ThiefHott
Too much of everything
SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Reptileenbu
Did you people see the same film I saw?
steveo122
Screwball. Deft. Not an unpleasant bone in its body, even when it dips into human frailties. One of those comedies that feels as if everybody got everything right, as in just what they were looking for. Wonderful character actors at work. Without them, it would have been insipidly corny. O'Toole as an Errol Flynn type is just about perfect. Excellent music choices.
Scott44
Reviewer Bill Slocum ("Plastered Makes Perfect", Bill Slocum from Greenwich, CT United States, 15 May 2003) has a nice summary with insight in Sid Caesar's troubles later in his career. Also, theowinthrop ("Sid Caesar, Errol Flynn, Mel Brooks, and Jimmy Hoffa meet 'incognito'", theowinthrop from United States, 29 July 2006) has more background information that is interesting to fans of this great movie."My Favorite Year" is at times uproariously funny, poignant and romantic, taking the viewer to great heights within the comedy/romance genre. With adroit skill, Peter O'Toole plays dissolute film legend Alan Swann, a cross between the washed-up, 1950s version of Errol Flynn and O'Toole himself. Hopeless tipper Flynn's booking on comedian Sid Caesar's live TV program is a general inspiration for the almost entirely fictional narrative.This is also a love story, as Mel Brooks-stand-in Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) succeeds romantically with office co-worker KC Downing (Jessica Harper), thanks largely to the help Swann gives to his young chaperon. The stream of sage wisdom that O'Toole offers Stone about women and getting the most out of life is a very rich cinematic experience. So is the depiction of an actor's torment; as he must perform even when his mental reserves to do so are exhausted.O'Toole did all of his own stunts, which generally are quite dangerous. The finish is a scream; I can't recall anything quite so funny in a long time. If you ever get the opportunity to watch this screened in public, go for it! Mortals!!
Lenie Colacino
So says Alan Swann and he is so right. Peter O'Toole shows that there is a great actor inside of a great comedic performance. His remarkable portrayal of Swann stands out among all his other performances because Swann, in so many ways, is a thinly veiled O'Toole. His timing, physical grace and delivery rival the all time greats including Chaplin, Laurel, and Gleason. The pacing, casting and plot are expertly woven by director Richard Benjamin to create an inside look at early T. V. production and a crazy Jewish family. The scene of Swan attending dinner in Brooklyn with staff writer Benjy Stone's family is one of the funniest in screen history due in equal parts to the fantastic performances of O'Toole, Lou Jacobi (as a scene-stealing "Uncle Mortie") and Lainie Kazan as the mother of all Jewish mothers. As Swann, O'Toole manages to be loathsome, endearing, infuriating, charming and vulnerable. Kudos to Bill Macy as Benjy's crass boss and Joseph Bologna as the hot-tempered but indomitable King Kaiser. My Favorite Year never disappoints in delivering laughs and perhaps a sentimental tear as well.
gelman@attglobal.net
Although Peter O'Toole is unquestionably the star of "My Favorite Year" in the part of an aging film star, whose major preoccupations are having sex with beautiful young women and getting roaring drunk, he's not the only actor to acquit himself well in this film. Joseph Bologna as King Kaiser, a TV comedian, imitates Sid Caesar with considerable success, Mark Linn-Baker is very good as a junior writer on the show assigned to make sure that Alan Swann (O'Toole's character modeled on Errol Flynn) is actually on hand when the show is broadcast, and Jessica Baker is charming as the young writer's love interest. But O'Toole dominates the comedy just as he dominated his best known dramatic films, and he is hilarious, reminding us that his star, when at its brightest, shown brilliantly not alone because he was physically beautiful but because the guy could really act. His imitation of a drunk is priceless, even though, in fact, O'Toole unfortunately had a good deal of experience to go with his acting talent on this particular matter.
