Customer Reviews

The Dream Team

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Dream Team is just another one of those killer comedies that no one went to see when it was originally released, but has now found a nice following on home video. I actually saw the film in theaters and thought it was hands down the funniest movie of the year!

First you have a great comedy ensemble who also can play drama just as effectively. Michael Keaton is Billy Caufield ("I'm an escaped mental patient with a history of violence"), Christopher Lloyd is Henry Sikorsky, an overly organized person ("Why don't we bring this up in group? Or maybe we should just hug?"), Peter Boyle is Jack McDermott who has a Messiah complex ("Arise and walk, my son"), & Stephen Furst is Albert Ianuzzi, who only speaks in TV ads and baseball jargon ("Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee").

If you don't already know by now, these guys are four mental patients, whose doctor, played by Dennis Boutsikaris ("One more afternoon in the rec room and I'm gonna have to go on Thorazine myself"), decides to take them to a baseball game in New York. Only things don't go as planned, as the good doctor ends up getting knocked unconscious and whisked away to a hospital, leaving his patients all alone on the streets of New York City. And the comedy ensues! As the gang tries to figure out a way to find their doctor, they end up finding "themselves" in the process. Add Lorraine Bracco (of "Goodfellas" and "The Sopranos" fame) as Keaton's girlfriend ("So am I walking home with an escaped mental patient or what?") and you know you're set to have a good time.

What makes the film memorable is that it has the perfect blend of laugh outloud humor ("We're a special combat unit with the United States Marine Corps and we've been tracking some Libyan terrorists. In fact I think we've got 'em trailed to a bagel shop around the corner.") combined with some tender dramatic moments, that work together seamlessly.

The DVD is your typical standard DVD. No extras, other than the original theatrical trailer. Happily the film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which looks pretty good. A little dark in some spots, but not too much to complain about.

So if you're looking for a comedy that's full of great laughs as well as a good story with some dramatic moments thrown in for good measure, pick up The Dream Team today. It's the sanest choice to make!

The Dream Team - a very funny movie.

Henry - "We're directly under the Hudson River now".

Billy - "Yeah. You guys see those tiles up there, all those individual tiles? Doc, isn't true that if even one of those tiles were to come loose, like millions and millions of gallons of water would come pouring down on us and crush us like tiny little bugs? (pauses) Is that a leak up there? You see those tiles? They're leakin' water! Oh, my God!"

Jack - "I will hold back the waters".

Billy - "Thanks, Jack".

I first saw the Dream Team when I was 16. I saw it once and I couldn't breathe from all of the laughing I was doing. I taped it off cable and kept that copy until I bought the DVD.

The strength of this movie is the dialogue between the characters, the one-liners, and the terrific acting from four well-respected actors. I rank it as one of the greatest comedies ever. I wish it had received more notice when it was released back in 1989. It hasn't become dated with the times, however. It is very watchable today.

It's about four mental patients let loose in New York City, just trying to survive and save their hospitalized doctor from two crooked, murderous police officers. It's hilarious.

There's Billy, played by Michael Keaton, who is a pathological liar with a violent temper(he doesn't hurt anyone, really); Jack, played by Peter Boyle(Everybody Loves Raymond), who is a former ad exec. who thinks he's Jesus; Henry, played by Christopher Lloyd(Taxi, Back to the Future), the schizophrenic neat freak who thinks he's a doctor; finally, you have Albert, played by Stephen Furst(St.Elsewhere), the catatonic baseball fan who can only speak as a baseball announcer.

Other actors are Dennis Boutsikaris as Dr. Weitzman, the sympathetic psychiatrist of the group. You also have Lorraine Bracco(The Sopranos) as Billy Caulfield's ex-girlfriend, Philip Bosco(great character actor, Three Men and a Baby and too many to list)as one of the crooked cops, and James Remar(48HRs and many others-great as a tough, evil guy) as his partner.

This movie will have you laughing your butt off! There are too many great lines and scenes to list here. Some great ones:

doctor: "Jack, Jesus Christ would never point a gun at another human being."

Jack: "Stay outta my psychosis, now get your ass in that van!"

Army Surplus store clerk to Jack who is trying on clothes: "I'm telling you, it works. It's a statement man. You know who you are."

Billy(to store clerk): "No, he doesn't"

Billy(on phone:)"Nurse Helen Grabowski? Hey, this is Billy Caulfield, you treated me for a scalp wound once. Yeah, self-inflicted, right."

There's also a great scene where Jack "heals" a patient on a hospital gurney. "Arise and walk my son." The result is hilarious!

See this movie!! One of the funniest, most underrated comedies ever! I agree with an above reviewer, it sure beats the drivel that passes for comedy these days.

This story is a creative, hilarious story about 4 insane men loose in NYC, trying to solve a crime. They find that they can behave in a relitively sane manner and they learn how to work as a group. It is extremely funny. A must see!

This movie definitely goes down as one of my all-time favorites as far as a comedy goes. From Michael Keaton in his skin tight awesome 80s Springsteen jeans to Christopher Lloyd's walking around with a lab coat on and a clipboard saying " I want you to know this is all going on my report." Its always the small things that you sometimes won't even notice until you watch a movie for the second or third time that really make you laugh. I think that compulsive liars are some of the funniest people in the world, and having Michael Keaton play one is perfect.
Not too many movies have come out recently that will really make you laugh (besides dumb and dumber and a few others) but just the way people dress in this movie will make you laugh, and the acting is hilarious.

Just got through watching it, and I'm still cracking up at those incredibly funny situations and classic one liners.The plot is about 4 "psychos"; Billy, a pathological liar with a violent streak, finds himself on loose in New York City with his fellow group therapy patients: Henry, a neat freak; Jack a former advertising executive who thinks he's Christ; and Albert a catatonic couch potato. Faced with the task of rescuing their missing doctor from a pair of crooked cops (who mess him up real bad), the group finds themselves sharing a series of hilarious misadventures in this farce hilarious comedy that is sure to have you on the floor. It's hysterical! One of the funniest movies I've ever seen!

I have always loved this film, and its great to see it on DVD at last.

hey i never laugh so hard or wanted the good guys to win, but i did in this one a very classic picture . so it's a shame to me why it has'nt come out on dvd yet. i mean michael keaton as the irresistible billy calfield a con with temper peter boyle as jack who thinks he's the savior , chistopher lloyd who thinks he's the doctor for the mental institution & the other guy who does'nt talk at all a very funny , caring comedy. omitt the two f words & other profanity then it would be a better picture just my opinion.

Highly recommended .

A side-splitting comedy about four mental patients: Michael Keaton as a habitual liar who has violent tendencies, Christopher Lloyd as an obsessive-compulsive who thinks he runs the hospital, Peter Boyle as a former advertising executive with a messiah complex who likes to take his clothes off, and Stephen Furst as catatonic couch potato. Against the wishes of the hospital administration, their compassionate doctor takes the four patients to New York City to watch a major league baseball game. When the van reaches the city, the doctor has to exit the van - with patients still inside - only to witness a murder committed by two corrupt cops. The doctor is attacked by the cops, leaving him hospitalized and unable to help his patients. The patients then find themselves framed for the murder. Now the patients have to not only act "sane" to prove their innocence, they also have to save the life of their doctor who is still a target of the two cops.

What makes this movie work is the relationship of the patients. It is so much fun watching Keaton, Lloyd, and Boyle bicker all the time about the littlest things. Boyle has a really funny scene in which he leaves the van while Lloyd tries to block him. Boyle then muscles his way past Lloyd, tells him that He shall have no false gods before Him, and finally he tells Lloyd to get out his way before calling him a seven-letter word. There might only be so much you can do with a catatonic character, but Furst is quite memorable. Even though the doctor must have the patience of a saint when dealing with them, he probably has a harder time suppressing a laugh. Quite simply, this is a movie that gets better every time you watch it.

Michael Keaton is well-supported by a great cast in this slightly dark comedy. The plot is well-drafted and superbly directed. The characters are realistic and empathetic.

"Dream Team" provides an excellent satirical analysis of current psychological institutions and practices without resorting to the horror tactics used in "Cuckoo's Nest".

Please re-release the video! It's as funny and relevant now as when it first showed in cinemas. It deserves to be seen by new generations of fans.

There is only one other movie ever made better than Dream Team and that was Gone With the Wind. I have watched it at least 10 times and laugh just as hard ever time! I want to give it to my friends as gifts. How can we persuade the powers that be to release it again? Please, please, please.