Chico Marx Forgets His Lines In "THE COCOANUTS" (1929) (video)

 

Chico and Harpo are breaking Bob (Oscar Shaw) out of jail...

 

...because Bob's girlfriend Polly (Mary Eaton) is being forced to marry bad guy Harvey Yates.

But Chico can't remember the name "Harvey Yates" to save his life.

So Bob finally has to turn psychic and say it for him.

"She's gotta have you. Because tonight she gonna be, uh, engaged."
"To who?"
"To Polly. He's engaged to Polly."
"POLLY'S GOING TO MARRY YATES?"

Nice mind-reading there, Bob!

And to top it all off, Harpo gets his foot stuck in the door on the way out.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Chico Marx Forgets His Lines In "THE COCOANUTS" (1929) (video)

L.A. INK: SEASON 1, VOLUME 2 -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 10/21/08

 

L.A. INK: SEASON 1, VOLUME 2 isn't something I would normally have been very excited about watching. But by the time I'd become familiar with the interesting characters and appealing documentary-style approach of this TLC reality series, I went through the rest of the 3-disc set's thirteen episodes like a Nacho Grande platter.

Contrary to my initial expectations, the show isn't bogged down by a bunch of soap opera crap--when the focus is on the artists' personal lives, they aren't exploited or sensationalized. Most of what we see is work-related, as in Hannah's prolonged absence from the shop while she debates over whether or not to stay in Chicago, or Kat's continuing problems with lackadaisical shop manager Pixie. Superdad Corey's desire to spend more time with his family and Kim's search for love are other concerns.

But L.A. INK is mainly about the customers and their reasons for wanting the particular tattoos that they come in to get (usually something commemorative, memorial, or motivational, although some of the requests are just plain silly). Each time someone walks into the shop, there's an anticipation of what they'll want and why, and how it will turn out.

Watching the tattooing process is fascinating in itself. Personally I could never muster the courage to draw permanent pictures on someone else's body. It's a huge responsibility, yet Kat and her crew are incredible artists who are amazingly confident. Once the customer conveys what they want, they intuitively whip out a preliminary sketch that fulfills the requirement perfectly and then they execute it with often astounding results.

As I got to know the artists and their work, I couldn't wait to see how some of the challenging ideas presented to them would turn out. This is especially true when a firefighter from New York enters with a large 9-11 commemorative painting and asks Corey to reproduce the whole thing on his back. Another highlight is watching Hannah and her talented tattooist brother perform a tag-team masterpiece on another woman's back. Backs, of course, are the largest "canvas" on the human body and it's interesting whenever someone wants the entire area covered by some grand design.

It doesn't take long for us to get to know these people and their particular styles. Corey, a burly guy's guy who's also a devoted family man, is a self-described "classic California tattoo artist" with a realistic style and awesome freehand skills. Hannah is a sensible, somewhat maternal presence with a more colorful, fanciful style. Kim, the personable and very cute young divorcee, has a penchant for flowers and inanimate objects. Kat Von D herself excells in beautiful retro-style, almost photo-realistic portraits. And Pixie, the flighty, irresponsible shop manager, seems to excell in causing trouble.

Roy Orbison's son Alex "Orbi" Orbison is Kat's supportive boyfriend who must help her conquer a nasty drinking problem while trying to muster the courage to pop the question. Guest tattooist Bob Tyrrell fills in for Kat during her hospital stay and performs some cool horror-related stuff, including a great portrait of Vincent Price. Tom Green makes an appearance to deliver a surprise birthday present to Kat's sister Karoline. Ja Rule drops by for a tattoo. And when Pixie goes to a guy named "Dr. Tattoff" to get a tattoo painfully removed, he turns out to be none other than Will Kirby, the infamous "Dr. Will" of CBS' "Big Brother."

In one episode, Kat shows her immature side by letting her idiot friend Bam Margera (whose specialty is ruining things and creating chaos) talk her into building a full-blown skate ramp in the shop. Hannah, showing her more grownup side, is against it. In another, the emphasis is on Kat's health when medical tests reveal that she has ovarian cysts which require immediate surgery. Kat's attempt to break the Guinness world record for most tattoos done in a 24-hour period makes for a lively and suspenseful segment. But the biggest fireworks occur in the episode entitled "The Worst Day Ever", in which Pixie's chronic slacking off on the job finally leads to a bitter confrontation in which she threatens to punch out Kim before storming out of the shop while customers look on.

The often lush, color-saturated photography looks really good, and most of the cutesy camerawork and editing are confined to scene transitions. Some of it appears staged to a certain extent, especially in the occasional scenes which have suspiciously thorough camera coverage from different angles, as though the director set everything up and then said "okay, you guys can have your impromptu personal conversation about subject 'A' now." But this happens in most "reality" shows and doesn't really bother me as long as the gist of the actual events is conveyed.

The three discs come in a fold-out slipcase which, along with the menus, is very nicely designed. The episodes are widescreen with Dolby sound. There aren't any extras, but I found the 544 minutes of content sufficient.

One of the best things about L.A. INK, which I found to be a pleasant surprise, is that unlike much reality programming it isn't about a bunch of flakes doing stupid things for us to laugh at. It's actually, for the most part, a pretty serious and substantive show. And after all, drawing permanent pictures on someone else's skin is serious business.

 

L.A. INK: SEASON 1, VOLUME 2 -- DVD Review by Porfle

Classic Mirror Scene From "Duck Soup" (Marx Brothers, 1933) (video)

Harpo breaks into Groucho's house...

...disguised as Groucho.

And when they meet in a doorway, Harpo pretends to be Groucho's mirror image.

Groucho doesn't buy it for a second, but he plays along anyway.

For many Marx Brothers fans, this is their favorite scene.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Classic Mirror Scene From "Duck Soup" (Marx Brothers, 1933) (video)

THE BEST OF HARVEY KORMAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/25/17

 

A lot of people these days only know Harvey Korman from his Mel Brooks movies ("That's Hedley!"), but there was a time before that when his star shone brightly as the Emmy-winning second banana on TV's legendary "The Carol Burnett Show."

Time-Life's DVD release THE BEST OF HARVEY KORMAN assembles four complete (more or less) nostalgia-heavy episodes from 1969-71, three of which haven't been seen in 40 years, and they serve as a real time machine back to the way variety shows looked in those days.

Watching them now, the show's comedy is as incredibly corny as it can be, with paper-thin writing and forced punchlines, but also with a laidback informality (the performers break character often to either ad-lib or crack up at each other) that continues to appeal.

Production-wise, it often looks almost like a local TV production even though it was a top-rated show on a major network.  Strangely enough, this also adds to the show's charm--it didn't need a big budget with such likable performers to keep audiences happy.

Chief among these of course was Carol, that lovable, rubber-faced genius of physical and verbal comedy who always came across as the superstar next door.  She was a bundle of sparkling personality, especially during the celebrated Q & A segments with the studio audience.

Korman was second only to her in versatility, playing everything from henpecked husbands to weaselly lotharios (as in the lengthy and tedious Latin lover sketch) and everything in between. 

Rounding out the cast was cartoonishly handsome Lyle Waggoner, forever goodnaturedly spoofing his own manly image, while a sweetly callow Vicki Lawrence was the perennial "kid sister" before her eventual breakthrough as "Mama."

Comedy skits alternate with often cringe-inducing song and/or dance numbers, with the first episode in the set giving Lyle and Vicki solo songs that are less than memorable. Even veteran performers such as Bernadette Peters, Nancy Wilson, and Diahann Carroll can't do much with the tacky arrangements they're given. (A pre-"Jeffersons" Isabel Sanford appears briefly as a housekeeper in one segment.)

As for Korman, his appearances in the set are sporadic--the episodes seem pretty much picked at random and don't really showcase his best work at all.  The fact that he's in them seems enough to qualify them for inclusion here.

A skit in which he appears in drag seems to be the collection's highlight. Other points of interest are "The Old Folks" (Harvey and Carol as a doddering elderly couple), a solo comedy song emphasizing Harvey's vanity, Harvey as Richard Nixon, and a guest appearance by future castmember Tim Conway who would become Harvey's most frequent comedy foil. 

While not exactly THE BEST OF HARVEY KORMAN as the title suggests, it's fun to watch these episodes again after all this time and relive those decades-old memories.  Still, viewers who aren't seeing these creaky old skits and corny musical numbers through a golden haze of nostalgia might wonder what all the fuss is about.


PROGRAM INFORMATION
Format: DVD/Single
Running Time: 178 minutes
Genre:  TV DVD/Comedy
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: Stereo

THE BEST OF HARVEY KORMAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/1/10

 

I was never interested in mixed martial arts, or "extreme fighting", because I always had the impression that it was simply an excuse for people to watch a couple of bozos in a cage beat each other to a bloody pulp.  Why should I be interested in that?  TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES (2007-2008) is an entertaining and informative answer to that question.

"Tapout" is what an opponent does when he's had enough and must submit by literally tapping the canvas.  It's also the name of the line of sports clothing and gear founded in 1997 by Charles Lewis, known as "Mask" because of his penchant for decorating his face with camo paint.  After a humble beginning that saw Mask selling his wares from the back of a car at local fighting events, the company grew to include his friends Dan "Punkass" Caldwell and Tim "SkySkrape" Katz and went on to make millions. 

The 20 episodes in this 5-disc set document the adventures of Mask, Punkass, and SkySkrape as they travel the country in their RV looking for up-and-coming fighters to sponsor in their first major MMA event.  Each episode follows his training and preparation as we and the Tapout crew get to know him and learn what makes him tick.  Then comes the climactic fight which rarely fails to be suspenseful and exciting.  With a mix of traditional boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and whatever else , the action is non-stop and the outcomes unpredictable.  And, contrary to my preconceptions, the violence hardly ever exceeds that of a regular boxing match (not by all that much, anyway).
 

 

That isn't to say that you won't find yourself getting a little squeamish on occasion.  Blood does flow, and there are times when a fighter is pummeled like a human punching bag.  You'll see guys getting elbow-bashed repeatedly in the face, and in the first episode one fighter's arm gets bent the wrong way, which had me cringing.  Aside from these instances, though, I found myself gradually appreciating the skills and strategy that each fighter brought into the ring--some specializing in the "stand up" (traditional boxing and kickboxing) and others concentrating on their "ground game" where wrestling and jiu-jitsu come into play.  Those who are equally adept at both usually come out on top.  (More often than not, surprisingly, the ground game is the deciding factor.)

The fighters are a diverse bunch of characters.  Some are troubled kids who would otherwise be headed down a path of gang violence and crime.  Others are struggling to better the lives of themselves and their families.  There's a SWAT cop, a cowboy from down on the farm, a guy who's getting back into the game after having his colon removed, and a mama's boy who wants to be a superhero. 

In one segment, the guys decide to sponsor their first female, Julie Kedzie, after being impressed by her workout in the gym.  In another, they must contend with a hostile young fighter who's at war with the world and everyone in it.  Little if any of the show seems staged, and there's none of the forced drama that infests most "reality" shows because none is needed--these characters and their stories are interesting enough as they are.

Speaking of characters, the Tapout boys are continually fun to watch as they travel the country and get into mischief at every turn.  Mask, whose hyena-like laugh is heard throughout each episode, is a loud, boisterous, and very likable bundle of energy with a childlike fascination with the world around him.  Highly outgoing, he uses his unorthodox social skills to make connections and help the fighters through any physical or emotional troubles they may have. 

At 6'7", SkySkrape is a strange sight in his big-hair wigs and novelty glasses, and serves as Tapout's main comedy relief.  In stark contrast is the diminutive Punkass, a strong, silent type who handles most of the company business and maintains a bemused deadpan during his companions' prankish antics.
 

 

It's fun watching these guys hang out at the various gyms and scout new fighters to sponsor, or simply take advantage of all the fun that can be had in each new location that they find themselves in.  This may include autograph-signing events, appearances on radio shows, or auditioning sexy bikini babes for their promotional photos.  On the flip side, we also see them staking a homeless fighter to three months' rent on an apartment (followed by three more if he keeps up his training), and generally going the extra mile for those less fortunate.  Behind all the clowning, they seem to be truly stand-up guys.

It all leads up to the big fight that usually takes up the last ten or fifteen minutes of each episode.  After each bout, Mask, SkySkrape, and Punkass offer their play-by-play analysis along with slow-motion highlights of the best moments.  The slam-bang action and the suspense of seeing if Tapout's chosen competitor is going to win each time are addictive, and I found myself watching all 20 episodes of this thoroughly entertaining series in just a few marathon sessions.  Needless to say, I now have a new appreciation for mixed martial arts and the athletes who participate in it.

The 5-disc collection from Image Entertainment is in full-screen with Dolby Digital stereo.  There are no subtitles and no extras.  The discs are stacked in a clamp-like device that I don't think I've encountered before, but after some careful thought I devised a clever method of getting the discs in and out without much trouble.

About halfway through viewing TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES, I discovered that Charles "Mask" Lewis was killed on March 11, 2009, in an auto accident involving a drunk driver.  In addition to being a major bringdown, the fact that I knew he didn't have long to live really forced me to watch the rest of the series in a whole new light.  Whether cutting up with SkySkrape in the back of their Tapout RV with the unflappable Punkass at the wheel, or mixing it up with old and new friends all along the way, Mask seemed to be having a ball living his life every minute of the day.  I guess this series is as good a way as any to remember him.

TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle