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The Tall Guy, as you might gather, isn't long on originality and Smith's direction is serviceable at best. But it boasts an intelligent and intermittently witty script from Richard Curtis (his first for a feature film), and coasts through on the charm of the two leads, a ripely self-mocking performance from Atkinson and some diverting set-pieces--not least a spoof sex-scene where Goldblum and Thompson, in the urgency of their rampant lust, demolish the contents of an entire room. (This scene was replayed in deadly earnest in Chen Kaige's calamitous excursion into English-language thrillers, Killing Me Softly.) Smith and Curtis also have fun sending up various types of theatre: there's an audition for a Steven Berkoff production where the actors are required to scream "Fuck off" at each for minutes on end, and the musical (hit song "I'm Packing My Trunk") wickedly spoofs the Andrew Lloyd Webber school of composition.
On the DVD: The Tall Guy offers no extras except the theatrical trailer. The transfer is full-width, and both sound and visual come up cleanly. --Philip Kemp
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The movie is funny and a bit whimsical, very clever, and is merciless at poking fun at the theater establishment. Dexter's big break, for instance, is playing John Merrick in Elephant!, a musical based on The Elephant Man. Think of third rate (or even first-rate) Andrew Lloyd-Weber. The book and songs are so awful and ponderous they're fascinating. Dexter's face makeup, in addition to huge lumps and ears, includes what looks like a small elephant's trunk attached to his nose.
Goldblum narrates the movie and comes across as slightly neurotic but endearing, unsure of himself but able to come through when it counts. Emma Thompson's character is all brisk common sense with a big helping of drollness. They go to bed on their first date because, as Kate explains, it eliminates all the awkwardness later on. Their love making is hilarious and could have been directed by Buster Keaton. Rowan Atkinson, as usual, almost steals the movie. He has two or three routines on stage, one with Goldblum as stooge with both playing singing, dancing off-color nuns. "Is something bothering you, Dexter?" Atkinson's character asks solicitously afterwards backstage. "Well, yes there is," Dexter says. "Then sort it out," Atkinson snarls, "before I sack you and hire a lobotomized monkey to play your role.... Read more ›
Emma Thomson - although not among my favourite actors - is great in this role. Her way-too-honest and abrupt manner is somehow refreshing and you genuinely like her. Jeff Goldblum is an american actor lacking in confidence who plays an unnoticed side-kick in Rowan Atkinson's character's stage show.
A lot of this movie is focussed on the production of a musical based on the Elephant Man - which frankly is reason enough to watch it. It's just so offensive - it's wonderful!
A very good movie. Very British and maybe slightly dated but still very good fun.
The script is absolutely hilarious! This is not just Richard Curtis' funniest film, but also one of the funniest films I have ever seen. It will have you laughing out loud from start to finish!
The cast is also superb: Rowan Atkinson, Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson. Need I say more?
Highly recommended!
It shows its youthfulness. Just as 'Four Weddings' had at its core a string of sketches based on weddings Curtis had attended (but very skillfully linked by a romantic story), so 'The Tall Guy' appears to have started with the idea of a pastiche musical based on the Elephant Man, around which Curtis wraps a romance between a supporting actor and a nurse.
Curtis's great buddy from Oxford, Rowan Atkinson, is brought in to play a control-freak comedian -- no type-casting there, then -- but there are a few ex-Cambridge people too: Emma Thompson, Mel Smith etc. Jeff Goldblum is good as the lead, but there's no evidence that the script was specially written for him in particular or an American in general.
This film is perhaps now best known for the slapstick sex scene between Thompson and Goldblum, which manages to be (slightly) erotic while also revealing a basic truth about the domestic tidiness of all nurses I have known.
Many of the standard Curtis plot elements appear in a formative stage for this film: the early sexual encounter, followed by the break-up, followed by a finale in which the protagonists make a grand declaration of true love in front of a large crowd, the pop video sequence etc etc.
I suspect this is now a budget-priced DVD because Curtis is slightly embarrassed by it. But it's 88 enjoyable minutes of good, largely clean fun. As ever, Emma Thompson is the most convincing actor on the screen. Fifteen years on, she talks frankly about her varicose veins and growing old.
... Read more ›BEWARE region 1! It is a U.S edit with narration explaining the jokes.
The U. Read more
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