The Couch Trip
The escaped delinquent John W. Burns, Jr. replaces Dr. Maitlin on a radio show, saying he's the psychiatrist Lawrence Baird.
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- Cast:
- Dan Aykroyd , Walter Matthau , Charles Grodin , Donna Dixon , Richard Romanus , Mary Gross , David Clennon
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Reviews
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
does anybody know why this movie is called the couch trip? i was just watching it and am still not sure why this title was picked the movie was very funny and its probably my favorite Dan Aykroyd performance it even beats out his Ghostbusters performance i had never heard of the movie before i seen it in a sears store i read the back and thought it sounded good so i bought and when i finally got a chance to watch it, i thought it was better than what i had originally expected. this movie rates as good as animal house and national lampoon's vacation in my mind i wish comedies that have come out lately were written as well as this one was nothing sad happens in it and the bad stuff that does happen are also funny parts if anyone else feels this way and would like to read a comedy script for a movie that doesn't have a sad situation in it email me at [email protected]
This was an 1970s-type irreverent comedy, poking fun at the psychiatric profession and at Beverly Hills. I didn't mind that but I did object to more that irreverence regarding marriage and religion: two topics which secular filmmakers (meaning about everyone in Hollywood and elsewhere) just can't stop trashing. Walter Matthau plays a scuzzy character, "Donald Becker," who walks around with a cleric's collar on, which offends me but when has Hollywood ever been worried about offending Christians?Anyway, despite that nonsense the film has its entertaining moments and even some charm to it. Dan Aykroyd is good at paying a nut-case and Donna Dixon ("Laura Rollins") is a knockout. I am sorry she didn't have a bigger role.
As a fan of Dan Aykroyd, I watched this film when it was recently shown in the middle of night on TV. I wasn't expecting much, so it came as a big surprise that I loved it so much.This is the type of film that Dan Aykroyd seems to love to make. A chance for him to 'ham it up' and not take things too seriously. If you loved him in The Blues Brothers or Ghostbusters you'll know what I mean, and you'd be wise to check out The Couch Trip.Avid fans of Aykroyd will also have fun spotting all the tiny links to his other films in the script!I can't describe this film without spoiling it for you, so all I can do is tell you to check it out. I can't praise this film highly enough, and it must surely be time for a DVD release!!
A patient in a chicago physcriatric hospital is in a war with Doctor Baird. When he intercepts a call for Dr Baird to replace LA shrink Dr Maitlin in his practice and his radio show. Baird had been selected because he was inept enough not to put Maitlin in the shade. Burns escapes from the hospital, travels to LA and assumes Baird's identity to get the job. Issues are complicated when drifter Becker recognises Burns as a conman and tries to get in on the act.This is an earlier version of Dolly Parton's `Straight Talk' - a straight talker gets mistaken for a radio host, gives mad advise but the public love it. This is complicated by Matthau's conman getting involved and other little subplots. The plot doesn't always convince or hold the interest but it is quite amusing at points. The ending is pure laziness as it attempts to milk a happy ending out of unlikely circumstances.Aykroyd is well suited to his character and provides all the jokes here. Grodin and Matthau are both good but Matthau is certainly greatly underused. Really it's Aykroyd's show and everything slows down when he's not onscreen or when he's having to move the story on.Overall this is a very standard film. It's only amusing when Aykroyd is allowed free reign, for the rest of the film it's dull at times, aimless and meandering at others. Of the famous cast, this is nobody's finest hour.