TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Sober-Friend This 1982 comedy has some very comic set pieces however there is not enough to save the viewer from wandering "How Much Longer".Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker), the narrator, tells of the summer (in his "favorite year" of 1954) he met his idol, swashbuckling actor Alan Swann. Who is past his prime (Peter O'Toole). Alan also has a massive drinking problem and lack of empathy for everyone around him. Keep in mind the time period this takes place in means is the early days of television. Television was Taboo for "Movie stars" and television was also live!The main character is Benjy who works as a junior comedy writer for a variety show called Comedy Cavalcade starring Stan "King" Kaiser (Joseph Bologna) broadcast live from the NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. As a special upcoming guest, they get the still-famous but in reality he is a hasbeen! Great performances! Great Cast! However with the bases load this film fails to deliver a grand slam. It hits a double and only two runners score! Good enough to watch once!

namashi_1 'My Favorite Year' is quite simply, a hilarious film from the early 1980's! Over-The-Top, Crazy & All Heart, this is an underrated comedic gem! And The Late/Great Peter O'Toole is astonishing in the funniest role of his legendary career.'My Favorite Year' Synopsis: When a dissolute matinée idol (Peter O'Toole) is slated to appear on a live TV variety show, chaos ensures. 'My Favorite Year' works because its genuinely funny & the sequences that follow one after the other, result in hilarity. And while it aims for laughs predominantly, the film also has heart in the form of a sub-plot involving O'Toole's daughter, who's away from him. So its not just the laughs that work, but also some genuine emotion.Dennis Palumbo & Norman Steinberg's Screenplay is really funny & arresting. The Writing is consistently brisk & builds the story scene-by-scene. Richard Benjamin's Direction is superb. Cinematography is nicely done. Editing is perfect. Art & Costume Design are fabulous.Performance-Wise: Peter O'Toole is at his best, yet again! In a parody of himself here, The Thespian is a riot all through. I was pleasantly surprised by how funny he is & how he effortlessly carries the film. A Stellar Act! Mark Linn-Baker is wonderfully goofy. Jessica Harper is first-rate. The Late/Great Joseph Bologna also lends excellent support. Bill Macy & Lainie Kazan are superb. Rest lend great support.On the whole, 'My Favorite Year' is a fun watch! Two Thumbs Up!

SimonJack Peter O'Toole has the distinction of being the actor with the most Academy Award nominations who has never won an Oscar. Eight times he was nominated as best actor over a span of 44 years. That's testimony to the enduring talent of a great actor. He did win four Golden Globes as best actor for four of the films for which he received Oscar nominations. And one, "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1962 also earned him the best British actor award from BAFTA. O'Toole's earliest roles were especially superb and worthy of Oscars. Those were years of tough competition with some great performances by a number of actors in many excellent films. One year in which he should have won was 1962 for "Lawrence." This isn't to diminish Gregory Peck's role in "To Kill a Mockingbird," which may have been carried by sentiment for the story and actor. But the role and performance weren't especially demanding or outstanding. And three of the four other nominations that year were much better performances in much more demanding roles and films. Burt Lancaster's nomination was for "Birdman of Alcatraz." Jack Lemmon gave probably the best performance ever in film of an alcoholic who then recovers in "Days of Wine and Roses." And O'Toole's Lawrence was remarkable and should have edged them all out.So, in "My Favorite Year," O'Toole gives a great performance that might have been risky for an actor of his age. But he escaped his falls and tumbles without noticeable injury. Other reviewers describe and discuss the plot and the rest of the cast, all of whom turn in very good performances. This is an entertaining film with a superb job by O'Toole who will be watched and remembered in films for generations to come while many Oscar winners of the past will drop out of sight.

BoomerDT Certain movies I can watch once a year and "My Favorite Year" is one. Mel Brooks is listed as the exec producer, not sure how much influence he had with this script credited to Dennis Palumbo and Norm Steinberg and directed by comedy veteran Dick Benjamin. The story seems somewhat autobiographical of Brooks- being about a young Jewish comedy writer (Benjy Stone) on a TV show similar to legendary "Your Show of Shows" who has been given the assignment of watching over the weeks guest star, acting great Alan Swann. Swann had been a swashbuckling star of action movies in the 30's and 40's and has a well- deserved reputation as a top notch boozer and womanizer and if it sounds reminiscent of Errol Flynn, it's supposed to be. Swann is played perfectly in a hilarious acting job by the great Peter O'Toole, not known for his comedic roles, but he nails this. As does Joseph Bologna, playing King Kaiser, obviously based on Sid Caeser, the star of "The Comedy Cavalcade." King is an egotistical loudmouth who has found himself in trouble with the mob for his parody sketch of union boss, Karl Rojack, called "Boss Hijack." Another great comedy performance is Lainie Kazan, as the zaftig Belle Carroca, Benjy's widowed mother who has remarried a former Filipino prizefighter. Hard to believe that barely a decade earlier Lainie had posed for Playboy but she is superb as the plump Jewish mother hosting the great Alan Swann at a dinner in her Brooklyn apartment. MFY has a funny and clever script, my only complaints are Mark Linn-Baker as Benjy, he's not bad but it could have been so much better with a better comedy actor, perhaps Billy Crystal. Also Jessica Harper provides no real sparks as KC, Benjy's love interest. Still the movie is about O'Toole's outrageous portrayal of Errol Flynn who reminds us "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"