Simply Perfect

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Three stories about a young man - Shurik and his adventures. for the fans of Soviet comedies from "60-"80 - nothing new. for the viewer from East Europe, all familiar. because the moral lessons, the romanticism , the gags - inspired by American mute comedies , Yuri Nikulin ,Aleksandr Demyanenko are pieces of a cinema who defines the Comunist period in profound sense. and, maybe, this is the difference of perception between different European publics.the work site, the emotions beyound an exam. the citizen lookout for protect the proprieties of the state are the small pieces defining a period, a political system and, sure, a kind of public.

This feature actually consists of three half-hour-long story lines one after another, related only in that they all star the same hapless protagonist. I read somewhere that the director took Charlie Chaplin as a model for his comedy, and the influence shows here, even to the point of the short-subject-length segments -- and especially in the first story. That one is basically a pure slapstick comedy, drawing gags from the situation of the Sharik character (who actually ends up resembling Harold Lloyd in appearance and behavior more than Chaplin) working part time on a construction site, alongside the man who he caused to be working there as a sentence. The second segment is the one I thought to be the greatest success, as it combines the visual humor (many sequences of which, throughout, would work without dialogue at all) with a well-tuned funny situation and good actor chemistry. The third and titular segment is amusing as well, but perhaps get a little too involved in its own story. Overall, it's funny material and recreates well what made the silent comedies of the short-subject era funny, if without the inspiration of an actual Chaplin on set.

I love this movie, and the guy who plays Shurik is hilarious. Much funnier than Jim Carey. I want to see more of his movies. Too bad he lived on the wrong side of the curtain for so many years. And sadly, like all the best, he died young. He should have tried to be more like Ted Kennedy. And his side-kicks were hilarious as well. A friend told me that they were famous Russian actors in their own right. Just plane fun, light-hearted and simple. Whether you speak Russian or not, it's worth it to have a look at this classic comedy collection. It is a fascinating look into the Russian sense of humor, as it is universally loved in the former Eastern Bloc countries, and if you look at the ratings for US viewers, here in the West as well.

It is one of those 'must' soviet films that any educated man should see. Most talented actors, really cleverly made script and all, and also containing many words and phrases that got into lexicon. Nikulin as always geniusely acts both the facial expressions in the song "Postoy Porovoz", and the ones in other scenes (like the fight with Shurik). I could say that the song alone is enough to watch it, even for those who did not directly experience that kind of life, it would still cause a sense of cheerful nostalgy. Morgunov - also one of the most talented and known soviet actors, for those who ever liked him - it is most definitely one of his best pictures. Few more can be said, I mean - just watch it.