Olive Films have a new Blu-ray featuring something of a lost title. Madhouse (1990) was a little slapstick comedy that received no more than a VHS release after playing in theaters. In fact, it seemed to fall into obscurity fairly quickly afterward. Now, 25 years later, a new Blu-ray is giving audiences the opportunity to finally revisit or catch up with the film.
The cast included big TV stars John Larroquette and Kirstie Alley, who were both famous for thier roles on hit NBC shows (Night Court and Cheers, to be specific). They play Mark and Jessie Bannister, a “yuppie” couple enjoying life together in a Santa Monica villa. Complications arise when Mark’s henpecked New Jersey cousin (John Diehl) and his wife (Jessica Lundy) show up for a visit. Not long after, Jessie’s spoiled sister (Alison La Placa) separates from her husband and invites herself to stay. In the following days, even more grating lodgers move in and test the sanity of their hosts.
What follows is a mixed bag of hit and miss gags. Some of the guests are so rude and irritating that it’s very hard to take the concept seriously, even as a farce. And there are some politically incorrect lines from the sister character that will only earn winces from modern day viewers. Additionally, a running joke about a cat that won’t die ends up more puzzling than hilarious. On the whole, the movie seems a bit behind the times. Everything about it screams mid-1980s, from the synthesizer-heavy score to the character’s clothing.
But thanks to the work of the two comedic leads, there are some silly moments that do work. The gags are simple and brusque, but Mark and Jessie’s flustered reactions to things falling apart are amusing. By the time the two begin to crack and their villa itself falls to pieces, the movie garners a few laughs. This includes the resigned acceptance of the situation, (“We just hand over our paychecks and stay out of their way. It’s for the best.”), to one of Jessie’s news reports (in which she talks with a street hood and intensely questions him on how much it costs to have someone’s legs broken).
There’s even an interesting dream sequence that features the house being invaded by zombie-like tourists. It’s incredibly brief, but it looks like some effort was certainly put into the nightmare. The climax itself is reasonably over-the-top and even features a wild elephant. All the same, the movie sure seems to have a mixed message. It suggests that its heroic professionals were just too nice and accommodating when they should have been more forceful and cutthroat with their guests – a very 80s sentiment.
The Blu-ray image quality on this Olive Film release is very good. It’s a sharp-looking transfer that presents the film for the first time in its proper aspect ratio. Madhouse isn’t a great movie, certainly is an interesting curiosity that may give viewers of a certain age a nostalgic buzz and provide fans of Larroquette and Alley with a chuckle or two.
Below is a trailer for the movie – anyone remember it?