Mixed nuts

This morning I went to the gym at 6:00 a.m. I was a slacker as I have the day off.  It was shortly after 8:00 when I hit the grocery store. And there in the middle of Superstore I had a Thank you Jesus moment. For years I have been looking for a DVD of my favourite Christmas movies Mixed Nuts.  Last week I attempted to find someone who could convert my old VHS copy to DVD without success.  So it was truly a Christmas miracle to find that DVD sitting on the nearly empty DVD rack.  If you are not familiar with this Steve Martin movie, the following excerpt from a  review by Christopher Sullivan  describes it best.

A GUILTY PLEASURE!… (NOT for the easily offended!), November 16, 2001 Let’s face it, setting a comedy at a suicide prevention hotline center smacks of some truly tastless humor. However, black humor/farce doesn’t bow to such societal pressure as “inappropriate subject matter”. Clearly anyone who has felt the tragedy of suicide in their lives won’t take to this one bit. However, that being said… “Mixed Nuts” is a TRULY hysterical film. Once again, the late MADELINE KAHN steals the show (like she did in “What’s Up Doc?”). It stars a name cast including Steve Martin, Juliette Lewis, Anthony Lapaglia, Adam Sandler, Rob Reiner and Garry Shandling. Rita Wilson is an actress I’m not familiar with but who did a great job here and the drag queen played by Liev Schrieber was awesome!

The hijinks revolve around a suicide prevention hotline (“Lifesavers”!) run by a not particularly stable crew. The center is in danger of bankruptcy and all are in fear of the “seaside strangler”. Following around the Christmas fruitcake throughout the film is a wonderful plot devise. Seeing Madeline Kahn stuck in the elevator trying to rap on an electronic keyboard is one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen on film. It was to the great discredit of the producers of a recent biography on her that this film wasn’t even mentioned.

There are many, many funny moments here and even the soundtrack is exceptional. The upbeat, funky “White Christmas” at the opening, with views of a sunny beach and a snowman made of sand set the tone for this wacky and delightful film. Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” is great as well. If your looking for an outrageous, truly hysterical comedy and don’t have easily offended friends, then this movie will make you a hit this Christmas season!!!

I like this movie because it shows that Christmas for most people is not a Hallmark moment.  Not everyone is perfect, or completely sane normal.  But somehow we find people much like ourself to spend the holidays with.   As we mature we learn to laugh at ourselves and all of our idiosyncrasies.

This evening my DH and I will enjoy a dinner of homemade Chinese food and the movie Mixed Nuts.   Life does not get much better!