Mixed Nuts (1994)

What a messed up title for a non-porno.

Steve Martin stars as Philip, who runs a suicide-prevention hotline staffed by tetchy Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) and lovesick Catherine (Rita Wilson). After getting an eviction order on Christmas Eve, the counselors think they’ve hit bottom — till they cross paths with an array of wackos, including a psycho St. Nick (Anthony LaPaglia).

So watching this movie did get me a little in the holiday spirit, because I thought that “wow although my family is crazy as well, at least nobody is dead”. Thats the message I got from this one.

So the director from Sleepless in Seattle, Nora Ephron does this film, and not once shows that she can at all direct. This whole story is just trying so hard to be so dark, and so bleak, but yet so funny at the same time. Not once does it work.

The jokes are just piled on, and on, and on to the point of where your just saying to yourself “what the hell??!!!”. The lame jokes that were at times offensive started to really become just a total annoyance for me.

So many great stars are in this film, and are just so misused. Steve Martin is not very funny here, if at all, and Madeline Kahn’s whole role is just basically screaming in an elevator. Juliette Lewis is in this film and gets terribly annoying in this film, not like any of her others. Liev Schreiber was probably the only one that really made me laugh, considered it was just one big gay joke after another.

Consensus: Mixed Nuts has a horrible title, horrible dialogue, and just a horrible way to use the A-list cast they have. Also, a horrible way to spend my holiday.

1/10=SomeOleBullShiiTTtttt!!!!