Where's Poppa?

source: Where's Poppa?

Trailer—Where's Poppa?

Where's Poppa?

No, he did get one thing right: the plot summary is fine. But, Wayne misses the point about "black humor": it's NOT supposed to have limits, by definition. Yes, the bits are meant to skewer what we consider "sacred" and, yes, it will offend those you can't ponder why certain societal taboos exist. As a whole the movie is far, far tamer than a lot of the crap that passes for "art" and comedy these days. Is the plot warped? Yes. Do you stare slack-jawed in disbelief at some bits? Yes. Is it funny? Totally, but not in a Jerry Lewis or Jerry Seinfeld way (though some of absurd parts do have a Seinfeldesque quality). That's why I give it an 8 out of 10. (He did get one other thing right: the courtroom scene is pretty priceless).

I nervously put my newly acquired DVD into the machine and sat down with my housemate who had never seen the film. Remember back during the Watergate hearings and witnesses with talk about limited or full hangouts? Well, this is a full hangout. No one goes away without being insulted. And all of this is done without someone vomiting, breaking wind at the dinner table, or scratching their crotch....the sine qua non's of modern 'comedy.' There is something in the opening scene of Touch of Evil, the long setup toward scaring Mom to death with the gorilla suit, only to find she is immune to such tactics and simply wants her Fruit Loops in Pepsi. We have the cabbie fly by an elderly black woman to pick up the naked Ron Liebman and the wonderful reference to the Cornel Wilde 'epic' by the boyz in the park. All is complete when the Mother from Hell makes sure Trish V sees her son's lovely tush at dinner. Housemate ended by remarking 'now this is a funny movie.'

I saw this movie originally in 1970. It was a co-feature with a movie called Sunday Bloody Sunday which is what we actually went to see. When this film came on my first reaction was, What the hell! Within minutes I was laughing and the laughs never stopped. I lived in Seattle at the time, but I had grown up in New York City, so the events of the film had a special cache for me. The parts that occurred within Central Park were incredibly funny, and the Taxicab scene is a true classic. I have seen a lot of films in the intervening years and have attempted several time to find a copy of this film (I was finally successful this morning). Despite the years since first seeing it and all that I have seen since nothing has ever topped this film for just plain fun. Carl Reiner is a true comic genius.

Too dark and off-the-wall to be a mainstream hit Carl Reiner's comedy "Where's Poppa" has become something of a hard-to-see, (at least here in the UK), cult classic. George Segal is the long-suffering attorney whose biggest problem is his mother, (Ruth Gordon), who lives with him and who he'd be happy to see six feet under. However, his efforts to get her there all backfire so he hires sexy nurse Trish Van Dervere to take care of her. The film unfolds like a series of extremely tasteless sketches, the kind of thing Mike Nichols and Elaine May might have done, and it's very funny. Segal and Gordon are superb though it is Ron Leibman who steals the movie as Gordon's other son and there are excellent cameos from the likes of Rae Allan and Barnard Hughes. The critics loved it but audiences didn't know what hit them. Now it feels like a key seventies movie and one of the great comedies.

"Where's Poppa" is a true cult classic of black comedy/absurdist humor. It pokes fun at things that we really shouldn't find funny, but manages to have us howling with laughter at nonetheless. Surprisingly, even though it's nearly 30 years old, it still has the power to shock and surprise an audience. An excellent cast and perfectly-timed direction by Carl Reiner (this is one of his very best) make this a comedy classic worth watching again and again.

New York lawyer Gordon Hocheiser (George Segal) takes care of his senile mother (Ruth Gordon). He dreams of killing her off. Her latest caretaker has quit. He hires nurse Louise Callan who has lost every patient. She's a strange bird and his dream girl. This is an early directing effort from Carl Reiner. It's a black comedy. There are moments of high hilarity. I love both Segal and Gordon. At points, Segal runs out of energy but that is mostly due to the female lead, Trish Van Devere. Her energy is usually reserved with a dash of sadness. I wouldn't Carl's directions are that great either. Despite the few hilarious moments, I just can't ship this couple. They don't have chemistry. I also don't love Gordon. I would be more intrigued if he's more driven. I had a tough time getting into these characters.

Short of most John Waters films, today's cinema offers little by way of absurd comedy. Generally speaking, cinema has sold out to Nike, Madison avenue and all the rest of the greedy faces behind Hollywood who make sure their "clients" products are wagged in yor face and written into the script.(Think of "What Women Want" or "E.T." for instance) Well, here's a film that takes comedic chances and pays off big! This film is a equal opportunity offender and is in nobody's pocket! Segal and Gordon are in perfect pacing and timing thanks to Carl Riner's direction and no holds barred attack on everything. I can not recommend this film enough to the intelligent viewer who hungers for more than the banal "comedies" of today which are for the most part nothing more than padded 90 minute commercials.