Pretty Good

Good concept, poorly executed.

Am I Missing Something?

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Gene Wilder, right after Producers and Revolution, but just before Willy Wonka. And Margot Kidder (Superman's chick), in her very early days. Wilder is Quackser Fortune, who has a horse manure collection cart in Ireland. They spend an awkward but fun day together, and hit it off right away. Quackser seems a bit "slow", but we quickly learn he is deeper than it appears. Beautiful photography of the Irish countryside along the way. His family wants him to earn an honest but boring living working at "the foundry".When his own trade is no longer a viable option, he must find another path. Along the way, there are numerous misunderstandings, happy moments, sad moments, and the like. Zazel (Kidder) starts out liking Quackser as a boy toy, but can't quite decide if she REALLY likes him. She strings him along a couple times, and he keeps coming back for more. Not a very deep film, but a fun hour and a half. We don't really learn any life lessons here, but there are worse ways to spend the afternoon than watching Gene Wilder in his early days. Story very similar to Being There, with Peter Sellers. Directed by Waris Hussein, who appears to have been a big shot at BBC.

Waris Hussein is a talented director but not someone I would pick to helm a quirky, romantic comedy-drama. Hussein's films, such as this one or "The Possession of Joel Delaney", clearly pinpoint the stamp he likes to leave: peculiar plot structures, depressed or otherwise forlorn characters, bleak and muted surroundings. In "Quackser Fortune" (how's that for a title?), Gene Wilder is self-employed in Dublin, scooping up horse droppings from the carriages to use as fertilizer; he eventually meets university student Margot Kidder, who is sort of a displaced hippie. I saw this in 1975 when it played a double-bill with "The Other Side Of The Mountain"; it came on second and proceeded to empty out the theater. I was glad I stayed to watch because it's so very unusual. However, it is such an oddity that even when A&E's Biography did an hour on Margot Kidder's career, it wasn't even mentioned. ** from ****

It has been over 30 years since I came across this almost perfect tribute to freedom,love and magic! This movie had a profound impact on my young life. All movie creator's could learn a great deal about how to tell a story at the same time actors are providing dialog...The images that are cast behind the characters and plot clearly create a lot more of a story than is being understood by other contributers? This is Wilders greatest achievement as a work of "art". Tightly wrapped tale on par with apt.0! This flick deserves to be understood as a statement of innocence vs. intelligence, the "happy ending" representing that both are fleeting. More of a movie then is credited for, symbolism is profound. Best seen alone.

An odd little film. A romantic comedy, I suppose, but the comedy is more whimsy than anything else. Good job on the accent by Gene Wilder. And Margot Kidder was so beautiful then. She and Wilder both turn in good erformances, and the photography of Dublin is fairly interesting. I found the film slow and not terribly interesting. Recommended only to fans of the two principals.