4 Movie Marathon: Comedy Favorites Collection [Import]

Despite a strong lineup of talented funnymen-- SCTV's Martin Short and Rick Moranis; Monty Python's Eric Idle, John Cleese and Michael Palin; and SNL's Dana Carvey-- this collection of forgettable comedies reminds me how unfunny Hollywood had become by the end of the 20th century. Set includes:

'Cross My Heart' (1987) - Martin Short and Annette O'Toole are appealing in an otherwise colorless sex farce exploring the awkwardness of adult dating. A few laughs, but strictly sitcom material.

'Fierce Creatures' (1992) - red-headed stepchild of 'A Fish Called Wanda,' featuring the principals from that film, suffers from an aimless and contrived script. Intermittent silliness, but nothing more.

'Opportunity Knocks' (1990) - Dana Carvey tries too hard to be cute as a con-man with a heart in a caper flick whose class-conscious storyline probably would have felt more at home in the mid-'80s. Harmless little morality tale, lean on laughs.

'Splitting Heirs' (1997) - likeable Rick Moranis and Eric Idle ham it up to meager effect in this tediously convoluted switched-at-birth vehicle. Arguably the worst of the lot.

On an up-note, if any of these films flew under your radar and pique your curiosity, or you're already a fan of one or more of them, knock yourself out-- the price is hard to beat. Single-sided discs are paired CMH/FC and OK/SH; all four movies are presented in anamorphic widescreen (FC is mislabeled as full-frame) with no extras. Content 2 1/2 stars, package 3 1/2 stars.

I purchased this for my husband because he likes a lot of the old movies. We couldn't quite decide if this was with the original actors or not, but ordered it anyway. To my husbands surprise and delight, they are indeed all with the original actors. He has watched them 2 or 3 times now and enjoyed every minute!

I bought this because it has the 2.35 version of Fierce Creatures, as the standalone Univeral DVD is 1.33.
Splitting Heirs was pretty good, I have not seen the other two films on this set (yet) so I cannot comment on them.