On the whole I considered this to be a pretty good movie. But being the Ernie Kovacs fanatic that I am, I couldn't help but notice a few discrepancies throughout. Perhaps since this film is based on Edith Adams' recollections, there was a bit of a skewed point of view. Or perhaps the movie covers the period of time that Ernie was signed with CBS and NBC while the film was produced by ABC could bring up a few copyright issues. In one way or another all of Ernie's bits in the film are changed in somewhat noticeable ways. Here are a few of the bit discrepancies I found...
During the Percy Dovetonsils performance it was very clear to any fan of Ernie's that the "eyeball glasses" worn did not even resemble the actual ones that Ernie wore. Also, the fish in the martini event had a completely different poem by Percy.
During the Nairobi Trio performances, Ernie's "conductor" ape was waving his baton in the reverse order from the way Ernie always did during the performance. Ernie always waved the baton up and to the right, while in the film it was waved up and to the left.
During the "Wolfgang Sauerbraten" German Disk Chockey bit, the turntable was on the opposite side of the table from where it always was during Ernie's performance. And the dialog was completely incorrect for the particular bit he was doing in the film.
And perhaps the most glaring instance was that Ernie NEVER actually laid on the train tracks in front of an oncoming train in his entire career! That story has always be attributed to folklore, an urban legend if you will...
The performances by everyone in the cast were quite admirable. Although Mr. Goldblum's 6'4" lanky frame was noticeably different from Ernie's 6'2" 215 lb frame. Though this could be easily explained, since the rest of the cast may have been tall, requiring the use of a noticeably tall actor such as Jeff Goldblum. Ms. Leachman was absolutely wonderful as Ernie's wacky mother! Kudos! Ms. Edie Adams' appearance as Mae West could have been omitted, as it was nothing more than a self serving distraction from an otherwise fine movie.
So... I would suggest to anyone with even a passing interest in Ernie Kovacs, that they should take the 95 minutes required to watch this film. Even more so I would suggest that you get a hold of a copy of the fantastic biography by Diana Rico. A wonderful book that leaves absolutely no stone unturned about the life of Ernie Kovacs.
During the Percy Dovetonsils performance it was very clear to any fan of Ernie's that the "eyeball glasses" worn did not even resemble the actual ones that Ernie wore. Also, the fish in the martini event had a completely different poem by Percy.
During the Nairobi Trio performances, Ernie's "conductor" ape was waving his baton in the reverse order from the way Ernie always did during the performance. Ernie always waved the baton up and to the right, while in the film it was waved up and to the left.
During the "Wolfgang Sauerbraten" German Disk Chockey bit, the turntable was on the opposite side of the table from where it always was during Ernie's performance. And the dialog was completely incorrect for the particular bit he was doing in the film.
And perhaps the most glaring instance was that Ernie NEVER actually laid on the train tracks in front of an oncoming train in his entire career! That story has always be attributed to folklore, an urban legend if you will...
The performances by everyone in the cast were quite admirable. Although Mr. Goldblum's 6'4" lanky frame was noticeably different from Ernie's 6'2" 215 lb frame. Though this could be easily explained, since the rest of the cast may have been tall, requiring the use of a noticeably tall actor such as Jeff Goldblum. Ms. Leachman was absolutely wonderful as Ernie's wacky mother! Kudos! Ms. Edie Adams' appearance as Mae West could have been omitted, as it was nothing more than a self serving distraction from an otherwise fine movie.
So... I would suggest to anyone with even a passing interest in Ernie Kovacs, that they should take the 95 minutes required to watch this film. Even more so I would suggest that you get a hold of a copy of the fantastic biography by Diana Rico. A wonderful book that leaves absolutely no stone unturned about the life of Ernie Kovacs.