Category: Humor

Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only (2023) / Z-View

Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only (2023)

Director:  Rashidi Natara Harper

Stars: Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, Cedric The Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, Keith Robinson, Tony Rock and Wanda Sykes.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Kevin Hart and Chris Rock take us behind the scenes and back to their humble starts in comedy as they prepare for a series of New York shows.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was expecting to see some of the show highlights featuring the comedy of Kevin Hart and Chris Rock.  That’s not the focus of this documentary which instead features each comedian (and others) talking about the rise to the top.

Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only (2023) earns 3 of 5 stars.

RIP: Joyce Randolph

Joyce Randolph died yesterday in her sleep.  Ms. Randolph was 99.

After high school in Detroit, Joyce Randolph auditioned for a part in a touring company of Stage Door. She earned the role and finished the tour.  She then moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.  Joyce Randolph began getting roles on Broadway and television.  When Jackie Gleason offered her the role of Trixie on The Honeymooners, she became a household name.

Some of Joyce Randolph’s television appearances include: Gander Sauce; Rocky King, Detective; Buck Rogers; The Ed Sullivan Show; The Plainclothesman (5 episodes); The Jack Benny Program; The Honeymooners (39 episodes); The Jackie Gleason Show (79 episodes); Hi Honey, I’m Home and Everything’s Jake.

Because Joyce Randolph became so typecast from her role on The Honeymooners, it became hard for her to get roles.  She turned to acting in summer stock, commercials and the occasional television guest spot.  Joyce Randolph was the last surviving cast member of what many consider the best television comedy ever made.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joyce Randolph’s family, friends and fans.

“Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1953) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello & Boris Karloff / Z-View

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

Director:  Charles Lamont

Screenplay: Lee Loeb, John Grant; story by Sid Fields, Grant Garett;inspired by The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Helen Westcott, Reginald Denny, John Dierkes, Harry Cording and Craig Stevens.

Tagline: The Laughs Are Twice as MONSTER-OUS as Ever Before!

The Plot…

A maniacal serial killer stalks the streets of London.  Slim (Abbott) and Tubby (Costello), American cops sent over to study England’s police methods, are pulled into the case.

Let the good times roll!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

In this version, Dr. Jekyll isn’t such a nice guy.  In most outings, it isn’t until he becomes Mr. Hyde that he becomes evil.

Boris Karloff appeared with Abbott and Costello four years earlier in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) earns 5 of 5 stars.

The Three Stooges Shorts: My Thoughts & Trivia After Viewing Them All!

When I was a little kid, I loved watching The Three Stooges shorts on television.  I was the perfect age for their slapstick antics.  At the time, I thought it would be cool to view every Three Stooges Short ever made.  Who knew that 6 decades later I’d finally complete the mission.

During the past year (and maybe a little longer), I watched all 190 Three Stooges’ shorts. Mission accomplished.  Every Stooges’ short is now Z-Viewed and posted.  My viewing resulted in some trivia…

Years with the most Stooges’ shorts released:

1943 – 10 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1940 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1946 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1948 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Shemp
1950 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Shemp
1953 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Shemp

Years with the fewest Stooges’ shorts released:

1959 – 2 starring Moe, Larry & Joe
1933 – 4 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1945 – 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly

Years that I rated the most 5 stars to Stooges’ shorts:

1938 – 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1943 – 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1940 – 4 starring Moe, Larry & Curly

Highest Average Rating for Stooges’ shorts released

1938 – 4.5 out of 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1943 – 4.4 out of 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1940 – 4.3 out of 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly

Lowest Average Rating for Stooges’ shorts released

1958 – 2.67 starring Moe, Larry & Joe
1957 – 2,75 starring Moe, Larry & Joe
1959 – 3.0 starring Moe, Larry & Joe

From my ratings it becomes clear that my favorites were the shorts featuring Curly.  It could be because Moe, Larry and Curly were the trio of knuckleheads that I first discovered.  It could also be because Curly was my favorite Stooge for years.

Still is.

But I also enjoy Shemp’s antics.  He was a fine addition to the team when Curly had to leave because of health issues.  When I was younger, I didn’t like Joe at all.  I found him to be irritating and not funny.  As an adult, I appreciate Joe bringing his own brand of humor to the team.  And I do find him funny now.  There’s no argument that Joe’s years on the team were the worst.  But, it would be wrong to blame it on him.  At the point he came on board, Columbia was the only studio making shorts.  The slashed the budgets on the final Stooges’ two-reelers and used a lot of stock footage from earlier Stooges outings.  This was no fault of Joe’s.

It’s too bad that studios don’t make two-reelers any more.  They might help get folks back into theaters.  Heck, maybe just release some of  the best Stooges shorts.  It’s time for a new generation to discover them.

“Dizzy Detectives” (1943) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Dizzy Detectives (1943)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard and Bud Jamison.

Tagline: Deliriously daffy with laughs!

The Plot…

Our boys are carpenters turned cops dealing with crooks & a gorilla. Of course they are.  Let the monkeyshines begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The opening scene is reused from the Stooges 1935 short, Pardon My Scotch.  It’s the scene where a table that Moe is standing on is cut in half by Curly.  Moe took the fall in real life and broke three ribs.

Dizzy Detectives (1943) earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Rusty Romeos” (1957) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Rusty Romeos (1957)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Jack White, Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys decide to clean up their house (with their usual brand of success) just hours before they are all to be married. Once their house is tidy, they will all head off to get hitched to their future brides. Surprisingly none of our guys have seen the others’ fiancés. What they don’t know, but will soon learn is they are all expecting to marry the same woman! What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Rusty Romeos is a remake of the Stooges’ 1952 short Corny Casanovas using several scenes from the original.  Joe replaced Shemp in the reboot, but in one scene Shemp’s portrait can be seen in the background.

Rusty Romeos (1957) earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Sappy Bull Fighters” (1959) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Sappy Bull Fighters (1959)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Jack White

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser and Joe Palma.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys are entertainers down in Mexico.  When their suitcases get mixed up with the woman of an insanely jealous husband, the hijinks begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sappy Bull Fighters is a reboot of the Stooges 1942 short What’s the Matador?,  Eagle-eyed viewers will spot Curly in some of the reused footage.

Although Sappy Bull Fighters wasn’t the last Stooges’ short filmed. it was the last to be released to theaters.

It may be Mary Tyler Moore playing a ballet dancer in the background at around the 1:30 mark.  It sure looks like her.

Sappy Bull Fighters (1959) earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Triple Crossed” (1959) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Triple Crossed (1959)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Warren Wilson

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Diana Darrin and Shemp Howard.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Larry is having an affair with Moe’s wife and trying to move in on Joe’s girl.  When Moe catches on that his wife is cheating, Larry sets up Joe to be the fall guy.  It all comes to a head when Larry, Moe and Joe as well as the girls end up in the same room.

Let the hijinks begin.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Triple Crossed is a remake of the Stooges 1952 short, He Cooked His GooseTriple Crossed not only uses footage from that short, but sharp eyes and eyes will see/hear Shemp in the remake.  You can also notice the word “Joe” dubbed in when characters are saying “Shemp” in the reused footage.

Triple Crossed (1959) earns 3 of 5 stars.

RIP: Tom Smothers

Tom Smothers, born Thomas Bolyn Smothers III, died yesterday from cancer.  Mr. Smothers was 86.

In high school Tom Smothers was a state champion gymnast in the parallel bars.  While attending San José State University, Mr. Smothers competed in gymnastics and the pole vault with the track and field team.

Tom and his younger brother, Dick, wanted to be folk musicians.  Tom thought that while he wasn’t good enough to be a professional musician, he was funny enough to be a comedian.  So the two began adding comedy bits to their performances.  Their act caught on.  CBS gave them their first television show, The Smothers Brothers Show.  It lasted one season.

Tom Smothers negotiated creative control for their next CBS series, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  By this point Tom had become politically active.  He and Dick began to push the limits with references to recreational drugs, sex, religion and the Viet Nam war.  The show’s war with the CBS censors generated a lot of publicity and the show ended up being cancelled.

Tom Smothers continued to appear with his brother for live performances.  Tom Smothers also continued to be a political activist.  He attended the famous Monterey Pop Festival where he introduced several of the acts.  He became friends with John Lennon and actually played acoustic guitar on Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” record.

For the rest of his career Tom Smothers performed live, on television, feature films and commercials.

Some of Tom Smothers’ television appearances include: The Danny Thomas Show; Burke’s Law; My Brother the Angel (32 episodes); The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (73 episodes); Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (3 episodes); Love American Style; Fitz & Bones (4 episodes); Fantasy Island; The Love Boat (2 episodes); The Smothers Brothers Show (13 episodes); Hotel; Tales of the Unexpected (2 episodes); Dream On; Suddenly Susan (3 episodes); Norm (2 episodes) and The Simpsons.

Some of Tom Smothers’ feature film appearances include: Get to Know Your Rabbit; Silver Bears and Serial.

I was a kid when The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was getting all of the heat over trouble with the censors.  It just made me want to watch it more.  I always enjoyed seeing Tom and Dick Smothers perform.  They never failed to give me  smile.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Smothers’ family, friends and fans.

“Oil’s Well That Ends Well” (1958) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Oil’s Well That Ends Well (1958)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys receive a letter from their dad saying that he needs surgery.  Dad suggests that our guys go to land that he owns and search for uranium.  So our boys do just that.  They find oil!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

While Oil’s Well That Ends Well reuses some footage from Oily to Bed Oily to Rise, the 1939 Stooges short, it is in service to a new story.  The footage used shows Curly atop the spout when the boys strike oil. Oil’s Well That Ends Well is also the only Stooges short that has no supporting actors.  It’s just Larry, Moe and Joe from start to finish.

Oil’s Well That Ends Well (1958) earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Frasier” – Season 1 (2023) starring Kelsey Grammer / Z-View

Frasier – Season 1 (2023)

Based on: Frasier by David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee; Frasier Crane by Glen Charles & Les Charles; developed by Chris Harris, Joe Cristalli

Director:  James Burrows (Eps.1 – 2); Kelly Park (Ep. 3; 6); Kelsey Grammer (Eps. 4; 7 – 8; 10); Phill Lewis (Ep. 5);

Teleplay by: Joe Cristalli & Chris Harris (Ep. 1); Stephen Lloyd (Ep. 2); Lauren Houseman (Ep. 3); Bob Daily (Ep. 4); Farhan Arshad (Ep. 5); Joe Cristalli (Ep. 6); Sasha Stroman (Ep. 7); Miles Woods (Ep. 8); Robb Chavis (Ep. 9); Janene Lin & Jenna Martin & Naima Pearce (Ep. 10)

Starring:  Kelsey Grammer, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Toks Olagundoye, Jess Salgueiro, Anders Keith, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jimmy Dunn, Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin.

Tagline: None.

The Plot: 

Frasier Crane, a Harvard educated, wealthy and famous television psychologist moves back to Boston after the death of his father.  Frasier hopes to rebuild a relationship with his grown son, Freddy.  Freddy is now a firefighter, having dropped out of Harvard.  Frasier buys the apartment building where Freddy lives, moves in and returns to Harvard as a Professor.

Let the good times roll

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

The season starts off a bit shaky but really hits stride with episode 6 which reaches the high bar set by the original series.

Many scenes take place in a bar called Mahoney’s.  This is a tribute to the late John Mahoney who played Frasier’s father in the original series.  It’s interesting to note that Kelsey Grammer is older than John Mahoney was when he played Frasier’s dad.

Frasier – Season 1 (2023)

“Flying Saucer Daffy” (1958) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Flying Saucer Daffy (1958)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Jack White

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Emil Sitka, Gail Bonney and Diana Darrin.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Joe lives with his Aunt and cousins, Larry and Moe.  They treat Joe terribly.  When Joe accidentally gets a photo of a flying saucer and wins $10,000 things change… for the worse.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Flying Saucer Daffy was Joe Besser’s favorite Stooge short.  It is also the last Stooges short to be filmed.  Since the studio didn’t release them in order, it wasn’t the last to be shown in theaters. Sappy Bull Fighters is the answer to that trivia question.

Moe was actually older than the actress who played his mother.

A snippet of footage from Earth vs the Flying Saucers is used in this one.

Flying Saucer Daffy (1958) earns 3 of 5 stars.

Pies and Guys (1958) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Pies and Guys (1958)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Emil Sitka and Milton Frome.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys’ sister, Birdie, has died and been reincarnated as a horse.  Birdie lives with the boys. At breakfast one morning, our guys learn that Birdie’s mate, Schnapps is a famous circus horse.  They also discover that Schnapps was injured and is scheduled to be put down.

It is up to our guys (and Birdie) to save Schnapps.  What could go wrong.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Pies and Guys is a remake of the Stooges’ 1947 short, Half-Wits Holiday which was a remake of their 1935 short Hoi Polloi. Pies and Guys used stock footage, so some of those pies had been around for a while.  ; )

Pies and Guys (1958) earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Horsing Around” (1957) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Horsing Around (1957)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser  and Emil Sitka.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys’ sister, Birdie, has died and been reincarnated as a horse.  Birdie lives with the boys. At breakfast one morning, our guys learn that Birdie’s mate, Schnapps is a famous circus horse.  They also discover that Schnapps was injured and is scheduled to be put down.

It is up to our guys (and Birdie) to save Schnapps.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Horsing Around is a sequel to Hoofs and Goofs released earlier in the year.  The weird part (well, if there is a weird part when it comes to The Three Stooges) is that Hoofs and Goofs was supposed to be a dream.

Horsing Around (1957) earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Fifi Blows Her Top” (1958) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

Fifi Blows Her Top (1958)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Philip Van Zandt. Christine McIntyre. Heinie Conklin, Al Thompson  and Joe Palma.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Larry’s former girlfriend, Fifi moves in the apartment across the hall.  Only now she’s married to a jealous husband.  So when Fifi’s dress gets ruined in the boys’ apartment, you know the husband is going to show up.  Let the hijinks begin.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Fifi Blows Her Top is a reboot of the Stooges’ Love at First Bite and incorporates footage from it.

Fifi Blows Her Top (1958) earns 2 of 5 stars.