''It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time'' is a Canadian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, directed by John Trent and released in 1975.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 109. One of

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' ser ...

's earliest films, he plays the minor role of an investigating police officer. However, for marketing/publicity reasons, Candy appears on the cover of the DVD release.

Plot

Sweeney (

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading ...

) is a playwright on a career decline. He spends much of his time wheedling money and beer out of his artistic friend Moriarty (

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

). One of his few highlights is weekly sex with his ex-wife Georgina (

Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series ''Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

). She is remarried to a rich but vile construction developer (

Henry Ramer Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

), but Sweeney and Georgina are still in love. Sweeney's escapades end with a fake kidnapping scam. This gets the attention of two inept police officers, played by John Candy and

Lawrence Dane Lawrence Joseph Zahab (April 3, 1937 – March 21, 2022), known professionally as Lawrence Dane, was a Canadian actor and film producer, best known for his role as Lt. Preston in ''Bride of Chucky''. Life and career Born in Masson, Quebec, Dane ...

. These two end up dressed as garbage men in the chase scene finale; everything winds up with a happy ending. Candy and Dane's characters eventually spun off their own film, '' Find the Lady''.Sid Adilman, "Candy is dandy in these sweetly comic classics". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', November 15, 1996.

References

External links

* * 1975 films 1970s crime comedy films Canadian crime comedy films English-language Canadian films Films shot in Toronto 1975 comedy films Films directed by John Trent (director) 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-comedy-film-stub