As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Ted Danson, Howie Mandel, Richard Mulligan, Stuart Margolin, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Edwards and Paul Sorvino star in Blake Edwards' 1986 comedy. Danson (Cheers) plays Spence Holden, an actor & womanizer who discovers a horse-doping plot to fix a race. He decides to capitalize with help from his friend, Dennis Powell (Mandel) and they become chased by thugs, Binky (Margolin) & Turnip (Mulligan) who work for mob boss, Tony Pazzo (Sorvino). Alonso (The Running Man) plays Tony's wife, Claudia who finds romance with Spence and Edwards (Blake's daughter) plays Ellen Frankenthaler, an auction secretary who finds romance with Dennis. Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue) appears as Spence's brother-in-law, Phil, Rick Ducommun (The 'Burbs) also appears as Ordell, Dennis' uptight boss and he & Mandel were also in "Little Monsters" 3 years after this. I watched this growing up and always enjoyed it. I think it's underrated and Danson & Mandel are great together. I recommend this good 80's comedy.

Give him credit, filmmaker Blake Edwards was still trying to create the kind of frantic farce and slapstick that had served him so well in such features as the "Pink Panther" series. The trouble is, his material this time is weak, and simply not funny too much of the time (at least, in this viewers' humble opinion). It's not that the cast doesn't try to create that madcap feel. They really give this dud better performances than it deserves.Ted Danson is typically amusing in a very Sam Malone-type part, as an insatiable struggling actor named Spence. He overhears a plot to fix a horse race by drugging one of the animals, and tries to capitalize on this knowledge. Unfortunately, the mob finds out that he knows, and utterly brainless goons 'Turnip' (Richard Mulligan) and 'Binky' (Stuart Margolin) spend the balance of the movie trying to silence them, with spectacular lack of success. Meanwhile, Spences' buddy Dennis (Howie Mandel), a carhop with aspirations of being a chef, inadvertently purchases a player piano at an auction, only for a super sexy lady named Claudia (smoldering Maria Conchita Alonso) - whose identity is not hard to figure out - to buy it from him.Edwards, who also gives his actress daughter Jennifer a key role as auction house employee Ellen, does give "A Fine Mess" energy to spare. The audience will note how quickly it moves along. And the stunts certainly are impressive. Some familiar faces in the supporting cast help matters a little. Paul Sorvino doesn't exactly stretch himself as the head mafioso. Mulligan and Margolin, especially Mulligan, mug for the camera like crazy. Also appearing are Rick Ducommun, Keye Luke (whose role is really much too small), Tawny Moyer, Rick Overton, Teddy Wilson, Larry Storch, Frederick Coffin, Vic Polizos, James Cromwell, and Dennis Franz. But as hard as these actors try, the laughs just aren't there most of the time.At the least, it's enjoyable to see Danson looking like he's having the time of his life.Four out of 10.

This just shows how out of touch I am when it comes to comedies. The score for this film is only four, but I actually really enjoyed it. I thought the film was funny through the whole film for the most part and I enjoyed Howie Mandel and Ted Danson's performances in this one. Granted there were a few jokes that really did not work such as the auction where they accidentally bid on the piano, but jokes that did not work all that well were few and far between for me. The film is kind of all over the place, but it centers a bit on a horse racing doping scheme that a man overhears. He is chased and ends up placing bets on said horse. He and his friend then end up buying a piano for a large sum by accident and then proceed to sell it to a person of dubious character. The buddies are played well by two guys who were more known for television at the time in Mandel and Danson. Danson is basically just doing a variation of Sam Malone from "Cheers" in this one, but it works and I thought he was very funny. Richard Mulligan also is in this one, and once again someone who would be known for a television role. The ending was good too. Well good for me, I liked this one, but from the score here I would guess that not many share my opinion of this one. So while I enjoyed it and think it was humorous I would read the other reviews of those who did not like it all that much to get the whole picture.

You can't blame Blake Edwards for making this kind of movie.For years, he depended on the kind of pratfalls that course through "A Fine Mess" as his bread and butter, so to speak. They served the "Pink Panther" series well, and made Inspector Clouseau a world-wide reference point for the ultimate in clumsiness.But for a movie that basically features two losers crossing the mob in a horse race then moving a piano to a rich lady's house, this film is all over the place. So many people introduced then forgotten, plot lines that go nowhere, laughs that are fun for the moment but have no context.Shocking, really, this coming as it does from Blake Edwards, who once personified classy comedy with such works as the aforementioned "Panther" films, not to mention classics like "10", "Micki + Maude" and the under-appreciated "S.O.B.".And with the calibre of talent, you'd expect great things; the manic Mandel, lecherous Danson, luxuriant Alonzo, and wackos like Mulligan and Margolin as mob flunkies all have the fire, but there's just nothing here to stoke the furnace.There were separate moments here and there that gave me a smile but, like the movie itself, it just lives for the moment, then is gone.TIDBIT - The idea for this movie actually came from a Laurel and Hardy short where Stan and Ollie try to move a huge piano up innumerable flights of stairs. Hence, the name.It still is fitting: this movie is definitely a "Mess", if not a "Fine" one.Three stars. Saved but for the virtue of Mulligan in the cast and a bit part for pre-"NYPD Blue" Franz.