Word: deadpan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Sometimes a film is so exhilarating, it's exhausting. Big Trouble in Little China describes itself as a "mystical action-adventure-comedy-kung-f u- monster-ghost story." It is plenty savvy in deploying plot devices from a dozen hoary genres while playing up the absurdities in the familiar Deadpan Facetious style. A Frisco truck driver (Kurt Russell) and his Chinese-American pal (Dennis Dun) amble into a battle beyond death fought by a 2,000-year-old bad guy (James Hong) and a Yoda-esque mensch (Victor Wong). In this Temple of Doom there are girls with green eyes...
...wife walked into the study. She wore a long black strapless dress. She had been having coffee downstairs with Writer Louis Auchincloss, who was sleeping overnight at the mansion. Cuomo immediately jumped out of his chair and began hugging her, kidding in a deadpan voice that she has never even read his diaries. For a moment she looked flustered that he said it openly. A vibrant and attractive woman with shiny eyes and a slim figure, she is less intense than her husband and handles him easily. Cuomo said it was impossible for anyone to understand him without accounting...
...into his desk, takes out a paper clip and twists it. He then puts a hand on Burgos' shoulder, lifts up his collar and inserts the paper clip so that it acts as a collar stay. Same thing on the other side. "Balancing the budget was easy," says a deadpan Cuomo as he smooths down his aide's collar. "This was hard...
Another bright spot in the generally dull show is actress Beth Steinhorn who plays the archetypal nagging mother. Steinhorn delivers litotes on the apartment's less than impressive decor such as "amazing what you can find at garage sales these days" with deadpan motherliness. Steinhorn also helps move the play along--surprisingly needed for this short drama...
Once in the nasty nest, Katt quickly realizes his predicament and enlists the aid of his neighbor, played by the hilariously deadpan Wendt. Armed with a harpoon gun and wearing goggles, Harold and Katt, himself clad in army greens and jump boots, approach the evil closet. However, in the process of hunting monsters, Katt is pulled through the door and carried back to Vietnam where he discovers that a dead soldier buddy of his has been the root of all his residential difficulties. (I swear. This is for real.) All turns out well, amazingly enough, and the flick winds...