SimonJack The plot of "Funny Farm" is a good one, and the script has doses of funny lines. But most of the comedy comes in antics involving Chevy Chase, and in the comedy rapport between Chase and Madolyn Smith Osborne. From the opening scene - a farewell lunch and drinks among the boys from the newspaper, one might wonder why there haven't been at least a couple more movies made along these lines.Chase is Andy Farmer, a sports writer for one of the Big Apple newspapers of the day. He is doing what many "rag" writers dream of doing - escaping the big city for country life and the chance to write the great American novel. His wife, Elizabeth, is a school teacher and they both have looked forward to living in Redbud. It might be in Upstate New York, or western Connecticut or Massachusetts. The Farmers get there by heading up the Hudson Valley Parkway and have some distance to drive. Whichever state it's in, it is definitely some distance off any major roads. The country home they bought is very nice and has a tremendous view. While there's nothing wrong with the house, troubles begin right away with the movers, the rural mailman, and some of the locals. How will things work out? Will Andy get his novel done, or will someone else have success writing? Will the Farmers settle into their community? That's all part of the fun in this comedy that has just a little satire about rural life and people. This film has some swearing in places, but otherwise it's a decent comedy that older kids and adults should enjoy. The funniest lines are mostly upfront. Here are some favorites.Newspaper Editor, "Andy, all my life I've dreamed of packing up and leaving the city and the newspaper business behind." Reporter, "What stopped you, Jack?" Newspaper Editor, "And moving to some quiet little town in the country and putting down on paper the novel I know I have inside me." Reporter, "That's not a novel, Jack, its heartburn." Mickey, "This ain't a bridge. It's termites holding hands." Crocker, driver of the moving van, "You still got that map?" Mickey, "Yeah." Crocker, "Don't lose it. It might be the piece of evidence that gets me off a murder charge." Mickey, "Who you gonna kill?" Crocker, "The S.O.B. who drew that map." Elizabeth Farmer, "When they say hardwood floors, what they really mean is hard, wood floors."

Raymond I'm a huge fan of certain Chevy Chase movies like Vacation, Fletch, Spies Like Us, Three Amigos, even Caddyshack. While he's pretty much the same Chevy in Funny Farm and very funny in deed at times, the whole movie just didn't work out for me.Funny Farm is somewhat more restrained, wry and maybe even boring compared to other Chevy Chase movies. There's nothing really wrong with the movie (unless maybe the last act is a bit of an u-turn), everything works as should, direction is quite tight. It's quite difficult to say what's wrong, even tho it's a lot of fun, it lacks the warmth and engagement of most Chevy Chase movies. I really see this primarily as a Chevy Chase movie.While the leading lady did a pretty good job acting the part, I never thought she really fit the role. She just didn't have the Beverly D'Angelo kind of warmth I expected. I didn't feel the connection between Chevy and her wife. Also the lack of children made the movie seem a bit serious, even tho it had all the elements of a family comedy.George Roy Hill did a great job portraying the dry humour in Slap Shot, one of my all time favourite movies. To my mind his dryish humour worked much better in the bleak and wintery scenes of factory towns rather than beautiful Vermont. And don't get me wrong, the scenery and set deco are really nice to look at.Good pastime, but I don't see myself returning to this title for some time.

Amy Adler Andy Farmer (Chevy Chase) is a sports writer for a Manhattan newspaper. But, he and his lovely wife, Elizabeth (Madolyn Smith) long for a quiet life, away from the rat race. So, when Andy pitches an idea for a novel to a major publisher and receives an advance, they quit their jobs and buy a home in rural New England. Stopping for a picnic on the way to their new home, they take photographs of cows and wax lyrical about their coming good fortune. However, once in the town of Redbud, things do not go as planned. First, the movers get lost and are so irritated and tired by the time they arrive at the Farmers' house, they pitch Andy's desk chair into a nearby pond. Then, Andy and Elizabeth's new mail carrier is a maniac who drives by their place every day, going 70 mph and flinging their mail into the yard. Huh. Andy's first attempt at fishing his own pond results in the capture of a big black snake, which wraps around Andy's shoulders, while Elizabeth digs up a coffin, complete with a corpse, in the couple's garden. From their runaway dog to the horrid dinners served at the local diner to a major writers' block that consumes Andy, will they last the winter? This wonderfully funny film is a great entertainment choice for the proverbial "bad day". The script is very humorous, with a bevy of terrific one-liners. Case in point, when the movers arrive at a rickety bridge, one of them wails that "that's not a bridge, that's a bunch of termites holding hands"! Yes, that's one phrase, but the film sports quite a few of them. The cast, mostly unknowns, are great, with the star, Chase, on top of his game and Smith complimenting him nicely. The scenery in olde New England is lovely while the costumes and other movie niceties are top-notch. George Roy Hill's direction, too, is fast and fresh. If you are searching for surefire laughs at the end of a rough day, you could hardly do better than this little flick. Although it has no grandiose aspirations, it is grand entertainment indeed.

LukeCoolHand Well I thought I had seen Chevy Chase's worst film until I saw this. This is BY FAR his worst movie. My all time favorite is Vacation with Christmas Vacation and European Vacation tied for second. I didn't especially like Vegas Vacation but even that seems like a classic compared to this garbage. Not crazy about the Fletch movies but they are better than this. I know Roger Ebert gave this dull movie 3 and 1/2 stars but I wonder if we were watching the same movie.My least favorite before this was Three Amigos but that is better than Funny Farm. Caddy Shack was a good movie but Chase's role was trounced by Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray. Chase almost ruined that movie if you ask me, and he was the weakest comedian of the 4. When Chase is too laid back like in Caddysahck and Funny Farm, he is not funny.Talk about milking a character to death. The Saturday Night Live persona Chase created would only stretch so far. I would rather watch paint dry than ever watch this dud of a movie again.