User reviews

You certainly have to be a huge fan of Martin Short's ridiculous character Glick -if not a Hollywood-philic moviegoer instead- to really appreciate this hangin' around-at-the-Toronto Film Festival, full-of-cameos, Hollywood-inner-joke comedy.

And of course forget the plot, cause it doesn't matter at all when you dig this kind of film. In fact, because of its chaotic structure, "Jiminy Glick on La La Wood" doesn't make it as a cool movie.

But it's loaded with self-deprecating glimpses, movie industry sarcasms and art-house parody (specially the David Lynch one), which makes it fairly enjoyable by film junkies.

6.5 out of 10 if with a couple of beers.

I like Martin Short. I like everything about him. I think he's a great singer and entertainer, he's smart, he's lovable, and he's apparently very funny because he's always cracking up the cast and behind camera crew. He and his style appeal to me, and I just like him.

But this movie just isn't funny. And Glick isn't funny. Short tries to carry Glick with the same funny speech patterns that carried Ed Grimley...(in low voice) "I'm as doomed as doomed could be, ya' know." Grimley and Glick use similar speech patterns. But that's not enough to carry this character or this movie.

Short says in the DVD commentary that they improvised most scenes with no or very little script, though his commentary partner calls him on that and disagrees with him and insists there was a script. Now that's funny. But anyway, as the Beatles learned when filming "Magical Mystery Tour," hoping that people will be naturally funny and interesting doesn't work. You have to put some hard work and long hours into a polished script to get anything worth shooting. This movie (if there really was no script) again affirms that truth.

This movie features a lot of vulgar material and I think that was a big mistake. The larger plot and story and comedy style would have appealed to young people and families and Short sacrificed that entire viewing audience for the coarse material and it really doesn't add anything. I guess Short felt an R rating was what was needed at this point in his career.

Very little in this movie works. The boyfriend/manager character was the only one that was funny, yes he was over the top but at least he was actually somewhat funny. Glick is best when Hollywood celebrity Short shows through the character while giving a good natured ribbing to Hollywood giants like Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, and Kurt Russel (Hanks does not appear in this movie but Glick has interviewed him elsewhere to great results). The interviews that Glick does with Martin and Russel, and especially the deleted outtake footage of those interviews are the only thing that works in this movie.

The production and story were much bigger than what I expected. The plot explanation at the end is pretty good, creative, outlandish, unexpected, and funny. There's a part that was scripted. The movie has good production values, but what it needed was a script that actually contained some jokes.

One of the best qualities that Martin Short has is his development of great characters.

Giminy Glick is one of them. The potential for Glick to be around for a long time and have continued success is his inability to do a professional (by Hollywood standards) good interview, his crazy personal life (which should be a movie all by itself) and his upward climb of the Hollywood ladder.

What I liked most about the movie was what was described above. At any point in the movie where the above takes place, was at it's most brilliant and funny.

Why 5 stars: There was a lot more potential for the movie to be better. I would have loved to see more of Glick being around celebrities. To me that is the best part.

I found the sub characters uninteresting, EXCEPT for Glick's wacky family. The cast was exciting to me unfortunately the character's they portrayed were less than exciting.

See it you may like it I did. For Martin Short fans it is a must see.

Wow. I have to admit that I've never seen Jiminy Glick on television, but I'm aware of the character. Now I wish I'd never seen the film as well. What a mess. I saw a screening with Martin Short in attendance, and his interview afterward was delightful - funny and insightful. Short seems like a truly grounded person, an entertainer through and through, but humble and appreciative. If only the film consisted of two hours of Martin being Martin, or even Martin being Glick, conducting uncomfortable interviews, but no. The film is a sad mishmash of film noir nods and classic movie homages that just don't mesh. Yes, the entire movie was improvised - not a word of it scripted -and it shows. Too often relying on burp and fart jokes, on the "hilarity" of everyone talking at once, on tired gangsta rap spoofs all wrapped around a pointless mystery. Glick's trademark interviews are the few (and by few I mean there are only a couple)funny parts of the flick. If you're a fan of the show, I'd say save your money and wait for those three seasons to hit DVD.

Jimminy Glick is a funny TV show in my opinion based on the few episodes of it I have seen. But this movie was unbelievably pathetic. The guy playing the foreign boyfriend/producer character was so over the top it was pathetic. Marin Short was okay but Jan Hooks was wasted as his wife. The kids were pointless. The only reason I give this 2 instead of 1 out of 10 are the few kind-of-sort-of funny moments that happen while he is interviewing real celebrities. They seem like genuine improvised funny moments, and the extras at the end of the movie while the credits happen (outtakes from these interviews) were also pretty funny. I think that's the real problem with the movie. The reason the TV show is often so funny is because of these unscripted interviews where he and the celebrities make each other laugh. When you put him in a movie with a script and plot it's not funny, at least this movie isn't funny, maybe if the script or idea for the movie were funny at all.... I just hope there is no sequel.

I will say perhaps it got better though I wouldn't believe it. I lasted about 30 minutes. it was so painful I just couldn't finish. I enjoy the TV show. have watched it from the very beginning and had they maintained something akin to the TV show it may have been watchable. They did not.

I literally sat that with my mouth open, amazed at just how bad this movie was. Shame really. I am not a big fan of Short. He's in the same category as Robin Williams. Pathetic over the top comic talents, though I will say Williams is a fine dramatic actor. Short however has come up with a pretty entertaining character in Jiminy Glick. To his credit. The movie on the other hand, is so poorly done that there isn't even a shred of humor in it. At least the part I could stand. I can only think, as I often do, that there are people who proactively write reviews for movies on this site and other, with the sole purpose of generating favorable buzz so the DVD and rental does well. I cannot buy anyone who witnessed this travesty found it enjoyable on any level. Writing, directing, cinematography, character development...all of it done badly. A waste of time and money. Avoid at all costs.

I need to begin by confessing that I haven't followed Martin Short's career since SCTV and SNL in the 80s (outside of a couple of films). This movie was my introduction to Jiminy Glick, and was a major disappointment, for two primary reasons.

1. Short is too good a writer/comedian to have to rely on vulgarity as a main ingredient in one of his projects. Crude language and coarse humor pervades this movie from start to finish.

2. Comedians need to realize that their "annoying" characters cannot carry a film. A short skit, perhaps, but not 90 minutes' worth. Glick is one of the least likable, grating characters I've ever encountered. Remember that great comic characters (the Tramp, M. Hulot, Ralph Kramden, Mr. Bean) could be very annoying - but they also had heart and could get the audience cheering on their side. Glick is one-dimensional (well, outside of the fact that he's fat).

So...big disappointment for those who liked the kind of humor that put Martin Short on the map back in the 80s.

Once upon a time for a few minutes in 1985 Martin Short was funny. It's been a rotten slide into grating stupidity since then. His movies cause me pain and attract no one. His previous TV show caused me pain. And in this guise, a fat shill of indeterminate sexuality, he has caused me even more pain. A fat suit plus a mincing demeanor doesn't equal laughs. I can't tell you how many times I've sat watching his schtick in stony non-laughter thinking "How does this giant loser keep getting new opportunities?" I really wish Martin would fall prey to some horrible death to karmically rebalance the universe & offset the reams of failed humor he is associated with.

This scatterbrained comedy is a barely sketch-worthy concept stretched over an hour-and-a-half. Martin Short's obese and chatty film critic, Jiminy Glick, sweats and wheezes his way through this nonsensical movie. What few laughs there were were surely accidents as no character seemed to have a script. Everyone simply said random things occasionally stumbling upon a zinger and quickly moving off of it because they didn't know what part of what they said was funny. So, I laughed at points, while I cringed at most of it.

This is not a mainstream comedy, it's a Canadian thing, ehh. A lot of in-jokes and offbeat humor. If you are not familiar with the Jiminy Glick character, you will not get a lot of the humor. Watching it was like watching the old SCTV skits/movies that Short did back in the day in Toronto. I will admit, I laughed 10X harder the 2nd time I saw it, because you do pick up more stuff and lines. This plot for this movie was a favorite vehicle on SCTV back in the 1980s, mixing different movies together to make one confused and painfully funny movie. Sometimes, the plot would get so contrived that even the characters were confused, but that is the point. The David Lynch impersonation is timeless, coupled with The Shining references, Matthew and Modine, etc. and so many other story-lines. This comedy style is not for everybody, nor is Martin Short, but I love him and I LOVED THIS MOVIE! Better each time you see it.

First of all, love the reviewer who watched half an hour and then felt it was valid to write how horrible the movie is. Next time watch the whole movie before you review it, I think that's the least someone should expect and would advise anyone to ignore any reviews like that.

That being said, this is no comic masterpiece, but if you are a fan of the TV show it should be entertaining for you. These characters are so goofy that its not for everyone. I probably most appreciated all of the improv by the myriad of stars making cameos, reminds me of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Its a non-painful way to kill 90 minutes. It also reminds me of Napolean Dynamite in that it is actually funnier the second time through.

I love Jiminy Glick and always have since his show was new. I've heard how bad this movie was for years and refused to believe it. And after finally seeing it I hate to say that the masses are right.

For whatever reason Jiminy Glick just didn't work like this. I don't know if they just winged it and figured that it would all come together like on the show. I don't know if finally seeing his kids and wife ruined it. Or if seeing Jiminy Glick as a husband/dad was too much behind the curtain. But whatever was going on wasn't funny.

There was like one chuckle every 10 minutes. I kept thinking that it would get going but it never did. I could see what they wanted but it just didn't work.

Martin Short is somewhat of an acquired taste. His form of comedy contains traits described as exaggeratedly precocious, infinitely preposterous, and pseudo-intellectual. For most comedians, this combination would be so volatile as to render the comedy itself, moot. Short, however, pulls it off. He shines as the star, but only to those few who can appreciate his particular "flavor" of comedy.

This movie, Jiminy Glick, on the surface seems superficial and fun, and if that's all you got out of it, then go on your blissful way and tell your friends about this wonderfully funny, FUN movie. But in many deeper ways, the niche audience seems rather ambiguous in that not everyone cares about the goings on in Hollywood, its stars, the key players, and the inner workings of the "industry." Such is the subject of this film.

Glick is one of those unfortunate men who missed out on their calling in life to be gay, married a schizophrenic, fathered carbon copies of himself, and remained in the relationship although it was doomed to be life in Hell. He catapults from Hollywood obscurity into the limelight by sleeping through a wretched movie and then glamorizing it in his review. It may be scary, but I can actually see that scenario working out this way, in life.

I really enjoyed the movie, and Short's dual role. I bought this mainly for Steve Martin, but ended up loving it for Short's performance. If you liked Clifford, The Jerk, or Superstar, you should also give this one a shot. Don't miss the lovely outtakes which run as the credits begin to roll. Kurt Russell in tears of laughter was a thing to behold.

It rates a 7.3/10 from...

the Fiend :.

...and get ready to laugh you Glick off! This movie is an instant comedy classic! "Jiminy Glick Goes to La-La Wood" is one of those underrated nuggets that deserves cult status. 'KEIFER! KEIFER! KEIFER! KEIFER!" I had never been a Martin Short fan ("Clifford" anyone?) but I always found Jiminy Glick painfully funny. Fire one up and get ready to roll off the couch in convulsive laughter as Martin Short brings his greatest character of all time to the big screen. Jan Hooks has some of the best lines in the movie (The "purse" line will bring tears to your eyes), and naming his kids "Matthew" and "Modine" is simply genius. Don't rent this movie, BUY IT - and file it between "Dumb and Dumber" and "The Man With Two Brains". This movie is funny! Be sure to watch the deleted scenes as well - the interviews with Steve Martin and Kurt Russell are hysterical, and the scenes in the car with Jan Hooks are gut-busting. Ad this one to your collection today!

Martin Short combining his original, quirky, humor using a David Lynch backdrop really hit the spot for me, as I am a huge fan of both personalities. I was pleasantly surprised by the seamless transition from T.V. Glick to Cinema Glick, and witnessing Glick's family come to life. I think I'll have to watch the film again to fully appreciate the lines and subtleties of the "Euro-trash" character. His improvisation was totally random but somehow made comedic sense in its absurdities. I would speculate that if a person hasn't already seen 'Primetime Glick' and laughed at Glick in his original form, one might not "get" the humor, and understand why Short would conceive such a seemingly absurd plot.

Oh, and I love that Christine Willes appeared in the first sequence - where did she come from??!!

I was just browsing through IMDb.com one day and I noticed that Martin Short had a new movie coming out called "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood." When I first looked at the title, I was like it can't be but it was true, a movie based on the hilarious show called "Primetime Glick" on Comedy Central. I looked at the release date and it said a few weeks a way. I was waiting to see the trailer or the poster but guess what neither happened until the beginning of this week when both the trailer and the poster hit the web. Sadly, the marketing on this movie is so poor that I doubt more than 20 people heard about it. But since I was a fan of the show, I drove up to Los Angeles tonight so I could see "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood"

The fat film critic is back in his first(and probably his last) feature film. In the film, Jiminy Glick (Martin Short) gets invited to go to the Toronto Film Festival. Jiminy starts off at the festival as the interviewer no one wants to talk to but when he gets an exclusive with Ben DiCarlo (Corey Pearson), Glick becomes the biggest star at the festival. But between his 15 minutes of fame,Jiminy gets wrapped up in a murder case at the festival. Lots of laughs and homages to old movies ensue…

I really loved this film! When it first started off I laughed and then about 5 minutes later I wasn't laughing anymore but then about 5 minutes later I was laughing throughout the rest of the film. Martin Short is a comedic genius. His roles are so unique and bizarre that I don't think many can begin to understand Short's humor. I get his humor and love it. The movie is everything "Primetime Glick" was and more. The whole Martin Short making fun of David Lynch was an instant classic for me. "I'm David Lynch and I like dark roads that lead to nothing." Funny stuff! And the great thing about this film vs. the last comedy central film I saw "Strangers with Candy" this film dared to make itself more extreme. There was a lot of adult humor and cursing. Something I felt "Strangers with Candy" needed more of. They really expanded the character in this movie and the cameo interviews by Kevin Kline, Steve Martin, Rob Lowe and Kurt Russell are worth the price of admission alone. Not to mention seeing the other cameos but I won't ruin them all for you. I will let you see for yourself.

Martin Short did so much work on this film, he wrote it, produced it, and starred in it as two characters. It was such fun to see this character alive on the big screen, I just wish that more people knew about the movie or the show for that matter because I would like to see it make some decent money but from the looks of it, it will have an extremely limited theater run and then become one of those 1-2 copiers at the video store which you see one day and pick up and rent. Not for me, I will be buying this thing when it comes up. I actually wish I had money otherwise I would see it again when I got a chance, it was that funny and I really think its one of those films that when you watch it again you can pick up on new jokes you may have missed the first time around.

The film was obviously low budget and shot pretty much in Canada to keep the costs down. The film did a great job for what it was suppose to do. I have never heard of director Vadim Jean before but he has done a few other low budget films. I don't know if this is an up and coming director but his resume is online and he has another project filming so maybe will see more of Vadim soon.

In conclusion, "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood" is a great unique comedy. Martin Short's character Jiminy Glick is a laugh riot. You either like the character or hate him they are no in-between with this one. If you liked the series "Primetime Glick" like I did then see this movie because you will really enjoy it. If you haven't seen the show I think you should give it a try at the theater at a matinée just to see if you like it. And finally if you're a fan of Martin Short then definitely go see the film! If I get a chance to catch this one again while it's in its short run in the theaters I will definitely try to catch it again.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood" is a 8 out of 10. Go to the theater and enjoy yourself!

I had the chance to see this film at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival . Due to it's predicted success it was showcased as the closing night gala. How fun was it when Martin Short introduced the film and some if it's cast members! I was a huge fan of the show "Primetime Glick" on comedy central, and have been waiting very un-patiently for this film to come out. I love the way the actors being interviewed by "Jiminy" lose their cool and laugh on camera b/c Martin Short is just that ridiculous. The cast is great, can't believe they can pull off that smart humor in a whim! Check out the dreamy DiCarlo played by Corey Pearson and the brilliant Euro-trash-manager-guy played by John Michael Higgins. You HAVE to see this when it comes to a theater near you!

I've rated this an 8 because even though it has trying sections, if you're a Glick nut like me, it's worth waiting (or on disc, fast forwarding past them) to reach the good stuff. The man Martin Short describes as a moron with power leaves his home in Butte, Montana and takes wife Dixie and two of their boys up to Toronto for the big film fest. And once there, the laughs really kick into high gear. Jiminy sleeps through a big ticket premiere, then writes a bogus rave review and, as only Glick could, lands a prized sit down television interview with it's reclusive star!

Short does double duty as Glick and director David Lynch, an uncanny imitation that holds the silly plot together with his recounting of the parallel Lana Turner / Johnny Stompanato scandal that forever changed the life of her daughter, Cheryl Crane. Elizabeth Perkins and my favourite, Linda Cardellini, star as a celebrity mother and her child who have the unfortunate lowlife producer Andre (played by the great John Michael Higgins) in their world like a sleazy time bomb waiting to go off. At least, his vulgar mouth is constantly ready for yet another wicked and disgusting remark.

Glick's "hard hitting" segments with Steve Martin and Kurt Russell are truly funny and the send ups of festival behaviour are probably closer to the truth than industry publicists would care to admit. If Short ever makes a sequel, let's hope there are flashbacks that give Higgins and Cardellini a chance to further flesh out their characters' lives and careers. I need a Glick fix!

Thought I love Jiminy on TV I thought that a full movie of him might turn out like some of the SNL sketches that went on too long in a movie,but happily I was mistaken! This is funny. One must watch it more than once to catch all the lines! Jiminy shines when interviewing people, but the one liners that fly back and forth between him and his wife Dixie are also priceless. The two actors play well off each other.This may not be for everyone's taste,but I dare anyone to watch this and not chuckle or even smile. John Michael Higgins makes another great comedic part all his own and Elizabeth Perkins has some great moments of comedy, so rarely scene.

Martin Short so skillfully presents a satirical look into how we can perceive Hollywood as all glamour; then at the same time gives us a satirical look at the sordid truth behind the sparkle.

A place full of people filled with ambition, ideas, dreams, broken spirits, and sometimes revenge. Jiminy Glick in LaLawood gets more than he bargained for and it's a good laugh for us. Both silly and profound - it's brilliant!

If Jiminy Glick was interviewing Martin Short after seeing this movie, it might go something like this:

JG: "Bobby Short…,why did you change your name from Martin?"

MS:"No…Bobby Short is someone else. A singer actually. African American. "

JG: "That was going to be my next question. Were you inspired by Jacko to bleach your skin? Do you feel white is the new black?"

MS: "I'm not Bobby Short. I'm Martin Short. I was born Martin Short."

JG:(A patronizing pat on Martin's knee) "Work it out on your own time, dear. Now, about this movie of yours---I JUST LOVED IT. 'Jiminy Glick…' searching his memory—-looks down at his cheat-sheet-—'In LaLaWood!' It's sad and funny. Bittersweet, without much substance and a threadbare story who's sole purpose is to hang little bits of comic business with a few interviews thrown in. Not a very good movie, BUT I LOVED IT! Bobby, thanks for being yewww."

MS: "It's Martin. You know, I've always wanted to put Jiminy Glick in a feature—"

JG:"No time, dear. We have to move on."

This is one of those films which a lot of people will really hate, and which are a lot funnier *because* people hate them. Short is sometimes woeful and sometimes brilliant, and this is brilliant *if* you get the references. His impersonation of David Lynch was so good that it was a full twenty seconds before I realized it wasn't actually him.

The main problem with the film is that the budget is too low, and as a result some scenes don't work well. Bits and pieces of the story seem incomplete; in fact the plot comes across almost as the work of a beginner, but the script is funny enough that this doesn't matter all that much, and the supporting actors are excellent.