''The Couch Trip'' is a 1988 American

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 Michael Ritchie. It stars

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

and

Donna Dixon Donna Lynn Dixon is an American film and television actress, best known for playing Sonny Lumet in the TV series ''Bosom Buddies'' (1980-1982). Biography Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Earl Dixon. Her father owned a nightclub in ...

. It is loosely based on the 1971 novel ''The Couch Trip'', by Ken Kolb.

Plot

Alleged mental patient John Burns (Dan Aykroyd) is sent to Dr Lawrence Baird's office (David Clennon) after causing a riot in the hospital cafeteria. Dr Baird receives a message from his secretary that a patient was in need of him. As Dr Baird leaves his office, coincidentally Burns intercepts a

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

call from lawyer Harvey Michaels (Richard Romanus), requesting if Dr. Baird could fill in for Dr. George Maitlin (Charles Grodin) on his popular radio talk show. Burns assumes Dr. Baird's identity and jumps at the chance to escape the hospital. With the help of Dr. Baird's

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

, he breaks out and picks up a waiting ticket at the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

airport. Burns arrives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he is met by Dr. Maitlin's radio show assistant Dr. Laura Rollins (Donna Dixon) and escorted to the waiting

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

. He crosses paths with Donald Becker (Walter Matthau), a crazy faux priest who is collecting money to save plants. Becker recognizes the trousers Burns is wearing to be prison issue. When the time comes to do the radio talk show, Burns is a huge hit, offering people free consultations and using profanity on the air. He even arranges for listeners to go to a baseball game at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

for free (where he also sings the National Anthem). All goes well until Dr. Maitlin meets the real Dr. Baird in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, when they both attend the same seminar. They fly back to L.A. to try to find what is going on behind their backs. Burns has been paid for the show (in cash) and is ready to leave town when he sees on the in-flight TV that Becker is on top of the

Hollywood sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...

shouting Baird's name. Burns decides to go back and help to resolve the situation, where he is arrested only to be rescued on the way to the

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

by Becker and Dr. Rollins. In the last few scenes of the movie, Burns gives his inmate number "7474505B" which is the same number that

Jake Blues The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

had in ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

'' and

Louis Winthorpe III ''Trading Places'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, with a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the fi ...

in ''

Trading Places ''Trading Places'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, with a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the fi ...

''.

Cast

as John W. Burns, Jr. *

as Donald Becker *

as George Maitlin *

as Laura Rollins *

Richard Romanus Richard Romanus (born Richard Joseph Romanos; February 8, 1945) is an American actor. Among other roles, he has appeared in Martin Scorsese's ''Mean Streets'' and provided voices for Ralph Bakshi's animated films ''Wizards (film), Wizards'' and ' ...

as Harvey Michaels *

Mary Gross Mary Martha Gross is an American voice actress, comedian, and actress known for her four-year stint on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on ''Animaniacs'', ''Boston Legal'', ''That's So Raven'', ''S ...

as Vera Maitlin *

David Clennon David Clennon (born May 10, 1943) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Miles Drentell in the ABC series ''thirtysomething'' and ''Once and Again'', as well as his role as Palmer in the John Carpenter film '' The Thing''. He ha ...

as Lawrence Baird * Scott Thomson as Klevin *

David Wohl David Wohl is an American comic book writer and editor. He is best known as an editor at Marvel Comics and Top Cow Productions and, at the latter, writing '' The Darkness'' and ''Witchblade''. Career David Wohl began his creative career as a h ...

as Dr. Smet *

Arye Gross Arye Gross (; born March 17, 1960) is an American actor, who has appeared on a variety of television shows in numerous roles, most notably Adam Greene in the ABC sitcom ''Ellen''. Personal life Gross was born on March 17, 1960, in Los Angeles ...

as Perry Kovin *

Victoria Jackson Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and singer who was a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) from 1986 to 1992. Early life Jackson was born in Miami, Florida ...

as Robin *

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

as "Condom Father" (cameo appearance)

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews. It has a rating of 33% based on 9 reviews on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Home media

Although the film was a flop at the box office, it did well on home video.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Couch Trip, The 1988 films 1988 comedy films American comedy films Films set in Los Angeles Orion Pictures films Films with screenplays by Walter Bernstein Films scored by Michel Colombier Films directed by Michael Ritchie Films with screenplays by Steven Kampmann 1980s English-language films 1980s American films