harry-150

Hilarious and mind bending Jennifer Coolidge absolutely steals the show. Episode 3 is some of her greatest work EVER.

I saw most of this TV movie late one night, didn't even know the title till just now. This film always seems to come back to me now and then and it'll movie will make you think twice the next time you step over a homeless person or walk fast past them on the street.

The harrowing story of how it can happen to a "normal" family - much like the one you might live next door to. Step by step, event by event you can see how the homeless you hear about in statistics in the news actually come to be. I really felt the growing panic in the characters, especially the father (Jeff Daniels) who is desparately trying to gather resources to keep his faily housed and fed. Really a sad but important movie to see. I'm glad it got made and could provoke thought in at least this viewer.

From a period before marketing departments and focus groups took over the movie industry and began pumping out formulaic happy-ended regurgitated baby food, The Laughing Policeman offers gritty urban drama, acted by the great character actors of the day, actors that filled out such classics as The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon...

It's shortcomings are there, to be sure, but as a stylistic gem - as a sample of the type of movies they just don't or can't make anymore, it's worth watching. Matthau is as angry and as serious as you've ever seen him - a performance sterner that even the MTA traffic official in The Taking of Pelham 123.

There is no formula here - no overbearing Sargent hanging over the detectives, no goofing off in the office downtown to lighten things up. No romantic interest or hot sex scene crammed in between bullets.This is reality, harsh and complicated - if you can handle it, that is.