Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
Film comedy director Reiner (The Jerk, etc.) reveals his vaudevillian side in this collection of short humor pieces. Each plays like a skit, the characters established quickly through dialogue-driven vignettes. The stories often build to punch line climaxes, or they are left fractured, standing alone as parabolic slices of life. For Reiner, the human drama is mostly played out between the sexes. Men are smitten by women and will do anything to capture them, as in the tale where a philanthropist falls for a high-priced escort girl. In another, a man brings home a Miss America candidate to meet his scrutinizing family. Characters from history are called in freely as well, Casanova, naturally enough, for one.
