John Candy's career, like a wine you really liked, was gone far too soon. Sometimes it seems we had only just opened the bottle when suddenly there was no more to enjoy. Candy left more than a dozen movies behind, as well as some cherished memories of the television classic, SCTV, a behind-the-scenes experience itself. He did Delirious in 1991, giving us another peek into the workings of a TV show.
Candy co-starred with quite a cast, including Mariel Hemingway, Jerry Orbach, and Raymond Burr in his last screen role. It's fitting that these actors all had successes of their own on what we laughingly refer to as the small screen. Mine is 55 inches and takes up a good expanse of a wall in my living room.
Candy plays a soap opera writer who can make things happen just by writing them. Imagine how valuable that old Selectric would have been to you with that gift. It's a bump on the head that sends him senseless, then superpowered. However, a great idea does not a good movie make. Just ask eight out of ten people who have seen Delirious. At least that many critics also agree, so it's not just disgruntled movie-goers blowing a raspberry.
I would expect to like a movie such as this, as behind-the-scenes-entertainment is a favorite topic of mine. I also like movies about time travel, football, and wine, if anybody wants to try and make me happy. Please, form a line, not everyone at once.
Did you know that Oprah has a TV soap opera called The Kings of Napa? Neither did I. Now I have to figure out what channel Spectrum puts OWN on. Before I go down that rabbit hole, let me pair Delirious, the wine, with Delirious, the movie. From Austria's Burgenland region, this white wine features Gelber Muskateller as the star grape. It was called Yellow Muscat until the blurb writer bumped his head. It should run you about $15.
Also in 1991, Soapdish centered on a soap opera, too. Was there something in Hollywood's water supply that year? Soap, possibly? As I swirl a sample now, yes, I do get a slight lanolin sensation.
Soapdish is actually a soap opera about a soap opera. Nobody gets hit in the head here, but you see the action coming from the first act. An actor's ultimatum leads to a live episode of the daily melodrama, which in turn leads to someone with brain fever being written out of the show. I love it when art imitates art.
This film ran the risk of culture cancellation since a transgender woman is made out to be the villain. The film survives, but the character in question winds up doing her acting amid the clatter of dishes in a dinner theater. A stage adaptation got workshopped and a television version amounted to a lot of industry people shuffling papers and clearing their throats. It still has an office somewhere at Paramount.
The 1980s soap opera Falcon Crest was set in the make-believe wine country of Tuscany Valley. Much like fava beans, soap operas go well with a fine Chianti. At least, that's what it says here. The San Felice Chianti Classico knocked me out when I tasted it. No, I wasn't hit on the head. Depending on your taste, a bottle will cost anywhere from $20 to $50.
2002's Death to Smoochy was directed by Danny DeVito, who also appeared in the film, along with Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Jon Stewart and a host of immediately recognizable character actors. Despite the wealth of talent, Smoochy died a thousand deaths. To say that nobody liked it would be inaccurate, but not too far off the mark.
Williams plays the host of a TV kiddie show who suffers a debilitating scandal and loses everything he holds dear. How could a comedy with that premise not find an audience? Well, you could ask Bobcat Goldthwait. He did Shakes the Clown a decade before Smoochy, to a similar absence of ticket purchasers. Obviously the general public doesn't see the humor in these movies like I do.
The disgraced kiddie host funnels his anger towards his replacement, a guy who plays the character of Smoochy the Rhino. Even though Smoochy is the target of numerous failed attempts to get him off the show, it’s his cousin Moochy who ends up at the morgue. I'm not worried about this spoiler paragraph. It's not like knowing who dies is going to spoil it for you.
American Vintners' Smooch line does not appear to be available anymore in those cute little single-serve bottles. Too bad for the airline industry. But, if you're up for an adventure, seek out Bushy Run Winery's Sunset Smooch. Located outside of Pittsburgh, and using fruit other than grapes for their wine, adventure might be a generous term. But I hear it pairs nicely with food that has fries piled on top, Pittsburgh style.
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