The Tall Guy (1989)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Mel Smith

Writer:

Richard Curtis (writer)

Release Date:

21 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Dexter King plays straight man to unpleasant comedian Ron Anderson. He falls in love with Kate, a pretty...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Nurse | Comedian | Sex | Breasts

Cast

Jeff Goldblum	...	Dexter King
Rowan Atkinson	...	Ron Anderson
Emma Thompson	...	Kate Lemmon
Geraldine James	...	Carmen
Anna Massey	...	Mary
Kim Thomson	...	Cheryl
Hugh Thomas	...	Dr. Karabekian
Emil Wolk	...	Cyprus Charlie
Harold Innocent	...	Timothy
Joanna Kanska	...	Tamara
B.J. Rambo	...	'Elephant' Chorus
Jan Lloyd	...	'Elephant' Chorus
Peter Kelly	...	Gavin
Tim Barlow	...	Mr. Morrow (as Timothy Barlow)
Charles Lamb	...	Old Man in Wheelchair

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

London Weekend Television (LWT)

Trivia:

Cameo: [(Graham Suggs McPherson)]former lead singer of Madness, makes a cameo as their song "It must be love" plays on the soundtrack.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Cheryl trails her fingers across the piano keys; the sound is not heard until after the cutaway.

Quotes:

Ron Anderson: [as he is being tied up by Dexter] What the hell is going on?
Dexter: I'll tell you what's going on - first you waste four years of my life! And then you take the only thing I ever really cared about!
Ron Anderson: Your bicycle?

Movie Connections:

References Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Soundtrack:

It Must Be Love

Great Modern British comedy before Four Weddings.

This movie is proof that Britain was creating great comedies before Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Written by the same man responsible for Four Weddings in Richard Curtis, this is a wonderfully funny movie following the ups and downs of an American actor's career and love life in London.

But as good as the main characters played by Goldblum and Thompson are, it is the supporting cast that are the real highlight, from Goldblum's slightly deranged landlady, to the star of the stage show he acts in played by Rowan Atkinson, with an ego the size of the theatre he's playing in. All are superb and have flashes of scene stealing brilliance.

Add in a great musical piece from Suggs, and you have a greatly overlooked gem of a comedy.