The Tall Guy

Plot synopsis:
The protagonist and narrator is Dexter King (Goldblum), an American actor working in London and living platonically in Camden Town with his "educated, charming...nymphomaniac" landlady (played by Geraldine James). He's just finished his sixth year playing "The Tall Guy", a straight man in a two-man, long-running comedy revue starring (and dominated by) Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson, playing a role based on himself).
Chronic hay fever prompts him to see a doctor, where he meets and falls quickly in love with Kate (played by Emma Thompson), who works there as a nurse.
Soon after meeting Kate, Dexter is fired by Ron. After being rejected for a role in a new Steven Berkoff play for "lacking anger", Dexter wins the title role in a new Royal Shakespeare Company musical based on The Elephant Man. It's a "nasty send-up of Andrew Lloyd Webber" called Elephant! which features a song called "He’s Packing His Trunk" and a finale which ends with the lyric "Somewhere up in heaven there's an angel with big ears!"
During rehearsal, Dexter succumbs to the advances of a married co-star (played by Kim Thomson). On the new musical's opening night, Kate puts together evidence of the affair from a few subtle clues, and leaves Dexter without further ado.
After seeing a scene in a televised award show that suggests Ron is now dating Kate, Dexter impulsively gives up his role in Elephant! just before the curtain rises, with plans to make an impassioned plea to Kate to take him back. With Ron's involuntary help (Dexter ties him up in his dressing room and steals his car), Dexter presents his case to Kate in a busy hospital ward. Kate agrees to give him another chance.

Tags: romantic, satire, flashback

Review:
I found both the sex scene and the scene of the musical to be minor gems, and can't recommend this film highly enough, particularly if you are A) a Jeff Goldblum fan, B) an Emma Thompson fan C) a Rowan Atkinson fan, or D) a musical theatre aficionado.
You will laugh about the musical theater scene for years to come, particularly if you think Andrew Lloyd Webber is the antichrist, as I do..
Jeff Goldblum plays a gawky, downtrodden American actor living in England who plays straight man to an obnoxious, unpleasant comedian.
Emma Thompson is a pretty, deadpan nurse who gives Jeff's life hope and meaning when he falls in love with her and vice versa.
After parting ways with Atkinson, Jeff lands the lead role in "Elephant!", a musical version of "The Elephant Man", in which he plays, of course, the Elephant Man. Jeff's eternal happiness is nearly thwarted by a cute co-star who threatens his romance with Emma Thompson.
Atkinson is a great antagonist and Emma Thompson has her moments of inspired deadpan humor.
And of course, the actual "Elephant" sequences are a riot."Vengeance shall BE MINE!" Jeff as Dexter King, AKA: The Tall Guy..
Take an obligatory American - Jeff Goldblum - a gorgeous nurse (Emma Thompson), a script by Richard Curtis, long before going on to pen Four Weddings and a Notting Hill; get Mel Smith to direct and rubber-faced Rowan Atkinson to play the villain of the piece.
I remember going to see it twice at the time and laughing all the way through it, amazed that British comedies could be this good.It has a huge amount going for it with intelligence, cracking lines and some highly stylised photography by Adrian Biddle.Curtis' semi-autobiographical script is based on his own days as a fall guy for Atkinson and the result is well worth a look..
One's taste in comedies is a highly personal thing, and not everyone will find this movie to their taste, but if you like the inimitable flavor of British humor (as I do) and enjoy Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson, you will probably find this movie to be extremely rewarding -- that is, hilarious and, perhaps, a bit touching.It's got its flaws, of course.
There are one or two key plot points that are a little hard to follow (especially the scene with Emma Thompson on the television).
I don't know if one could make this movie in America;  the entire film is permeated with a uniquely British sensibility that makes it irresistible.
And in the midst of all this, Jeff Goldblum is absolutely spot-on as the bemused American; his facial expressions and reaction shots in this movie are priceless.
It's a pity that so many of his recent roles have been in action movies;  at his best, Goldblum is a fantastic comic actor, and this movie depends completely on his charm, wit, and expressiveness.One of the centerpieces of the movie, by the way, is a musical based on "The Elephant Man".
It's a tour-de-force of parody, brilliantly satirizing the tastelessnesses and mediocrities of modern musicals;  indeed, I wish we could get to see even more of it.I recently revisited The Tall Guy for the third time, watching it side-by-side with There's Something About Mary, and I can't begin to tell you how much the latter movie suffered by comparison.
They have a few traits in common -- both movies revolve around the pursuit of a beautiful woman by a misanthropic-but-oddly-handsome male Jewish lead, both have a strong sexual element to their humor, and both feature a prominent handicapped character (a blind man in the Tall Guy, a man on crutches in Mary) whose misadventures are played for laughs.
Richard Curtis has written some impressive romantic comedies (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, Love Actually) and had his hand in the writing of some of the top British TV comedy of our time (Mr Bean, Not the 9 O'Clock news, Blackadder).
This was one of his first scripts to be turned into a feature film.He wrote this script about his own experience playing straight man to Rowan Atkinson on his early tours.
Rowan Atkinson is excellent as a smarmy "leading man" in the musical "Elephant!" who tries to sink Goldblum's chances in the musical.
The love scenes with Thompson and Goldblum are inspired, particularly the first time they have sex.
The actor's quirky takes and interaction are most funny, and the entire film is simply a delight.I've told many friends to seek out this movie, and those who have taken my advice have thanked me profusely for letting them know about it.I can't recommend it too highly--for a fun night alone, or with your special someone.
Jeff Goldblum's Dexter seems bewildered by everything - not least his subservient position to comic superstar Ron Anderson played with believable malevolence by Rowan Atkinson.
The best thing in the film by some way.Mel Smith's direction drags a bit and it is only in the very funny mock musical "Elephant" - based improbably on the "Elephant Man" - that the film comes to life.
A Sarah Brightman lookalike does a number straight out of "Phantom" and it's very funny.The film is quite daring with an explicit sex scene between Thompson and Goldblum that is so energetic that they destroy the former's bedroom, The relationship between the two is a forerunner of Curtis's boy/girl romances in later movies.
I was idly flicking channels and came across a scene with Jeff Goldblum and Rowan Atkinson.
Thinking to myself that this was an interesting-looking cast, I stayed with it, and was later also introduced to Emma Thompson, and much to my surprise, extremely small one-line roles for Angus Deayton, Robin Driscoll and Charles Augins.It was fun while it lasted.
Rowan Atkinson has some more memorable scenes as a snide, unlikeable character, and Jeff Goldblum is actually quite fascinating in romantic, love-me mode.
Considering it was very late at night, I hope I can be forgiven for not regurgitating the plot correctly here, but I seem to remember that Goldblum played a reluctant straight-man to Atkinson in his stage show and decided to step out on his own, which eventually led to him getting the lead role in a musical production of "The Elephant Man".
"The Tall Guy" is an enjoyable little trifle, featuring Jeff Goldblum as an American actor in London.
Rowan Atkinson is hilarious as a conceited bugger, and Emma Thompson plays Goldblum's love-interest.
Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is the oddball sidekick to domineering comedian Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson) in a long running two-men play.
He has a bout of hay fever and falls for nurse Kate (Emma Thompson).Jeff Goldblum is very broad in this shy awkward oddball character.
I think this comedy express well the British humor,it's soft,lovely and never rude.Jeff Goldblum ,is Dexter King,an American actor who survives with many problems in London playing in minor roles ,his life is everything but brilliant until he meets a nurse and falls in love with her..Goldblum is really good in this role and can express really well his comic side and once again shows to be a complete actor able to play different roles.
Some scenes of the movie are very nice like when he's fired by the unbearable star of the theatre (Rowan Atkinson before being Mr.Bean) or when he asks about his look to a blind man.Emma Thompson is also good but nothing new..we're used to seeing her always perfect !
Even the rest of the cast is good,from the weird Dexter's landlady to the wise blind man..maybe it's not a film you'll never forget but some fun is sure!.
Jeff Goldblum is well-cast but over-eager playing under-appreciated actor who finally lands a leading role: he's the new star of a musical interpretation of "The Elephant Man" in an offbeat stage revue.
Emma Thompson, sweetly cast as Goldblum's love-interest, is surprisingly at home here and ends up stealing the picture.
What is there in this little film that should polarize everyone so?Rowan Atkinson behaving like a creep?
Jeff Goldblum is a fine American actor who works in London, England at a theatre playing straight man to Rowan Atkinson, Britain's Bean and Black Adder.
In this comedy written by Richard Curtis, he falls in love with a nurse played by Emma Thompson before she became famous.
I enjoy Rowan Atkinson who plays a British comedian who does his show eight times a week with Goldblum as his second in command.
Rowan Atkinson steals the film with almost every line, as he uses, in the words of another character, the royal family as his "sexual lubricant." Some of the humor is broad as in the Richard Curtis penned Blackadder series, but the writing is very witty and filled with quotable lines.
Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson are great, and there is a love-making scene that is quite funny and sexy (Emma Thompson in the buff!).
The play that Jeff Goldblum eventually lands a part in, is a hilarious parody of every musical ever produced.
It makes me feel a little more normal to find a movie like the tall guy in which its writers are more sick and twisted than I am.
I am a big Jeff Goldblum fan, and this movie only increases his appeal.
If you are the type of person who has an intelligent but strange sense of humor like me then you will love THE TALL GUY..
Emma Thompson and Jeff Goldblum are excellent in this story of a nurse, an actor and an elephant.
The film is a number of things - an off-the-wall romantic comedy; a well crafted send-up of the West End stage; and a series of memorable comic performances.
It also provides a backdrop for a rendition of 'It Must be Love' by Madness that you will never forget.The film revolves around hapless Dexter King (Goldblum) who is a tall, out of work American actor living in Camden.
Having been sacked from Ron Anderson's one-man show (a great self-parody by Rowan Atkinson) he strikes up a romance with nurse Emma Thompson.
All of us were fans of Jeff Goldbloom, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson.
True, the humour is not at everybody's grasp, the songs come up in the middle of nowhere and a few more flaws are patent; but at the same time the actors' performance are great (finally Emma Thompson is funny!
The story is a simple, funny one about love, the satire of the theatre world is brilliant and that of the Health Service is funny but could be much ruder (but that was 1989!).I know most of this movie by heart, and I can't stop watching it: every single time it manages to move me!.
Funny details have been put in the movie and you'll have to watch it closely a few more times to discover them, it's well worth it and you'll realize how playful, neat and smart this picture is.Goldblum played Dexter King, a tall American actor whose career is rather not successful.
Kate is like sunshine which lights up Dexter's life, they are happily in love and he later takes a part in a musical, everything is going well...There are smart satire and romantic elements and as well as surprises in this story.
Being a Rowan Atkinson fan...I love Mr Bean...watching this film was a must and this film is soooo funny.Rowan Atkinson is excellent playing a comedian who doesn't like being upstaged.Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson shine in the lead roles and the sex scene is one of my favourite scenes of all time.....no spoilers here, just prepare to laugh...The blind man who's allergic to his dog is excellent too...well I would say that as a relation, but still excellent use (he's actually deaf!!!).What can I say....buy it, rent it, watch it on TV....just make sure you see it!!!.
This movie is proof that Britain was creating great comedies before Four Weddings and a Funeral.Written by the same man responsible for Four Weddings in Richard Curtis, this is a wonderfully funny movie following the ups and downs of an American actor's career and love life in London.But as good as the main characters played by Goldblum and Thompson are, it is the supporting cast that are the real highlight, from Goldblum's slightly deranged landlady, to the star of the stage show he acts in played by Rowan Atkinson, with an ego the size of the theatre he's playing in.
There is of course no accounting for sense of humor, and I suppose there are intelligent people who will find the entire movie funny.
'The Tall Guy' teamed several big names from British comedy together - Richard Curtis was writing, Mel Smith directing, Rowan Atkinson and Emma Thompson appearing on the screen.
The nominal lead role went to American actor Jeff Goldblum.The flimsy plot concerned a patsy (Goldblum) playing straight man to funny performer Atkinson.
There's a musical version of 'The Elephant Man' (which is quite funny and has echoes of 'The Man in the Moon' segment from 'Mame'); and a hilarious sex scene between Goldblum and Thompson around an entire room and over as many props as they could cram together.Not much of a film otherwise though, and Richard Curtis in particular went on to hit to the big-time cinema wise with such undemanding fare as 'Four Weddings', 'Notting Hill', and 'Love Actually'..
He works as the straight man for a stage comedian (played by Rowan Atkinson, and his fans will be disappointed that he's not featured more) and he falls for a blunt, independent-minded nurse (Emma Thompson) with whom he has a rocky romance.It's not the stars' fault, but this alleged romantic comedy doesn't really deliver much romance or comedy.
Jeff Goldblum just throws it all out there, and Emma Thompson reels him back in with her reserved gem of a performance.
Rowan Atkinson is a fantastic actor, yet you barely get to see him in this movie.
The other actors were good as well, but there just wasn't anything interesting about their characters.And what was the big point of this movie?
Judging by the sappy music in the end, I suppose it was all of them.Even though I am hugely interested in the story about the Elephant man, not even that part was interesting enough to ever want me to watch this movie again..
There's a scene in this film which perfectly mirrors people's reaction to this movie.
When Goldblum's Girlfriend and Landlady share a box to watch the first night of his starring role as the Elephant man their disparate reactions to the show echo the disparate reviews that appear here.As with most comedy, you have to be somewhat in the right frame of mind to enjoy it...
But if your reaction was discover that the sadness highlighted the joy of the remainder and brought it into focus then you'll "get" this film and enjoy it.Jeff Goldblum and Rowen Atkinson fans beware!
It's a humble love story that always leaves me smiling.Jeff Goldblum has just the right kind of weirdo edge for the part.
Besides that it contains one of the more athletic, and funny, sex scenes I've seen on film - starring Emma Thompson and Jeff Goldblum.I would rate it well up in the top 50 comedies of all time.
Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is an actor, who plays straight man to Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson) and is desperate to do something more with his life.
Emma Thompson shows us her talent for comedy also, and the results are pretty good.Worth a Laugh 7/10.
Both the good and the bad thing about "The Tall Guy" is that it is a British comedy with an American sense about it.
It's an absurd tale of an American actor (Jeff Goldblum) relegated to perform as a second banana for a West End favorite (Rowan Atkinson) in a London theatrical production.
But, of course, complications arise.The plot is helped greatly by the performances of unbelievable moments from the musical, and by a very raucous love scene with Goldblum and Thompson, one of the most violently joyous ones I've ever seen in a film!
Jeff Goldblum plays Dexter King an American actor appearing in Ron Anderson's revue.This for me is an underrated comedy by Richard Curtis.Dexter meets Kate and wants to take her out -- she is a nurse, so he goes to the hospital where she is working under the pretence of getting a number of injections for a trip abroad.After a little hassle he asks her out -- she accepts.This film has some very funny characters and for me Rowan Atkinson's Ron Anderson is one of the best performances he has ever given.He plays a mean and miserable comic who takes all his tyrannical feelings out on Dexter-- the angrier he gets the more hysterically funny he is.Everything really takes flight when Dexter is offered the role of the elephant man in a musical "Elephant", we follow the rehearsal process which is very realistic into the actual first night.True love never runs smooth and Dexter is tempted into making a silly error which he lives to regret .....a brilliant moment where Kate realises she has been betrayed (Dexter pours a drink for one of the actresses -- and her subtle reaction gives the game away)The musical itself is played straight and for me the star of this set piece is the bearded lady.
Very silly film about an out of work actor who resurrects his career on the stage and finds true love with the nurse who gives him his hay fever injections.Emma Thompson is quite likable as the nurse in question, while Jeff Goldblum is okay as "The Tall Guy".
Unfortunately Rowan Atkinson deprives us of seeing his real comic genius in full flight.Smith's film is very ridiculous - but that was probably the idea - and the comedy rather patchy, and often fairly stupid.