Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

An American comedy film noir directed by Carl Reiner, starring Steve Martin.
A detective investigates the case of a woman whose father has been killed.
What makes this film unique is the use of clips from old detective movies. It was all done in that 1940s style and the old clips fit seamlessly in among the new footage. Some of the humor was funny. I think my favorite joke was the detective making coffee. There was also a running gag of him getting shot in the same location. The only other thing to note is Steve Martin with black hair. Other than what I mentioned, it was pretty mediocre. I rate this o.k.
Yes, I'm back to short reviews because writing about every film element for every movie was extremely boring for me and probably for the reader as well. Also, I'm only writing about films that I actually have something to say about.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

An American musical science fiction comedy directed by Frank Oz, starring Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest and Bill Murray.
A man who works at a flower shop buys a mysterious plant that eats people. His female co-worker has an abusive boyfriend.
This was better than the original. Usually, I don't like musicals, but this one worked out alright. I think that increased production value was the main element that worked in it's favor. The plot was similar to the original, but I think they added the romance element. The bad boyfriend being a dentist who thrives on causing pain was hilarious. Bill Murray being a masochist who visits this dentist was not as funny as it should have been. The characters were cast well, but I think the female lead had a drag queen face. The video element to mention is special effects and animation of the plant. It all looked pretty convincing to me. The mouth articulation was excellent when the plant spoke and sang. Audio was pretty standard for a musical. Not great and with a Broadway feel. Overall, it was actually fun to watch. I rate it adequate.

Housesitter (1992)

An American romantic comedy directed by Frank Oz, starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn.
An architect designs a house and has it built to propose to his High School sweetheart. She turns him down and he tells the story to a waitress who moves into the house. When the architect is about to sell the house, he finds the waitress living there with a fictional story spread around town that they are married.
More lies! Does anyone make movies about telling the truth? The plot held my interest, but I think the characters were very shallow. They were cast relatively well, but some of the dialogue didn't seem as natural as it should have. The video was very bright and clear all the way through. The soundtrack was basically like you hear when playing The Sims. Fake plot, fake characters, overexpose the video and add happy music. That's what I saw. I rate this tolerable because it was alright to watch, but not a very dynamic film.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

An American comedy directed by Frank Oz, starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine.
A man who cons women out of money meets another who does it better.
Dirty rotten movie. The plot was all about lies and it made me hate the characters. I usually think Steve Martin is funny, but he came off like a total jerk in this. The pacing is what bothered me most. It was painfully slow. The video and sound production seemed fine, but the soundtrack was definitely trite. I turned it off at 1:14 of 1:50. In accordance with my turn off policy, I rate this shit because it is.

Bowfinger (1999)

An American comedy directed by Frank Oz, starring Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Terence Stamp and Robert Downey Jr.
A failing film producer gathers the rag-tag bunch that he calls his crew to film a movie featuring a famous movie star who doesn't know he is in the film.
This was actually funny from a filmmaker's view. Anyone making films who is not in the Hollywood elite has faced similar problems at some point. From film students like myself to independent filmmakers, we know this territory. The plot made sense to me, although I think that Eddie Murphy's character would rather have just acted in their movie than think he was going insane because of being ambushed by the team. The characters were mostly cast well. The brother of the star actually being the star acting a different part is the only thing I objected to. The video was decent and I think the fictional Mexican crew did a good job on their shots too. The sound was seamless. I could hear the dialogue and the music was appropriate. Overall, a regular American comedy that is well-made, but how many of those do we need? Superfluous is the word I'm looking for. I rate it adequate.

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

An American western comedy directed by John Landis, starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short.
Poor Mexicans who are afraid of a bandit gang see an American film and think that it is real. They send a letter to the heroes, who show up, thinking that they are responding to an acting gig.
This was actually funny. The plot was typical of the mid '80s and the characters featured famous comedian/actors of the time. A time when part of being a good comedian was being a good actor. The technical aspects were fine. What impressed me most was that I got the humor and found it funny. I may be dating myself by liking '80s slapstick humor, but who cares? Not only could they act like fools, they could also deliver serious lines with conviction. Overall, a fun movie to watch. I rate this good because there is SO MUCH that is infinitely horrible that this is bordering on wonderful.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

A comedy by John Hughes, starring Steve Martin and John Candy.
A man is trying to get a cab to the airport, when a stranger takes the cab before he can get in. They meet in the airport and are seated together on the plane. Due to weather, their destination has closed it's airport. This starts a domino effect of things going wrong.
An old friend of mine once told me that this was his favorite movie. I think the combination of Steve Martin and John Candy doing the "straight man, funny man" act is very effective. Combine this with a little bit of that 87 magic that I mentioned earlier and you've got a good movie.