No, I don't think too many have seen or know of this wonderful movie. Whenever I bring it up in discussion at work or around folks I normally receive blank stares or ask what movie is this? Yes, I knew the whisperer was based upon Neil Simon. There is so much to like in this movie, subtle touches and notes of nuance, character interactions and much history from behind the scenes of Show of Shows for those who wish to dig deep. I am very thankful to have seen this back in the day up on the big screen and I made sure to record it off HBO to watch and then tracked down a VHS copy and when DVD rolled around did the same. Some movies deserve to be watched often and My Favorite Year is one I enjoy going back to time and time again. 

Another longtime fan of My Favorite Year here!

Count me as another fan/admirer/whatever of My Favorite Year. My older brother first told me about after he saw it during its cinematic run; I first saw it on VHS a few years later and immediately fell in love with it. I haven't seen it in ages, though, a situation that has to be rectified.

Ah, thanks for reminding me of Local hero, a movie I've always wanted to see but have never got round to. Might try to make that one of my films for this month, since I'll be reading something from the early 80s soon. I already had Raising Arizona lined up (late 80s, but close enough), but should be able to fit in LH too.

Last week I watched Paris Holiday (1958), a Bob Hope vehicle that was more fun than I expected. I had forgotten how much I liked Hope: I always think of him as several ranks down from my favourite American comic actors or performers of his era or earlier (e.g. Abbot & Costello, the Marx brothers) but his relaxed delivery of one one-liner after another is very easy to take. French comedian Fernandel was co-star and was also very good, in a very different, more physical, much less dead-pan style (in fact the opposite). I'd like to see some of his French films to see how he comes across, he must have been quite famous to share top billing. A young Anita Ekberg had a fairly big role and as always looked incredible.

Last night I saw Love in the Afternoon (1957): in some ways similar to Sabrina, with a 50-something much older Gary Cooper romancing a 20-something Audrey Hepburn. Cooper was even more miscast than Bogart in Sabrina, to my eyes. Apparently Cary Grant had been the first choice and while he still would have been too old, I think he would have looked much better in the role. Maurice Chevalier was Hepburn's father and their scenes together are probably the best things in the film, apart from generally admiring Audrey Hepburn's beauty whenever she's on screen.

And I just watched Houseboat (1958) tonight. I'm a big Cary Grant fan and liked him in this as I do in almost every film of his I've seen, and Sophia Loren was great as well, but the whole story centred around Grant's character's three kids and as usual in Hollywood films and tv shows, I found the kid characters intensely irritating. Actually, to be fair, the little girl was pretty good - whether that was because her character was written as less of an annoying brat than the two boys or because she was a a better actor, I don't know. In any case, I thought she also had much better screen chemistry with both Grant and Loren than the other two kids. Sophia Loren is like a force of nature that this sort of Disneyish film can barely keep in check.

Though I've seen a fair number of movies with Bob Hope and at least a few with Bing Crosby, I don't thnk I've ever watched any of the Road to movies. Are they all more or less the same or are some better than others? Any representative examples or favourites to recommend, Brutalis or anyone else?

Let's see: 7 pictures in total were made.
Road to Singapore (1940)
  Probably the best as it is 1st and everything is fresh and new.
Road to Zanzibar (1941)
Much more Hope tomfoolery and musical numbers not quite as good IMO.
Road to Morocco (1942)
  Better songs, Crosby/Hope/Lamour hitting all the notes and spot on funny. Would rank as #2.
Road to Utopia (1946)
More great songs i would rank as #3.
Road to Rio (1947)
  Kind of lesser IMO with a few spots of hilarity along the well worn road by now. 
Road to Bali (1952)
#4 for me as it is quite fun and light hearted and free spirited.
The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
  Made 9 years "after" the rest it is a fitting finale but some of the spirit and fun is showing its age by now as humor and comedy and movies in general are all changing.

They all follow more or less the same pattern: Crosby is the "brains", Hope the sucker/goofball and Lamour the lady they usually fight over. Songs and jokes/gags/humor/silliness aplenty with minimal plot since the music and gags were the main draw. The banter for Hope/Crosby is classic and has a natural ease and finesse that plays well on the screen. Much of what the 2 do is ad-libbed with the barest of guides for them to follow since they are such natural professionals and quick of wit and feet. Each movie is fun in their own respects and have plenty to recommend each. Each movie also focuses on different satire and spoofs of other movie tropes while Bing and Bob do their act. 

Wednesday night at the movies I slipped in my DVD of National Lampoon's Animal House, the 1978 college frat house laughfest which takes on a romp through 1962 with a new batch of FAber College freshmen and turned John Belushi into a movie star. One of if not the very 1st comedies making big bucks and showing that gross out humor when done well brings in the viewers. A splendid cast aligned with popular 70's ideas of humor and comedy the movie has become a classic. So many of the jokes and sequences we all repeated in high school and embarrassment of others and teachers. A killer soundtrack of songs adds to the joy and the comedy is so daring and provocatively different from any other comedy movie and started a giant trend of teen growing of age/gross out jokes/sexual growth movies of endless playing which you could see any weekend at the drive-in's or late night on HBO. Just remember folks, Nothing is over until we decide it is! The movie also inspired a television show for ABC called Delta house and multiple tries to conceive a sequel (thankfully never happening) but this movie is/was lightning in a bottle and is better served having others delivering their own attempts like Porky's, Caddy Shack, Airplane, Risky Business, Revenge of the Nerds, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ferris Bueller and such other gems of comedies.