From a bunch of SCTV alumni, Really Weird Tales (technically composed as a made for TV movie) combines three short episodes of comedy meets sci-fi written and starring Joe Flaherty as a comedic Rod Sterling. This kind of bit has been done plenty of times before, I just had this kicking around so wanted to finally give it a watch. Each episode featuring John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, and Martin Short respectively I watched largely for Candy and O'Hara, and both were the best two episodes. Overall, wasn't hilarious, breathed heavily out of my nose once or twice, so unless your massive fans of any of these people and like nonsensical comedy I'd say most can probably skip.
10 Reviews
really pretty weak, though a little weird, and at least watchable
FieCrier29 August 2005
Joe Flaherty hosts this anthology movie. As host, he plays it a bit like Rod Serling in The Twilight Zone, but really over-the-top goofy, and yet not terribly funny unfortunately.
In the first segment, Martin Short plays an insecure lounge singer who's been invited to perform at a place like the Playboy Mansion. This has been his dream, and the Hugh Hefner- type host seems to like him, and one of the young women there seems to like him too. She's played by Olivia D'Abo, who looks absolutely adorable here (and also sexy in a hot tub). One running gag is that Short, when asked for a drink, asks for a "Pouss Café," which takes a long time to make, and he doesn't end up drinking it either time. After Short and D'Abo stumble into a secret passage, you'll guess how it will end long before the segment gets to the end.
In the second segment, John Candy plays a confident man who wants to make real estate barons out of every member of a poor town ("the flyswatter capital of the world"). As long as you don't read the brief plot summary on the back of the video box, you'd probably never guess how this one ends. It's not very satisfying.
In the final segment, a young woman who was raised by nuns is sent out into the world. They all treated her badly, since whoever (or whatever) she loves will explode. She does her best to try not to love anything, but is such a soft touch she finds it difficult and looks for a cure. I don't know that I liked how it ended, but it is at least the most interesting segment of the three. The surly talking Cabbage Patch-type dolls were amusing.
Not really recommended. It would help a lot if you're a big fan of the actors from SCTV.
In the first segment, Martin Short plays an insecure lounge singer who's been invited to perform at a place like the Playboy Mansion. This has been his dream, and the Hugh Hefner- type host seems to like him, and one of the young women there seems to like him too. She's played by Olivia D'Abo, who looks absolutely adorable here (and also sexy in a hot tub). One running gag is that Short, when asked for a drink, asks for a "Pouss Café," which takes a long time to make, and he doesn't end up drinking it either time. After Short and D'Abo stumble into a secret passage, you'll guess how it will end long before the segment gets to the end.
In the second segment, John Candy plays a confident man who wants to make real estate barons out of every member of a poor town ("the flyswatter capital of the world"). As long as you don't read the brief plot summary on the back of the video box, you'd probably never guess how this one ends. It's not very satisfying.
In the final segment, a young woman who was raised by nuns is sent out into the world. They all treated her badly, since whoever (or whatever) she loves will explode. She does her best to try not to love anything, but is such a soft touch she finds it difficult and looks for a cure. I don't know that I liked how it ended, but it is at least the most interesting segment of the three. The surly talking Cabbage Patch-type dolls were amusing.
Not really recommended. It would help a lot if you're a big fan of the actors from SCTV.
Cursed with charisma
dennisgarwitz406 May 2005
I am a fan of John Candy so I will tell you up front that I loved the guy but Cursed with Charisma for being only about 30 minutes long was one of the funniest pieces of forgotten work that John Candy ever did. It summed up the 1980's America perfectly with all the leveraged buyouts, hostile take overs and real estate boom and portrayed the perennial TV real estate seminar and home study salesman that still exist today in the 21st Century.
I rate it up right up there with Planes Trains and Automobiles. If you ever get a chance to see it by all means do you will laugh yourself silly and you will have seen one of the great men of comedy doing what he did best making people smile and laugh. John may be gone but his comedy now belongs to the ages.
I rate it up right up there with Planes Trains and Automobiles. If you ever get a chance to see it by all means do you will laugh yourself silly and you will have seen one of the great men of comedy doing what he did best making people smile and laugh. John may be gone but his comedy now belongs to the ages.
Atrocious selection of short stories
Red-Barracuda18 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This is without doubt the worst omnibus movie I have ever seen. It's basically a crap Twilight Zone type of thing. But without any of the imagination that made that show interesting. The three stories here all try to mix weirdness with humour. I think it's supposed to be a parody of the genre but it's so witless it's hard to notice. Martin Short, John Candy and Catherine O'Hara star in this but none of them can elevate it much. The first story is about robot playmates, the second is about a charismatic salesman and the third about a nun who makes people explode. The writing is terrible and without exception every single segment is completely pointless. I can't recommend this to anyone really. It's very bad.
Great Goofy Movie for SCTV Fans
thehappychuckler8 January 2020
It had been years since I watched this Canadian TV Movie. I do remember it from when I was a kid and I enjoyed it then. I was a big fan of SCTV so that may help, but I thought this was a great movie as long as you enjoy the goofy humour that goes along with it.
I believe originally this was broken into three parts and each were shown individually on HBO, but each time I had seen this they were all lumped together into a full length film. There are three separate stories that the host Joe Flaherty brings to us in a sort of THE TWILIGHT ZONE parody.
The first story written by David Flaherty, Joe Flaherty and David McAndrew is about the town of Fitchville whose fly swatter mesh factory has closed up and things have gotten pretty bad. In steps Howard Jensen (John Candy in a funny white wig) who stresses positive thinking for the townsfolk and a dandy of a real estate idea. I thought Candy was quite funny and got a number of laughs from me. Also starring Sheila McCarthy, Don Lake and Wayne Robson.
The second story written by David Flaherty, Joe Flaherty and Catherine O'Hara I thought was the best of the bunch and if you ask me they could have extended this one to perhaps a full length film. Catherine O'Hara is in great form playing Theresa Sharpe who has lived with some nuns (lead by Mother Superior played by Jayne Eastwood) her whole life, but now she is set free to live on her own. Thing is Theresa has a real gift where if she loves anyone they will explode on the spot. She works in the complaint department at a store. I mean where else would she work right? I thought it was quite hilarious when she deals with complaining customers over Cauliflower Kids (a parody of the Cabbage Patch Kids), a stuttering talking bird and Mervis Jutt (John Hemphill in a super goofy role) who has a real attraction to Theresa. I think it has an excellent twist at the end.
The third and final part may in fact be the weakest, but Martin Short carries it where he plays Shucky Forme a bad singer/performer. Short is certainly goofy and manic in this role. Shucky comes face to face with his biggest fan Tippy (the beautiful Olivia D'Abo) where secrets are soon revealed about Wade Jeffries (Don Harron) whose house he is performing at. Written by David and Joe Flaherty
In the end worth a viewing if you like goofy comedy or parodies. I loved it, so if you are a fan of Candy, O'Hara or Short (like me) you might really enjoy it.
I believe originally this was broken into three parts and each were shown individually on HBO, but each time I had seen this they were all lumped together into a full length film. There are three separate stories that the host Joe Flaherty brings to us in a sort of THE TWILIGHT ZONE parody.
The first story written by David Flaherty, Joe Flaherty and David McAndrew is about the town of Fitchville whose fly swatter mesh factory has closed up and things have gotten pretty bad. In steps Howard Jensen (John Candy in a funny white wig) who stresses positive thinking for the townsfolk and a dandy of a real estate idea. I thought Candy was quite funny and got a number of laughs from me. Also starring Sheila McCarthy, Don Lake and Wayne Robson.
The second story written by David Flaherty, Joe Flaherty and Catherine O'Hara I thought was the best of the bunch and if you ask me they could have extended this one to perhaps a full length film. Catherine O'Hara is in great form playing Theresa Sharpe who has lived with some nuns (lead by Mother Superior played by Jayne Eastwood) her whole life, but now she is set free to live on her own. Thing is Theresa has a real gift where if she loves anyone they will explode on the spot. She works in the complaint department at a store. I mean where else would she work right? I thought it was quite hilarious when she deals with complaining customers over Cauliflower Kids (a parody of the Cabbage Patch Kids), a stuttering talking bird and Mervis Jutt (John Hemphill in a super goofy role) who has a real attraction to Theresa. I think it has an excellent twist at the end.
The third and final part may in fact be the weakest, but Martin Short carries it where he plays Shucky Forme a bad singer/performer. Short is certainly goofy and manic in this role. Shucky comes face to face with his biggest fan Tippy (the beautiful Olivia D'Abo) where secrets are soon revealed about Wade Jeffries (Don Harron) whose house he is performing at. Written by David and Joe Flaherty
In the end worth a viewing if you like goofy comedy or parodies. I loved it, so if you are a fan of Candy, O'Hara or Short (like me) you might really enjoy it.
Really lightweight material...
merklekranz2 May 2007
All fans of both Martin Short and John Candy beware! Both segments, Short's and Candy's, are really weak, uninteresting, and strictly predictable, or utterly ridiculous. The third segment is mildly successful, but no better than a Saturday Night Live skit. Perhaps two giggles total in all three segments makes this not worth the time to view. Absolutely disregard the rave reviews on this site, or you will be destined to follow my mistake of putting far to much hope in the named actors. This is not even on a par with National Lampoon's most tiresome efforts. Save your time and save your money, and avoid, avoid, avoid. - MERK
REALLY WEIRD MOVIE
tromafan-214 July 1999
A couple months ago I was browsing through a used book/movie store and found a pile of this movie. All were brand new and marked $2.99. I took one look and saw who starred and picked it up. Watching this movie is like watching "Sizzle beach U.S.A. (Kevin Costner's first film). The stars all look different, and the acting is pretty cheesy. The first tale "All well that ends strange" features Martin Short as a third rate lounger looking for some action, but then discovers whas really behind those buxom bodies and cute smiles. The second "Cursed with Charisma" is about the town of Fitchville who gets tricked by a no money down real estate boom. "I'll die loving" the last storie has a hilarious Catherein O' Hara with a really strange porblem. All stories teach a lesson and are really weird tales.
SCTV spinoff
BandSAboutMovies14 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
You have to give it to HBO. Between The Hitchhiker and Tales from the Crypt, they were keeping the horror anthology in business throughout the 80s. Really Weird Tales is made up of three episodes of a comedy version of that format with Joe Flaherty as the host.
Flaherty, a Pittsburgh local, was a major part of Second City and SCTV. Horror fans will respect him pretty much forever for his Count Floyd character, which is a loving tribute that pokes fun at the horror hosts that he grew up with, including "Chilly" Bill Cardille.
There are three stories here that all have pretty high production value. "Cursed With Charisma" is all about a mysterious stranger (John Candy) coming to save the town of Fitchville with new ideas of how to sell real estate, as well as an alien invasion. It was directed by Don McBrearty, who directed 1983's American Nightmare and is still working, directing holiday direct-to-cable movies.
"I'll Die Loving" has Catherine O'Hara as a woman who blows up real good every man that she falls in love with. Where the last segment felt almost too long, this one seems too short. It was directed by John Blanchard, who directed episodes of SCTV and The Kids in the Hall.
Finally, the best story is "All's Well That Ends Strange," which pits Martin Short as a lounge singer trying to get into the good graces of a Hefner-style publisher, win the heart of a centerfold played by Olivia d'Abo and escape with his life after he learns that all of the perfect bodies of the women in the mansion aren't all that natural. It's a rare horror role for Short, who is great in this episode. It was directed by Paul Lynch, who knows something about making a horror film, what with Prom Night and Humongous on his resume.
While this doesn't always work all the time, Really Weird Tales should have had more than three episodes to find its footing.
Flaherty, a Pittsburgh local, was a major part of Second City and SCTV. Horror fans will respect him pretty much forever for his Count Floyd character, which is a loving tribute that pokes fun at the horror hosts that he grew up with, including "Chilly" Bill Cardille.
There are three stories here that all have pretty high production value. "Cursed With Charisma" is all about a mysterious stranger (John Candy) coming to save the town of Fitchville with new ideas of how to sell real estate, as well as an alien invasion. It was directed by Don McBrearty, who directed 1983's American Nightmare and is still working, directing holiday direct-to-cable movies.
"I'll Die Loving" has Catherine O'Hara as a woman who blows up real good every man that she falls in love with. Where the last segment felt almost too long, this one seems too short. It was directed by John Blanchard, who directed episodes of SCTV and The Kids in the Hall.
Finally, the best story is "All's Well That Ends Strange," which pits Martin Short as a lounge singer trying to get into the good graces of a Hefner-style publisher, win the heart of a centerfold played by Olivia d'Abo and escape with his life after he learns that all of the perfect bodies of the women in the mansion aren't all that natural. It's a rare horror role for Short, who is great in this episode. It was directed by Paul Lynch, who knows something about making a horror film, what with Prom Night and Humongous on his resume.
While this doesn't always work all the time, Really Weird Tales should have had more than three episodes to find its footing.
PABUS!
genzpromo12 August 2004
Warning: Spoilers
OK so Really Weird Tales has 3 short stories... The first one has Martin Short playing this cocky singer, hired by a guy somewhat resembling hugh hefner, at his mansion with a lot of girls who was in his magazine. Has to do with robots, corny and cocky, not my favorite one. The next one I don't believe I even finished watching, about aliens I suppose. John Candy plays this guy who comes to this town and I believe trys to make the town rich or something, the only part I liked was the blue lipstick on John Candy at the end. The third and final is the best. Catherine O'hare plays this girl with special powers, who for the past 20 years (give or take) was in a church living with mean nuns (everyone loves a movie with nuns). The nuns were mean because they "feared for their lives". She had powers to destroy anyone she loved. She blew them up on the spot. She went to get help and someone told her she had a case of PABUS, and the only way she could get rid of it was to fall in love with someone she hated. This short story has corny yet funny lines and I still say lines from it today... The moral of this whole review is, see this, but don't expect the greatest movie of all time...think of it like a fun movie to see, plus if you like sctv, you might dig this.
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