Perfectly adorable

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

In 1982, Gene Wilder took a break from writing and the director's chair to solely serve as the star of Sidney Poitier's 1982 film Hanky Panky. Pairing with him as a female lead was Gilda Radner. The two first met on the set and love quickly blossomed culminating in a marriage a few years later. It all began on Hanky Panky where the two principles become two people, one wrongly accused of a crime, running from the law together to protect their names and solve a mystery while they're at it. Michael Jordon (Gene Wilder) is an architect visiting New York on business when he jumps into a cab with a distressed woman, Janet Dunn (Kathleen Quinlan). Through flirting and trying to get Janet to have a drink with him, she tells him she is on the run and asks him to put an envelope into a mailbox for him. Michael obliges and unwittingly puts himself in harms way delivering this package. to try to clear things up, Michael travels back to the hotel she was staying in, only to find her in a scuffle with another man. Being filmed on camera at the scuffle with a gun in his hand, he is believed to be the nefarious character she was fighting with. With everyone chasing him despite his innocence, Michael tries to evade, seeking refuge in the apartment he was staying in while in New York. As he is packing his suitcase in the apartment, a woman Kate Hellman (Gilda Radner) comes in, and believing she is a burglar, Michael fights her until the lights are turned on and the two realize neither is a danger. When the police show up at the apartment, Michael has to leave immediately, and Kate decides to come with him to both aid in clearing his name and investigate her brother's death personally. Neither can expect just what they will have to do to get these goals accomplished, but are in it together, as long as it takes. It is almost magical to see a real life romance blossom on-screen. Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner's incredible chemistry is apparent, even if one is only half watching the film. The chemistry is sensational; you can really tell the two are falling in love, and makes Hanky Panky all the more fun to watch. There were also a number of great comedic gags in the film. The scene in which Michael takes over flying a plane is almost as hilarious as the scene in which Michael needs a change of clothes and takes a magic suit and can't find his change on a bus. The comedy was not without its flaws, however. For instance, there is so much going on in the film that not everything gets fleshed out by the film's end. The entire mystery is never solved, or revealed to the audience, so it is a little hard to become too invested in the film. That being so, Hanky Panky is a good Saturday night comedy that you won't regret watching, even if it's only to see Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner fall in love.

No, I'm not referring to Gene Wilder (extravagantly OTT) and Gilda Radner (in her tentative big screen debut) but to Richard Widmark, whose dour villain Ransom is a long, long way from his laughing killer Tommy Uddo way back in 1947, and director Poitier who played the noble victim of rat-like racist Widmark in Joseph L Mankiewicz's 'No Way Out' in 1950. Widmark was, it is said, troubled by the ferocity of his role but Poitier took it in good part and they acted together again in the daft but entertaining 'The Long Ships' in 1963, and, more rewardingly, in 'The Bedford Incident' in 1965. So, was Poitier doing veteran Widmark a favour by casting him in this so-so comedy, or was Widmark playing a (frankly unworthy) role for old time's sake? Anyway, seeing the film again 26 years on, in the wake of Widmark's death last month, I found myself laughing more than I'd expected (as well as lamenting the early demise of the gorgeous Kathleen Quinlan!).

Hanky Panky is our first look at Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner on the big screen together. The story goes as such: Michael Jordan (Wilder) is new in town, meets a woman with whom he tries to get a date. Nothing wrong with that right? Well he is chased by bad guys for having any contact with this woman and when she ends up dead he is sought for her murder. In comes Kate (Radner) who tries to help Michael find out why these guys are after him. Well he gets the girl in the end and everything turns out for the best, with a few laughs along the way. The pairing of these two comedians shows us why they have been loved by many for so many years. If you like romantic comedies then you will enjoy Hanky Panky.

This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner are unique. I really enjoyed the movie and recommend it to everyone. If, after watching Hanky Panky, you think it was worth it, please don't forget to watch See No Evil Hear No Evil and Silver Streak, which are two other wonderful movies with Gene Wilder.