A Dr. Strangelove-esque paranoia black comedy that improves upon the formula of Kubrick's satire just by being so fucking funny. James Coburn here might be one of my favourite performances ever, a psychoanalyst elected to be... The President's Analyst... who soon learns of many secrets that could jeopardise the presidency and the country if they got out. As he tries to remove himself from his position he descends into a world of conspiracy, unravelling psychologically as a result, while somehow remaining effortlessly dry, witty and charismatic. Secret Service agencies all other the world soon get hip to this and try to capture or kill... The President's Analyst... and that's when the film jumps ship from a political drama with a bit of humour to a full-blown spy parody with some of the funniest gags I've seen.
Every scene I'd think to myself "it'd be really funny if they do [insert gag]" and then they do [insert gag] or even show me up a bit and expound upon the gag I'm thinking of. You might think "oh this must mean it's very predictable" IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT. You have no idea where this film ends up. It's an absolutely manic experience that jumps all over the place, lambasting Cold War paranoia, '60s counterculture, surveillance states, corporate entities and the almighty spy genre — and it might be a new favourite of mine. Are we sure Terry Southern didn't write this?
A Dr. Strangelove-esque paranoia black comedy that improves upon the formula of Kubrick's satire just by being so fucking funny. James Coburn here might be one of my favourite performances ever, a psychoanalyst elected to be... The President's Analyst... who soon learns of many secrets that could jeopardise the presidency and the country if they got out. As he tries to remove himself from his position he descends into a world of conspiracy, unravelling psychologically as a result, while somehow remaining effortlessly dry, witty and charismatic. Secret Service agencies all other the world soon get hip to this and try to capture or kill... The President's Analyst... and that's when the film jumps ship from a political drama with a bit of humour to a full-blown spy parody with some of the funniest gags I've seen.
Every scene I'd think to myself "it'd be really funny if they do [insert gag]" and then they do [insert gag] or even show me up a bit and expound upon the gag I'm thinking of. You might think "oh this must mean it's very predictable" IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT. You have no idea where this film ends up. It's an absolutely manic experience that jumps all over the place, lambasting Cold War paranoia, '60s counterculture, surveillance states, corporate entities and the almighty spy genre — and it might be a new favourite of mine. Are we sure Terry Southern didn't write this?
