Save your money for something good and enjoyable

A lot of fun.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Because life's a bitch and then you die Jim Goldman enjoyed a significantly lower profile than his kid brother Bill, despite being his equal as a writer. I write as a huge admirer of both brothers and the fact remains that excellent as were Robin and Marian, Myself As Witness, The Lion In Winter and They Might Be Giants they somehow lacked the ooomph of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, The Princess Bride and inevitably existed in the shadow of the younger sibling. It's a pity but there you go and so long as we can check out stuff like Robin and Marian, Lion In Winter and this one on DVD it could be worse. George C. Scott can be mannered on occasion but here he lucks into a part that fits him like a glove whilst Joanne Woodward is a consummate actress who can turn her acting chops to anything. The plot is a nice blend of off- the-wall and sound psychology and a good time will be had by all discerning viewers.

This is a quirky, oddly affecting comedy about a judge, gone psychotic after the death of his wife, who believes that he is Sherlock Holmes. His brother wants him committed to an asylum, not for reasons of concern, but so that he can become executor of the would be Holmes's considerable estate.A female psychiatrist is asked to interview him for the formality of the commitment but becomes fascinated by the "Holmes" she meets because of his truly extraordinary deductive reasoning. It's apparent that, delusional or not, he may be a genius of some kind, and far more fascinating than most ordinary mortals.The psychiatrist, whose name just happens to be Watson, joins this Sherlock Holmes in his quest to search the streets of New York City for his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. On the way they meet various other people, also largely spurned by society, but, somehow, kindred souls in an otherwise pretty cold world.This strange but intelligent, utterly charming film died a quick death at the 1971 box office, but has found a cult following of sorts over the years. George C. Scott, with briar pipe and deerstalker hat, is virtual perfection in the role of the man who believes he is Holmes, while Joanne Woodward, devoid of her usual glamour, playing the socially awkward psychiatrist who starts to gradually believe in his cause, brings a warmth and touching vulnerability to her role.The film has a few wonderful scenes with lovely little touches. Holmes takes his Watson to a little movie theatre, almost empty but for a few street people, and a makeout couple in the top balcony. Yet the street people there all know him, greeting him with smiles as "Mr. Holmes" at this theatre where he likes to come for comfort and watch westerns.At another unexpected moment a police officer suddenly comes around the corner, spots "Holmes" and a large smile spreads across his face as he says, "Why, Mr. Rathbone, it's an honor, sir," as he reaches over to shake his hand.And, towards the film's beginning, there is a marvelous scene in which Scott, dressed as Holmes, arrives at a seedy asylum where an inmate is being abused by an orderly. There's a low angle camera shot of a towering Scott/Holmes as he struts through the hallway unruffled, dispassionately disarming orderlies who try to grab him, then proceeds to analyze the mind of the abused patient in a manner that has the patient's doctor (Watson in her first encounter of him) in almost open mouthed admiration.The film's final scene will undoubtedly baffle many viewers because of its ambiguity. It's a moment that is clearly open to interpretation. But I think that scene, and this film, are about the soaring human spirit, and a belief in one's self even though logic and all around you may tell you that you are wrong.

A man who thinks he is Sherlock Holmes is treated by a woman whose name happens to be Dr. Watson. It's a whimsical premise that could have turned into a decent comedy, but the script here is far too uninspired and meandering to amount to anything more than a curiosity piece. There are mildly amusing moments here and there but there is too little humor, drama, and action to sustain the narrative. The final act, including a ridiculous scene in a supermarket, is supposed to be hilarious but falls flat. It's a shame the script is so lacking because Woodward and Scott seem to be trying really hard and show great flair for comedy. This was Harvey's follow-up to "The Lion in Winter," making him a one-hit wonder.

Skimming through the comments posted here about this film that deals with a genius paranoid, one might get their own paranoid notion that there was a conspiracy by Scott fans (or whomever) to present what is essentially an average movie as a humongous comedy classic. All the comments are full of nothing but praise. Mysterious almost. They Might Have Been On Giant Mushrooms when they saw the movie, no idea...TMBG has good production values. The lead duo, Scott and Woodward, are excellent and quite charismatic, managing to eke out the last drop out of the shoddy script. Additonally, we get some rather nice 70s New York scenery to look at. I was mesmerized by the brief view of Times Square at 0:37:15.However, the problem is very simple: TMBG is just not funny; maybe slightly amusing on a few occasions, all of which are early on. While the first half is solid, things totally disintegrate from the half-way mark onwards, complete with an expected cop-out ending. "Philosophical" fortune-cookie bull (that cliché quote about the heart and brain) cannot make up for a lack of imagination. Yeah, yeah... it's a love story, it's about loneliness, and about who is really insane in this world, what is really normal behaviour, and all that... It's neither new nor fascinating.The script STINKS. It is lazily written. The lowest point of the movie was also its perhaps most expensive part: the Loony-Toons-like supermarket brawl. Totally unfunny. If you expect sharp satire, wit, or even visual sight gags to laugh to, forget it. The humour is often moronic, too predictable, even cartoonish.Joanne Woodward looks terrific, a natural beauty. Pity that she plays a woman who considers herself to be homely, which is hogwash. Not all that believable, hence not funny. Only in Hollywood are we supposed to consider beautiful women ugly, and she-beasts like Laura Dern and Anjelica Huston as beauties! Maltin the Leonard even calls Woodward "tomboyish"; this, coming from a nerd who says that Julianne Moore has "radiant beauty"...