writers_reign Because life's a bitch and then you die Jim Goldman enjoyed a significantly lower profile than his kid brother Bill, despite being his equal as a writer. I write as a huge admirer of both brothers and the fact remains that excellent as were Robin and Marian, Myself As Witness, The Lion In Winter and They Might Be Giants they somehow lacked the ooomph of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, The Princess Bride and inevitably existed in the shadow of the younger sibling. It's a pity but there you go and so long as we can check out stuff like Robin and Marian, Lion In Winter and this one on DVD it could be worse. George C. Scott can be mannered on occasion but here he lucks into a part that fits him like a glove whilst Joanne Woodward is a consummate actress who can turn her acting chops to anything. The plot is a nice blend of off- the-wall and sound psychology and a good time will be had by all discerning viewers.

jurgen-manycolored The movie is full of charm and wistfulness. So many people living in their own world. Admittedly a bit of a comic stretch in some of the scenes, the ending struck me emotionally. What it seemed to say was It is better to die on your feet with your own sense of reality than die on your knees with the reality forced on you by others. And the ending is a composite of that and the true reality of imminent death. That last scene allowed me to take the spiritual (if you will) content of the movie above what went before. A small gem hidden in the earth.Scott and Woodward hold up their end as far as the acting goes. Jack Gilford is miscast; Lester Rawlins speaks his lines woodenly; Al Lewis reminded me of Peter Laurie at the end of his career walking his shark around the swimming pool on a lead; Ron Weyand could pass for a Hassidic Jew with a southern accent in his part. It puzzles me often that supporting actors can come across so badly while the costars rise to the occasion. Yet other actors playing bit parts are quite entertaining. At any rate, if you can swallow some of the acting and get into the movie, it can hold you with its subliminal sense of other-worldliness.

gavin6942 In a Manhattan psychiatric hospital a man (George C. Scott), convinced he is Sherlock Holmes, is treated by a female doctor (Joanne Woodward) who happens to be named Watson.George C. Scott is such a fine actor. I enjoyed him as Patton and loved him in "Changeling". I did not realize he had such a great sense of humor -- he delivers his lines in this film with such perfection, such timing, that he is remarkably humorous in ways many people never could be.For some reason, I do not think this is a very well-known film. Indeed, the only reason I have heard of it is because of the band that took their name from it. And, I suppose, this is how many people came to know it. And yet, it is a great film in its own right -- how has it come to be eclipsed by a band (albeit a great band)?

LCShackley THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS starts out with a familiar plot: evil brother wants to have goofy brother committed so he can steal the family fortune. Goofy brother (Scott) believes he is Sherlock Holmes, so a psychiatrist (Woodard) is brought in to certify him for the asylum. Both actors deliver engaging, nuanced performances.It turns out that "Holmes" has a lot more savvy and insight than a crazy person should. He turns the table on the doctor (whose name, appropriately, is Watson) and starts to dissect her personality and problems. All this takes place while he's hunting around NYC to find "Moriarty," his arch-nemesis.This film could have gone in many interesting directions, and occasionally you think it's about to. There are some funny scenes, and some tender scenes, but what starts out to be a climax ends up as a fizzle, with one of those ambiguous endings that 70s directors loved so much. You start to think that Holmes's quirky clues might actually turn out to solve some important problem, but they just hit a dead end. And, no surprise, that's what happened to this movie at the box office.