A Fine Mess | |
---|---|
Directed by | Blake Edwards |
Written by | Blake Edwards |
Produced by | Tony Adams |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Harry Stradling, Jr. |
Music by | Henry Mancini |
Production company | Blake Edwards Entertainment |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15 million [1] |
Box office | $6,029,824 |
A Fine Mess is a 1986 American comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Ted Danson and Howie Mandel.
The film was intended as a remake of Laurel & Hardy's classic short The Music Box" [2] and was to be semi-improvised in the same style as the director's earlier comedy The Party , but studio interference, poor previews and subsequent re-editing resulted in the film becoming a fully scripted chase comedy with very few of the original ideas for the film remaining intact. Writer/director Blake Edwards actually gave television interviews telling audiences to avoid the film. It received overwhelmingly negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.
While filming on location at a race track, womanizing bit actor Spencer Holden, who lives life on one scam after another, overhears a couple of inept thugs named Binky and Turnip while they dope a race horse with a supposed undetectable super stimulant. The thugs find out that Spence overheard them and will do anything to catch him to prevent him from going to the authorities with the information. Spence, however, enlists the help of his best friend, drive-in carhop and aspiring restaurateur Dennis Powell, to bet on the race with that horse so that they can make some guaranteed money. Spence and Dennis end up having to outrun not only the thugs, who manage to put a few bullet holes in Spence's car, but also the police after they find Spence's bullet-riddled car and after the race horse, Sorry Sue, dies from the drugs. The plot also includes an antique player piano of which Dennis comes into possession, sympathetic but naive auction house employee Ellen Frankenthaler who is attracted to Dennis, and exotically beautiful Claudia Pazzo, the wife of local Italian mob boss Tony Pazzo, who is interested in buying the piano and whom Spence can't resist.
A Fine Mess received heavily negative reviews, including one from The New York Times , which stated "Mr. Edwards, who on happier occasions gave us the Pink Panther movies, piles on the pileups until you may suspect that he is trying to distract the audience from the absence of a diverting story or dialogue. The 11 musical numbers by some well-known performers (available, you can bet, on record and cassette) seem designed for the same purpose." [3]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 25% based on 8 reviews, with an average score of 4.70/10. [4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [5]
Then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan viewed this film at Camp David on September 12, 1986. [6]
A Fine Mess | |
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Soundtrack album by various artists | |
Released | August 1986 [7] |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 31:45 |
Label | Motown |
Producer |
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Singles from A Fine Mess: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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A Fine Mess: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the soundtrack for the film, was released on August 9, 1986, by Motown. [7] It features performances by The Temptations, the Mary Jane Girls, Smokey Robinson, Los Lobos, Christine McVie, Nick Jameson, Billy Vera & The Beaters, and Henry Mancini, a longtime collaborator of Blake Edwards. [10] [11]
The album's lead single, the title track "A Fine Mess", was performed by The Temptations, written by Henri Mancini and Dennis Lambert, [10] and released on April 1, 1986. [8] It peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart [12] and at 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart. [13] A music video for the track was also completed that month, [14] featuring The Temptations alongside Ted Danson and Howie Mandel. [15] The video, which both promoted the movie and parodied typical promotional clips, [15] [16] was released two months prior to the film's debut. [17]
The album's second single, a cover of the Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man" by the Mary Jane Girls, was released in July and produced by Rick James. [9] The song peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [18] [19] The accompanying music video, directed by John Jopson, featured the Mary Jane Girls performing alongside Mandel, who was dressed as a woman, and included clips from the film. [20] [21]
Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie was signed to record a cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love" for the film's soundtrack. [22] She enlisted bandmate Lindsey Buckingham and longtime collaborator, producer Richard Dashut, to produce the track. [22] [23] Fellow members, bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, were also brought in to play on the recording. [22] [23] This collaboration paved the way for the band's official reunion and the subsequent release of their 1987 album, Tango in the Night . [22] [23]
A "Special Edition" version of the soundtrack was later released on CD. [24] [ better source needed ] It featured four bonus tracks: two additional songs from the film's soundtrack, "Don't Slow Down" by Mr. Mister and "Now I'm Talking About Now" by The Swimming Pool Q's, as well as extended remixes of the album's two singles, "A Fine Mess" and "Walk Like a Man". [24] [ better source needed ]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "A Fine Mess" (The Temptations) |
| 4:03 | |
2. | "Walk Like a Man" (Mary Jane Girls) | Rick James | 3:43 | |
3. | "Easier Said Than Done" (Chico DeBarge) |
|
| 2:11 |
4. | "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Christine McVie) | 2:56 | ||
5. | "Slow Down" (Billy Vera & The Beaters) | Larry Williams |
| 2:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Love's Closing In" (Nick Jameson) | N. Jameson | N. Jameson | 3:29 |
2. | "Wishful Thinking" (Smokey Robinson) |
| 4:01 | |
3. | "Moving So Close" (Burston & Littlejohn) |
| Mark Davis | 3:58 |
4. | "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" (Los Lobos) |
| Los Lobos | 2:03 |
5. | "Stan & Ollie" (Henry Mancini; instrumental) | H. Mancini | H. Mancini | 2:39 |
Total length: | 31:45 |
The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1960 as the Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The group members were known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.
Edward BridgeDanson III is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1982–1993), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was further Emmy-nominated for the FX legal drama Damages (2007–2010) and the NBC comedy The Good Place (2016–2020). He was announced as the recipient of the Carol Burnett Award in 2025.
Mirage is the thirteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 2 July 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. This studio effort's soft rock sound stood in stark contrast to its more experimental predecessor, 1979's Tusk. Mirage yielded several singles: "Hold Me", "Gypsy", "Love in Store", "Oh Diane", and "Can't Go Back".
Edward James Kendrick, better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination ". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s including the number-one singles "Keep On Truckin'" and "Boogie Down."
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"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" is a song by American soul group the Temptations, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1971 album, Sky's the Limit. When released as a single, "Just My Imagination" became the third Temptations song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single held the number one position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for two weeks in 1971, from March 28 to April 10. "Just My Imagination" also held the number one spot on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for three weeks, from February 27 to March 20 of that year.
TCB is a 1968 television special produced by Motown Productions and George Schlatter–Ed Friendly Productions of Laugh-In fame. The special is a musical revue starring Motown's two most popular groups at the time, Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations. Containing a combination of showtunes, specially prepared numbers, and popular Motown hits, the special was taped before a live studio audience in September 1968 and originally broadcast December 9, 1968 on NBC, sponsored by the Timex watch corporation. The title of the program uses a then-popular acronym, "TCB", which stands for "Taking Care of Business".
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"Runaway Child, Running Wild" is a 1969 hit single for the Gordy (Motown) label, performed by The Temptations and produced by Norman Whitfield. The single was both the second from their landmark Cloud Nine LP, and the second of their "psychedelic soul" tracks penned by Whitfield and former Motown artist Barrett Strong.
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