I enjoy Gene Wilder, and certainly I'll be the first to say that he has done some wonderful work both on screen and behind the scenes in many films. But he is also the frothy sort of artist who is at his best when firmly grounded by the restraint of a hardnosed director--and for HAUNTED HONEYMOON he had no such restraints. He was writer, director, and star, and the result is way too much froth and not nearly enough substance.
The premise of the film is clever, a parody of the spooky-comedies of the 1940s and 1950s that were popularized by the likes of Red Skelton, Abbot and Costello, and Crosby and Hope. Two radio stars (Wilder and Radner) have become engaged and they rush off to the groom's ancestral home for the wedding... and promptly encounter everything from cobras in the closet to werewolves in the winecellar. And the script and production values are often quite amusing, with repeated references to James Whale's 1930s classic THE OLD DARK HOUSE, and even the score borrows a few phrases from "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? But the plot goes no where, and not even the stars of the film can save it.
Which brings us to why the film is nonetheless worth watching. Wilder is excessive, to say the least, but his failings here are as director and writer; as a performer he manages quite well. And his co-star is the late and much missed Gilda Radner. Sadly, Radner never found her place on the big screen before her untimely death, and HAUNTED HONEYMOON is no exception; Wilder doesn't seem to know how best to display her talents. But even so, there are moments when she illuminates the film to a remarkable comic degree, giving the viewer a glimpse of what might have been if the role had been more carefully tailored to her talents. And then there is Dom DeLuise, who offers a hilarious throw-away performance in drag as Aunt Kate... And when Gilda and Dom join forces to perform the old Vaudeville song "Ballin' the Jack" the result is pure movie magic.
Unfortunately, though, it isn't enough. The story is just too weak, too many of the one-liners fall flat, too often cast members who might have given great comic performances are neglected. I'll give it three stars... one each for Wilder, Radner, and DeLuise. But I'm erring on the generous side. Incidentally, this film is not to be confused with a Robert Young-Constance Cummings effort of the 1930s, also entitled HAUNTED HONEYMOON and based on the play and novel by mystery author Dorothy Sayers--a very good film, by the way, which sad to say has never been released to the home market.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
The premise of the film is clever, a parody of the spooky-comedies of the 1940s and 1950s that were popularized by the likes of Red Skelton, Abbot and Costello, and Crosby and Hope. Two radio stars (Wilder and Radner) have become engaged and they rush off to the groom's ancestral home for the wedding... and promptly encounter everything from cobras in the closet to werewolves in the winecellar. And the script and production values are often quite amusing, with repeated references to James Whale's 1930s classic THE OLD DARK HOUSE, and even the score borrows a few phrases from "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? But the plot goes no where, and not even the stars of the film can save it.
Which brings us to why the film is nonetheless worth watching. Wilder is excessive, to say the least, but his failings here are as director and writer; as a performer he manages quite well. And his co-star is the late and much missed Gilda Radner. Sadly, Radner never found her place on the big screen before her untimely death, and HAUNTED HONEYMOON is no exception; Wilder doesn't seem to know how best to display her talents. But even so, there are moments when she illuminates the film to a remarkable comic degree, giving the viewer a glimpse of what might have been if the role had been more carefully tailored to her talents. And then there is Dom DeLuise, who offers a hilarious throw-away performance in drag as Aunt Kate... And when Gilda and Dom join forces to perform the old Vaudeville song "Ballin' the Jack" the result is pure movie magic.
Unfortunately, though, it isn't enough. The story is just too weak, too many of the one-liners fall flat, too often cast members who might have given great comic performances are neglected. I'll give it three stars... one each for Wilder, Radner, and DeLuise. But I'm erring on the generous side. Incidentally, this film is not to be confused with a Robert Young-Constance Cummings effort of the 1930s, also entitled HAUNTED HONEYMOON and based on the play and novel by mystery author Dorothy Sayers--a very good film, by the way, which sad to say has never been released to the home market.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer