Wagons East

source: Wagons East

source: Wagons East!

John Candy has made several very funny films. Too bad that this last film that he did was not one of them. We know that he had a fatal heart attack during this production, yet he is in almost every scene. Either the movie had just "wrapped" or it was a pretty clever editing job. Either way, it was no better than a weekly F Troup episode.

This is a great movie. Not quite as zany as Blazing Saddles, but well worth a watch. John Candy, in my opinion, is a great comic actor. The running gags and one liners are really funny. I am proud to say that I have it in my video library. Long live John Candy, a true comedian.

Funny, funny, funny. So many great lines. Yes, a few slow spots, but just a total hoot. Candy is his usual deadpan hilarious. Ed Lauter's character evokes Wyle E. Coyote. The cavalry general is a crack up. On and on. REALLY fabulous entertainment. Bought the DVD at a garage sale years ago, and just saw it again now. A keeper.

Wagons East (1994) * (out of 4) A group of settlers who headed West for a better life soon realize that it's not what they thought so they want to head back East. They hire James Harlow (John Candy) to take them back but they soon realize that they might have picked the wrong man. I still remember walking into the theater when WAGON'S EAST opened. You knew walking in that Candy had just recently passed and you knew that you were watching what would be his final picture. I don't think anyone could have expected to see how bad this movie actually was but thankfully for Candy, the greatness throughout his career is what people remember and not this final film. This is a really bad movie and I've seen where Candy didn't want to make it and I believe this because the screenplay is really awful. There's really nothing funny that happens here and the screenplay is so bad you really do wonder why anyone would have wanted to make the film. The majoirty of the running time has Candy acting drunk, falling over and doing various dumb things but none of it is funny. It's really too bad that Candy finished his career with this movie but it should be stated that a lot of legends end their careers with such movies. WAGON'S EAST really doesn't work on any level so it's probably best that it has been forgotten.

This movie is silly and very short of being a funny movie. Unhappy 'easterners' are not pleased with being out west; so they hire a drunk wagon master(John Candy)to lead them back east. Sight gags were just not funny enough to carry this one. And Richard Lewis gets on your nerves very quickly; but then I honestly don't like him at anything he does. Ed Lauter is hilarious as the bumbling villain. The movie was dedicated to Candy. He died from a massive heart attack ten days before the movie was completed. A stand in and digital enhancement enabled Candy's character to be seen in the final scenes. Candy was a very good comedian and gave us some real good knee slapping, belly laughs in his career. This movie was just not the caliber of his best. Also in the film, you will recognize: William Sanderson, Gailard Sartain, Ethan Phillips, Ellen Greene and Rodney A. Grant.

My favorite comedian John Candy went out of life on a terrible note. This film did nothing but MAR his brilliant career with a stinker at the end. He died while filming this pathetic Western spoof that is not funny nor is it a taste of any West that ever existed. I still feel sad when I see him on TV and realize that there will be no more of that Candy warmth and Candy brilliance in this world. I just saw "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" tonight. This is a great film. Watch the way he interacts with Steve Martin. Touching and sidesplitingly funny at the same time. I can not think of one funny bit from Wagons East. He looked bloated on this picture and was ill-suited on a horse. Go, Candy go! But please don't ask anyone to remember you from this film.

A lady enters a bar somewhere in the wild west. She looks very refined and is, in fact, seeking the man who bought her as a mail-order bride. When she learns a group of men pooled their monies together, she sits down at the bar and orders whiskey. Chalk up one more disillusioned traveler to the land beyond the Mississippi. Phil (Richard Lewis) and others are also fed up with the harsh living conditions. Why don't they all get a wagon train to go back to civilization? They find a wagon train leader (John Candy) who says he's the man to take them across the mountains, prairies and whatever other terrain is necessary to see the good life again. But, he is harboring a big secret. Also, once news goes to St. Louis that people are heading in the wrong direction, an army officer vows to keep these people from telling others how bad it really is. The Indians, however, may be happy indeed that settlers are leaving their territories! From bathroom stops in the bushes to campfire revelations between the manly men, this journey has it all. Can it succeed? This movie is fun, fun, fun, as the Beach Boys say. There is so much to spoof about the rough and tumble western frontier that the humor is never forced and gives way to many a giggle. The scenery is quite beautiful and the film sports an authentic look. Most of the actors are fine but Candy, who died during the filming and whose part was digitally completed, never seems like himself. His usual go-for-broke spirit is just not present. That said, the film still works beautifully and is a great view for any Saturday night of fun. If you love Candy, however, be prepared to cry a few tears for his loss from the world which dearly loved him.

This film is better then one thinks. Some of it is slapstick, some dry humor, and some just plain old physical comedy. Charles Rocket is hilarious in his brief moments on the screen, and Richard Lewis has never been funnier. John Candy will be missed, and it is sad that this was his last film, but at least he gave us one great laugh. All in all, I think this is an 8, reason being is that I don't see this being a great film, but it is sure entertaining.