard Hughes, and Gardenia. One of Liebman's tormentors in Central Park is played by a pre-SNL Garrett Morris.

However, if you are not into humor that can only be defined as tasteless and plot lines that could only be described as politically incorrect, I'd advise staying away. I can only say that I was won over back in 1970 by the opening scene which involves Segal, the aforementioned gorilla suit, and an attempt to scare Gordon to death (which obviously fails.)

[shimp scrampi]

You had me at "tasteless" and "gorilla suit"... sounds like something I should check out!

[Maxwell]

Just don't say I didn't warn you!

[TimL2005]

This puts me in mind of a film I've only read about and have no desire to see called Skidoo (1968)..One of Otto Preminger's later films. It was supposed to glorify the hippie movement, free love, etc..From what I read, the movie made no sense and bombed at the box office, despite a big-name cast most of which were badly miscast..

IMDB Page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063612/

[Maxwell]

This puts me in mind of a film I've only read about and have no desire to see called Skidoo (1968)..One of Otto Preminger's later films. It was supposed to glorify the hippie movement, free love, etc..From what I read, the movie made no sense and bombed at the box office, despite a big-name cast most of which were badly miscast..

IMDB Page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063612/

I look at "Where's Poppa?" to be a comedy classic in its genre. It made sense in its perverse way. In fact, as I've said, as black comedies go, I rank it in my top three with "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Loved One" (although in spirit I think it's closer to the latter).