I Can't Believe I Watched That: My Blue Heaven

I Can't Believe I Watched That
(A continuing series on films from my childhood that I (re)discovered on Netflix Watch Now)
(Spoilers abound - you've been warned)

My Blue Heaven
Directed by Herbert Ross

In which: Vinnie Antonelli (Steve Martin) joins the witness protection and moves to the suburbs under the supervision of bored FBI agent Barney Coopersmith (Rick Moranis). Hilarity ensues.

I Can't Believe I Watched That! Sandwiched between two of my favorite Steve Martin comedies (Parenthood and LA Story), My Blue Heaven always shone brighter in my memory than the mildly entertaining, middling comedy that it is. Unfortunately, that brightness fades on re-watching leaving only a couple of chuckle-worthy vignettes and a vague sense of nostalgia for my childhood self. It also made me wonder - what the hell happened to Rick Moranis? This was a man who somehow managed to turn the role of annoying accountant who gets possessed by evil, dog demon in Ghostbusters into a career springboard that led to a series of hit movies such as Little Shop of Horrors, Spaceballs, Ghostbusters II and Parenthood before disappearing into the world of terrible "Honey, I the Kids" sequels and Little Giants (Actually, I secretly love Little Giants as it combines two of my favorite things: cheesy football movies and Ed O'Neil). Looking at that list now I'm wondering if maybe he and Steve Martin palled around for a bit, which then led to a series of movie rolls for Moranis based on Martin's inclusion in the project. For you younger folks think Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider. If anyone knows more, please email me and maybe we can do a career re-vitalization film for Rick Moranis. His Wrestler or Pulp Fiction so to speak.

Anyway, I digress. Martin really shines when given the chance. Especially when he plays against straight laced DA Hannah Stubs (Joan Cusack). There is something incredibly satisfying in the layer after layer of bullshit he comes up with to stay out of jail as he slowly and surely starts a crime wave in his new home. When caught with 25 copies of the same stolen book in the trunk of his car (he also had a swordfish), he tells Cusack that he is thinking of writing his life story. "Why do you need 25 copies of it?" she asks. "In case I want to read it more than once..." he replies. Stubbs is left reeling - his BS is so sincere, so matter of fact, that there is simply nothing to do but enjoy it. Is this a movie worth 90 minutes of your time? Well it probably depends on what you think of the following joke:

"What's the difference between a pregnant woman and a light bulb?"
"You can unscrew a lightbulb."

What the critics said then:
Such comic moments are scattered throughout ''My Blue Heaven,'' which is a truly funny concept and a disappointment on the screen. Mr. Martin has been the best part of every movie he has made, whether they are as hilarious as ''The Man With Two Brains'' and ''Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' or as bland as ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles.'' ''My Blue Heaven'' is definitely one of his blander works. Though the scene in which Vinnie teaches the F.B.I agent to dance the merengue was made for Mr. Martin's graceful sense of physical comedy, the film makers rarely allow him to let loose, and they never take full advantage of his shrewd comic acting. - Janet Maslin, NY Times