Mel
Brooks served as executive producer on this thoroughly delightful picture
released in 1982 and directed by actor/director Richard Benjamin. It feels
like a Brooks movie (but perhaps not as zany). In fact, My Favorite Year,
which was written by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo, from Palumbo’s story,
is loosely inspired by Brooks’ days as a writer on Sid Caesar’s early
television comedy/variety programs, Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s
Hour, in the 1950s.
The
year is 1954, New York City, and Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) is a young
comedy writer on “Comedy Cavalcade,†which stars the demanding and difficult-to-work-for
King Kaiser (Joseph Bologna). The studio is lucky to snare a guest appearance
on the show by the once hugely popular but now fading swashbuckling movie star,
Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole). Swann is a notorious alcoholic, is unreliable, and has
a reputation for major trouble. Stone is assigned the job of being Swann’s
babysitter during the rehearsal process to make sure the actor is on time, that
he stays away from the booze and women, and is present for the ever-important
live broadcast. Along the way, Stone falls in love with his co-worker, K.C.
(Jessica Harper), but she’s not impressed with Benjy—yet. Throw in a subplot
involving a mob boss (Cameron Mitchell) who wants to kill King Kaiser for
making fun of him on the show, and My Favorite Year becomes a laugh riot
that also manages to trigger a great deal of nostalgia for those halcyon years
of early TV.
O’Toole
received a deserved Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance. The
character is based on Errol Flynn, who in reality was a guest on one episode of
Sid Caesar’s TV show. The Benjy Stone character is an amalgamation of not only
Brooks himself, but also Woody Allen, who worked on the same show. The
character of Herb (Basil Hoffman), is allegedly based on Neil Simon, who also was
a member of the Sid Caesar writing troupe. Simon tended to whisper his ideas to
a colleague, and that’s what Herb does throughout the movie.
The
film is full of comic set pieces, and every actor brings something humorous to
the table. A highlight of the film is when Stone brings Swann to his family
home in Brooklyn for dinner with his mother, Belle (Lainie Kazan) and Filipino
stepfather, and the party is crashed by Stone’s uncle (Lou Jacobi) and others. Look
for Gloria Stuart (the older Rose in Titanic) in a small role as a woman
who dances with O’Toole at a nightclub.
Warner
Archive’s high definition transfer is on par with other releases by the
company, which prints the disks on demand. It comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio
2.0 Mono soundtrack. An entertaining audio commentary by director Benjamin is
included, and it should be noted that he also displays an assured hand helming the
proceedings.
My
Favorite Year will
provide an evening of nostalgia, swashbuckling, and laughter. Especially
recommended for fans of early television, who will pick up on the various
references and Easter eggs.
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