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Meet Wally Sparks (1997)

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18 comments in total

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Some laughs, but not enough, 20 September 1999
Author: Wizard-8 from Victoria, BC

A lot of energy was put into this movie. Dangerfield has some funny one-liners, but a lot of them are not funny, or you'll guess before he utters them. The plot is alternately meandering or frozen for long periods of time. (And the plot should have stayed at the talk show subject, not some dumb plot about Dangerfield crashing a govenor's pad.) Replay the climatic interview scene after watching it once - you'll see that some of Dangerfield's actions don't make that much sense. Also, see how many times the director shoots Dangerfield from the neck down - obviously, it's a stunt double.

A memo to Burt Reynolds: don't wear that particular toupee again.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Sparks big laughs by the minute!, 8 May 2001

Author: mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ

Rodney said, promoting his movie, when people write movies they think they're writing "Gone with the Wind." This movie is FAR from "Gone with the Wind," but if you're as much as a fan of Rodney as I am--and who doesn't love him?--you will have a great time! I can't understand why this movie didn't fare well at the box office. When I went to see it, there were only a few people, but the few that were in there were laughing hysterically! I saw it twice in theaters, and the second audience was doing the same! Especially the statue-penis scene. I think that has to one of the funniest moments ever captured on film and that really brought the house down! Of course, expect to see a chock full of Rodney one-liners, including: "We now come to a part of the show called 'It's Hard to Believe.' Or as my wife used to say..."I can't believe it's hard" and "The problem with me is I'm sitting on top of the world, and I've got hemmerhoids!" I'm not going to give away the rest of the lines, because that would be sinful. The gags are absolutely priceless! Sure, this is another outrageous comedy with the plot structure of a TV sitcom, but with Rodney in the front seat--How can you possibly go wrong? Also, keep your eye out for cameos by numerous talk show hosts and a special appearance by Burt Reynolds in one of his worst wigs...LOL.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Cool, but too many stereotypes, 7 August 2000
Author: SmileyGreg17 from Leeds, England

This film was good fun, and Rodney as always stole the show. Unfortunately, with the jokes it seemed when it rained it poured, though when it didn't, there was a drought. Some of the film - the beggining few scenes, the shows all through the film & some various little bits like the wedding were great & really funny, mainly thanks to Rodney, but it seemed they just didn't think when they cast of something 'cause some of the actors JUST DIDN'T suit their roles. Burt Reynolds must have done this to stay out of the red 'cause the role REALLY wasn't him & the stooge guy who worked for him also was terrible in his part. I was cringing through some of their scenes. This film has enough funny scenes in it to last on you, & a couple of great scenes which remind you why Rodney Dangerfield is your favourite comedien - In particular 'but wait... there's even more!' Unfortunately, it just doesn't quite gel. You need a couple of beers with it, & then it's just great :)

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6 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Rodney Dangerfield at his best!, 22 July 2001

Author: jellyneckr

I first saw MEET WALLY SPARKS on the usa network late one night and I have to say that MEET WALLY SPARKS is Rodney Dangerfield's best movie. Unlike most of his other movies where there are only a few funny bits, MEET WALLY SPARKS is funny throughout the whole movie. Pretty much every single one of the jokes are about sex-related material which isn't a complaint, just a statement. I really think that Rodney Dangerfield and Peter Basil did wrte a great script and a very funny movie. Director Peter Baldwin did a good job too for his first movie [he's directed several television shows]. If you like Rodney Dangerfield, you'll love MEET WALLY SPARKS.

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
at least its adult satire, 4 January 2000

Author: DAVE (ocasekfan@yahoo.com) from United States

When i first saw this movie at the theater, i didnt care for it. but after i saw it on video it seemed funnier to me, and i realized its got its moments. Rodney is always a barrel of laughs, no matter what the critics say.

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3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Live-action cartoon, but what's wrong with that?, 24 February 2002

Author: Evan E. Brown (eeb215) from Los Angeles, CA

"Meet Wally Sparks" is a screwball comedy in the vein of an Adam Sandler vehicle or latter-day "National Lampoon" movie. Sure, it's dumb. Sure, it's cheap. Sure, there's no Palm D'Or award sitting on the director's shelf. But some movies are not destined for accolades or AFI lists or anything above the $8.99-and-under used video rack at Blockbuster.

This movie has a drunken horse, three Southern ladies (one of them Cindy Williams) dancing in their skivvies to "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On", a fight between Sumo wrestlers and WWF stars, and Tony Danza reprising his role as Tony from "Taxi" doing a Rodney Dangerfield impression. Oh, and lest it be overlooked, RODNEY FRIGGIN' DANGERFIELD.

Come on. It's goofy, it's fun, it doesn't cost more than the price of a pack of cigarettes to own. Rodney and Oscar may not mix, but live-action cartoons and Rodney go pretty well together.

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3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
treated bad by critics and other people, 29 September 1999
Author: steve layne

i thought it was a funny movie,and a few scenes were very funny. it's never boring or stupid. there are a few,and i do mean few scenes that are unfunny,but not stupid. the plot holes are the only thing that keeps this movie from a bulls-eye,but it still has a number of laughs. i give meet wally sparks **1/2 out of ****

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Dangerfield at his best!, 22 March 2007

Author: Josh Rimokh (afilmbuff@yahoo.com) from Woodland Hills, California

First of let me just say that you have to be a Rodney Dangerfield fan to really enjoy this film. His flamboyant personality and his ability to insult everyone within a 1000 mile radius at the same time, are what make this movie flat out funny! If you have seen previous Dangerfield flicks, then your not getting a whole lot of new material, just a different scenario. However, his stuff never gets old. In this film, Rodney plays a T.V talk show host (Kinda Like Jerry Springer, but borderline X-Rated) who's show is in danger of being canceled. Its not that his show is bad, its just really raunchy. So Rodney and his crew go to Georgia to visit the Govenor (who has publicly spoken out against the show) to try and get him to be a guest on the show and boost the ratings. At the Govenor's part Rodney gets hurt and ends up re-cooperating in the Govenor's Mansion. As you can guess much hilarity ensues. There are a couple of wonderful set pieces that will have you cracking up in seconds. One is witch, at the Govenor's party, Rodney is walking around the room with an erection! You'll just have to watch the film to find out how it happens. Humor aside, this film is written and acted as well is any other comedy Rodney has been in. The supporting cast do their best and the film flows nicely. I would have to say that this is his best film since Back to School.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Run from Wally Sparks as fast as you can (1997), 16 June 2004

Author: Clara B.

I'm not a movie snob. There's many movies I found funny or interesting that most viewers would find terrible. I'm also a huge fan of 80's comedies. There's usually two types of movies that I enjoy watching. The first type is intelligent and creative movies, and the second type is silly, "guilty pleasure" type movies. But this.. THIS..

This definitely wasn't a guilty pleasure. "Meet Wally Sparks" is one of the most stupid movies I've ever seen and relies on sexual humor all the time to make their viewers laugh. A very rude talk show host has to save his reputation. This could have been funny. This could have made fun of all the terrible talk shows that are out there. But it wasn't funny at all in my opinion. The movie lost it's credibility to me right from the beginning when REAL talk show hosts gave their opinions about Wally Sparks.

Okay, if you're with a group of friends and you're all really tired, you might laugh at certain parts of the film. However, when I DID laugh, it was at the stupidity of the movie and not at their attempts at humor. The worst thing is when you realize it was made in 1997 when so many other better comedies were made before.

Not only it wasn't funny, it was just pointless. I had a hard time following what was going on because it was just so badly done.

I'm aware that very few people are actually going to rent this movie, but if you're someone like me who randomly picks movies at the video rental place, I only have one advice; avoid this one. Some people might find it amusing, but probably not more than that..

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0 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Sparkless., 4 July 2002
Author: tfrizzell from United States

Rodney Dangerfield stars as a rude and crude talk-show host ala Jerry Springer in this stupid waste. He gets involved with trying to uncover a sex scandal at the governor's mansion. A really bad film that relies solely on crazed sexual humor and perverted situations to entertain its audience. It may amuse some, but not me. It is a sin to be wasteful. 2 stars out of 5.

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