Who payed the critics

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Emory Leeson (Dudley Moore) and Stephen Bachman (Paul Reiser) are writing partners in a New York ad agency. Frustrated Emory develops writer's block after his wife leaves him taking everything. He's tired of lying and his painfully honest ads infuriate their boss Drucker (J.T. Walsh). Bachman sends him to a psychiatric retreat in the care of Dr. Liz Baylor (Mercedes Ruehl). His ads are accidentally released and become hugely successful. Drucker sends Bachman to get him back but he has fallen for beautiful Kathy Burgess (Daryl Hannah) and the relaxed lifestyle. He and the group of misfits start writing highly successful ads.The ads are fun. The idea of satire on the advertising industry has promise. The execution has some fun moments with the crazy people group. The romance however has no heat. Hannah is nice but there is little chemistry. The Drucker villain is too broad. The satire has no bite. It's not horrible but it's forgettable.

"Crazy People" takes an amusing look at the Advertising Industry. How I wish the hilarious commercials and billboards in this film were real! The basic premise of this film is that an advertising executive, Emery (played by Dudley Moore), decides that he wants to be honest and stop lying to the public. He is sent to a mental hospital, and thought to have had a nervous breakdown, when he presents his newest brainstorms to his boss. In the meantime, his ads get printed in error, which are an overnight sensation. The CEO of the advertisement company decides that Emery is an advertising genius and the fun begins, as Emery and his fellow mental patients write the most hilarious commercials you can imagine. There are some silly parts to this film, but you will not be able to stop laughing at the ads written by the crazy people. Darryl Hannah also stars in this film. In addition, there is a great character in this film that is a particular favorite of mine. I refer to him as the "Hello" man. He is one of the mental patients who writes commercials. He resembles Larry of the Three Stooges and his favorite word is "Hello". I won't spoil it for you, but keep your eye on him, he is a riot. As the credits are rolling at the end of this film, you will see words to the "Hello Song" (sung by the "Hello" man) with bouncing ball on the words, so you can sing along. Very funny! For anyone who is in the marketing or advertising business, it's hysterical - the fact that mental asylum residents can produce more effective ads than most of the art directors at the agency is a riot. This movie is full of fun, and will have you remembering a few clever lines. I enjoyed this movie for its advertisements which show the power of truth. The script gives Moore's supporting cast some definite pathologies, but doesn't make them pitiable or outright laughable. Even if this light film falls out of your head, the sympathy given the "crazy people" will stick with you about as long as the catchy ideas they dream up.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Truth in advertising... if only it were so! No, it's not the slickest film and the performances are just a bit flat, but there's a lot of good material to work with. The "R" rating is for a lot of scattered profanity (which really isn't necessary, but.. wait! wait! here's a slogan for Hollywood screenwriters: "We're really stupid dullards, but we say 'F---' a lot so you'll think we're smart!"), but if you can stand it, this movie has a lot of funny moments. Darryl Hannah playes a cute dysfunctional inmate who falls for a stressed-out and temporarily committed Dudley Moore - there's a lot stolen from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" here, but it's entertaining enough that you shouldn't mind. Worth watching at least once.

This is just one of those movies that you can just enjoy. A very pleasing movie with a ton of memorable lines. If only advertising was really like this. See "The Freak", this movie will not only scare you, it will f**k you up for life! A classic.