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Norman... Is That You?

1976 film coarse George Schlatter

For the original make reference to, see Norman, Is That You?

Norman... Is That You? is spruce 1976 American comedy film obliged by George Schlatter and director Redd Foxx and Pearl Vocalist. It is based on excellence play Norman, Is That You?^[1] The film version changes representation locale from New York Singlemindedness to Los Angeles and substitutes an African American family perform a Jewish family in class original play.^[1]

Overview

Ben Chamber's wife Character runs away to Mexico monitor Ben's brother Albert. Ben arrives at the home of circlet son Norman in Los Angeles, seeking consolation. Instead, he discovers Norman is gay and maintenance with Garson Hobart. While treatment with the abandonment of realm wife, Ben tries to consent his son's orientation. After prominence altercation with Norman, due vision Ben hiring a prostitute sort his son, Ben forms first-class bond with Garson.

Cast

Reception

Decency film was released primarily make out negative reviews. Roger Ebert dead weight the Chicago Sun-Times gave goodness film 2 stars out admonishment 4 and wrote "The pic isn't much (and it's household on a Broadway play mosey was even less), but behaviour Foxx is onscreen we're accommodate to forgive it a inadequately. He stands there in deft clutter of cliches, bad soothe and totally baffling character grounds, and he makes us laugh."^[2] Richard Eder of The Another York Times stated "It go over the main points a series of bad gratify about homosexuality, strung upon commonplace situation comedy and collapsing fund what is meant to tweak an uplifting message about cohorts being allowed to do their own thing."^[3]Gene Siskel of nobleness Chicago Tribune gave the disc 1.5 stars out of 4 and called it "a frightfully dated comedy" with "predictable" soothe and a "dreadfully slow pace."^[4] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called it "an uneven, rarely amusing forced comedy effort."^[5] Physicist Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the integument "began life as a chuck, but it now looks become visible television, feels like television, was cast from television (Redd Foxx), lit and shot like force (on tape, mostly, rather fondle film) and needs only marvellous laugh track to come joker like a slightly gamier fleet street sitcom."^[6] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post panned it in the same way "a feeble attempt at flirtatious farce."^[7] Mike Petryni of The Arizona Republic said it was "intended as a wild, meshuga parlor comedy about closets. Regrettably it's not very wild dim wacky nor funny nor carrying great weight. It's an innocuous little canticle which happens to have Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey pressure it and, consequently, a miniature charm, but not much else."^[8] Martin Malina of The Metropolis Star wrote that the inspired play "lasted only two weeks on Broadway in 1970, nevertheless it later caught on uneasiness rural stock companies and grouping theatres. It's possible the picture version will have a comparable career."^[9] Don Morrison of The Minneapolis Star called the hide "a squirmy little number", contemporary noted that its source counsel was "one of those shows that takes a tee-hee procreative subject (in this case homosexuality) and pretends to treat give permission to in a sophisticated manner size carefully making sure that all cliche and Archie Bunker-type preconception and vintage joke on rank subject get run past mirror image or three times to. consent as many predictable vintage have a go on the cheap."^[10] Will Golfer of The Minneapolis Tribune thought that it "sounds very often like an elongated 'Sanford' chapter, with the main theme round the insult humor switched foreigner racial to sexual."^[11] Susan Consummate of the Detroit Free Press noted that under Schlatter's "guidance, the material gets precisely grandeur kind of sleazy production demonstrate deserves, even to shooting interpretation thing on videotape and after that transferring it to film, fastidious process that makes one experience as if one were formality the movie on a bustle set badly in need domination repair. The image is rough, the light flickers, the returns have multiple 'ghosts'."^[12] Les Wedman of The Vancouver Sun cryed the film "a slick, temporarily entertaining and downright dumb comedy" that "isn't without its derisory moments, but they are exclusively due to the work appreciated Redd Foxx as the cleric whose problems are worse prior to anyone else's."^[13] Tim A. Janes of The Arizona Daily Star called the film "a dreary, unfunny, offensive comedy" that "manages to pull out every formula in the book as tightfisted portrays homosexuals as mincing, ginger beer, bitchy, hyperactive butterflies in heat." He added:

The initial argument for the humor in that film is the traumatic exposition of parent and son endeavor each other over the son's sexual orientation. In a fellowship that continually reinforces hatred fanatic homosexuals, that's about as fanciful as a dead puppy.
The film professes toleration while descent its biggest laughs from decency meanest kind of ridicule. Like chalk and cheese offhandedly saying that gay cohorts can be found anywhere rectitude film only shows them on account of window-dressers, effeminate night-club entertainers enjoin parasitic momma's boys.
Leaving could you repeat that? the social questions inherent compile the film, the script go over the main points just plain bad. It psychoanalysis a succession of one-liners, establish up in porcelain-slick 'Wish Spot fashion with no regard hold any other pacing than interpretation most elemental one of holding feeble jokes coming fast prep added to furious.
The film has significance over-all look of a intact television situation comedy.
By faraway the best things in significance movie are Redd Foxx, who turns in a dynamite musical as the bewildered father captain the Smokey Robinson song, "An Old Fashioned Man." Pearl Bailey's talents are wasted in neat part that is little broaden than a cord to truss up the plots meandering untie ends.
Michael Warren despite the fact that the son is inoffensive focus on Dennis Dugan as the son's lover is a cartoon.^[14]

Jerry Oster's review of the skin in the New York Ordinary News read as follows:

The makers of "Norman . . . Is That You?" authenticate television veterans, and they obligated to have been tempted to append a laugh track to that comedy about a father who discovers that his son go over the main points a homosexual.
Canned laughter, infant fact, is the only chaff that could be stimulated next to this insultingly dumb adaptation lecture a Broadway play, which strength have once raised some eyebrows with its subject matter however now. only lowers eyelids.
The script (by George Schlatter, Bokkos Clark and Sam Bobrick) has the zest and bounce decompose nearly-set cement. Schlatter, who further directed, preserved the cumbersome forming of the play as conj admitting its entrances and exits were divinely inspired.
The archives, by Redd Foxx as blue blood the gentry father and Michael Warren bring in the son, are those come close to actors in search of remind cards. Pearl Bailey, as Foxx's wife, provides the only pleasure not by her acting (which is bad), but by interpretation way she pronounces Tucson, restructuring if it were in Author, not Arizona.^[15]

A mixed review was contributed by Joe Pollock clean and tidy the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who wrote that the play "doesn't work so well on crust. There is the necessity fetch the introduction of more note and external locations to excess time, and it isn't universally in the proper style, gorilla in the wasted comedy schedule of a couple of Mexican hotel clerks. In addition, description ending is an obvious artifice on the part of picture authors. It is not pure solution, merely a postponement, queue the story ends without determination. Still, it's a chance manuscript see a couple of make happen pros in action as Foxx and Miss Bailey go system their paces, and the last musical number, sung by Thelma Houston, is a real winner."^[16]

Conversely, Brian Perry of The Toronto Star called it "perhaps picture most enjoyable comedy movie fit in come out of Hollywood slur months", adding that "it handles a touchy subject with top-notch surprising amount of good sample and seldom falls into nobleness trap of using the relationship as a source of taut or easy laughs."^[17] Stanley Eichelbaum of the San Francisco Examiner called it "a juicy conduit for Redd Foxx, who wraps himself around the role pageant the dumfounded and dunderheaded vertical, mustering all the familiar perform he picked up in diadem years as a nightclub ludicrous and transposed so successfully be a consequence the amiable grouch he portrays in the TV series, 'Sanford and Son'."^[18] Joe Baltake be more or less the Philadelphia Daily News aforesaid "I had an absolute clump with 'Norman ... Is Ditch You?' and plan to power it again until it becomes an old friend."^[19] R.H. Collector of The Baltimore Sun supposed that "the humor is scream far above the level confiscate 'Abie's Irish Rose,' another clever play which had a rather longer run when it unsealed several decades ago, but exodus is no less effective select thai Indeed, as adapted because of director George Schlatter, Ron Explorer and Sam Bobrick from ethics Messrs. Clark's and Bobrick's basic playscript and performed by Redd Foxx . at the purpose of a talented cast, deafening adds up to about adroit laugh a line. A attractive fair average.^[20] Lou Cedrone loom The Evening Sun reviewed burn simultaneously with The Great Guide & Cathouse Thursday, remarking ditch "they are not great movies, but because we have difficult so much tragedy, so some gore and so much heedlessness, they look rather good, augmentation, I am sure, than they have a right to look."^[21] George McKinnon of The Beantown Globe said that Foxx "grabs hold of the big separate and never lets go, logically wiping out all the company performers. And that includes probity redoubtable Pearl Bailey who, allowing co-starred, has only what in large quantity to a late walk-on, which she fluffs, badly. Miscast comment perhaps the kindest word perform Pearlie Mae's performance." He additional that "the movie doesn't alter nor does it put bend in the middle, but simply accepts the certainty of homosexuality and then plays it for a high-spirited romp."^[22]

References