The Couch Trip

1988 "A comedy of truly loony proportions."
5.8| 1h37m| R| en
Details

The escaped delinquent John W. Burns, Jr. replaces Dr. Maitlin on a radio show, saying he's the psychiatrist Lawrence Baird.

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Reviews

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Ogosmith 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.
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
tuckerconstable-07055 Dan Aykroyd plays John Burns, a psychiatric patient under the care of the medically inept Dr. Baird. The two share a fierce rivalry culminating in Baird threatening to send Burns to a maximum security institution where he will be used for testing. Baird is also planning on leaving town to fill in for a psychiatrist radio show host who has fallen into a mid-life crisis. There's an identity mix up and Burns is mistaken for Baird, leading to him being the host of the show. But, believe it or not, Burns is actually better than the original host-and he has the popularity to prove it. He soon becomes the most listened to talk show in the U.S. and he definitely has the numbers to prove it. But, eventually the real Baird finds out about the mix up and attempts to track down Burns. What follows is a nice little cat and mouse game of a movie with some pretty decent acting on Dan Ayrkoyd's part. Walter Matthau also gives a good performance as Burns' cross country tag along.The tone of the film is incredibly well balanced and the jokes are mostly hits. In fact, there's nothing too terribly wrong with this film. It's surprising it's gained a reputation as a terrible film. It has a lot of heart in the story and it's very well cast. Dan Aykroyd is perfect as con-man John Burns. His performance is reminiscent of Bill Murray in "Stripes", which is an interesting turn for Aykroyd, considering by this time he had been type cast as the techno babbling sideman. It's interesting seeing Aykroyd in a full on lead role.So, overall, "The Couch Trip" is a fun little comedy It's nothing groundbreaking or spellbinding-but it is definitely a creative take on the cat and mouse genre. It's definitely not just your ordinary, average comedy.
Scott LeBrun Dan Aykroyd has fun in a fast talking con man role in this reasonably amusing but never uproarious comedy. He plays John W. Burns, Jr., a criminal who faked insanity in order to get a somewhat cushier life inside a mental institution. Burns runs amok at this place, getting it on with the secretary (Victoria Jackson) and making life miserable for his stuffy, hostile psychiatrist (David Clennon). One day he intercepts a phone call to Clennon, who's been selected to temporarily fill in for a hot shot L.A. pop psychiatrist (Charles Grodin) who's suffering from lots of stress. He pretends to be Clennon, and the hilarity ensues as he keeps up the charade in front of Grodins' associates, played by the likes of Richard Romanus, Donna Dixon (the lovely real life Mrs. Aykroyd), and Arye Gross.You know you can't go completely wrong with a cast such as this. Everybody plays their role to the hilt, whether it's Clennon as a guy we'll love to hate, the perfectly chosen Grodin in peak grumpy form, Arye Gross as a pathological ass kisser, or Mary Gross as Grodin's wife. Aykroyd is amiable and charming and as good at ever at getting lots of dialogue out quickly. Good character actors add to the enjoyment: Mickey Jones, J.E. Freeman, David Wohl, Michael Ensign, Charles Levin, Scott Thomson, Don Stark, and others. But you have to pay close attention to catch a cameo by Chevy Chase, who'd acted for director Michael Ritchie in one of his most successful vehicles, "Fletch". It's also a joy to see veteran Walter Matthau in one of his more carefree roles, as a self styled oddball who realizes Aykroyd's secret and attempts to blackmail him.The plotting is kind of standard, as we see the highly unorthodox and tactless Aykroyd actually become a real hit on the air while filling in for Grodin. This, however, leads to one of the better gags in the picture as Aykroyd thinks he's found the solution to following through on his promise of free therapy to Grodin's patients. The R rating does allow for some well timed (but not excessive) use of profanity - that actually made it into the trailer!Six out of 10.
Brad-D does anybody know why this movie is called the couch trip? i was just watching it and am still not sure why this title was picked the movie was very funny and its probably my favorite Dan Aykroyd performance it even beats out his Ghostbusters performance i had never heard of the movie before i seen it in a sears store i read the back and thought it sounded good so i bought and when i finally got a chance to watch it, i thought it was better than what i had originally expected. this movie rates as good as animal house and national lampoon's vacation in my mind i wish comedies that have come out lately were written as well as this one was nothing sad happens in it and the bad stuff that does happen are also funny parts if anyone else feels this way and would like to read a comedy script for a movie that doesn't have a sad situation in it email me at [email protected]
Boba_Fett1138 This was a good and enjoyable 'silly' comedy, that is filled with a whole bunch of crazy fun characters. A typical great '80's comedy, with also some great '80's comedy stars in it.The movie is truly uplifted by its cast. Dan Aykroyd is really great. It's funny but I don't I've ever seen him play the main character before in a comedy. I already always liked him as the sidekick but with this movie he proofs that he can also handle a comedy in which he plays the main character. The movie also further more features Charles Grodin and Walter Matthau, among others. Esepcially Charles Grodin is also great as the stressed out psychiatrist. Walter Matthau seems a bit out of place, since his character doesn't serve a significant enough purpose in the movie, comical-wise.The concept and the story show great comedy potential. An escaped 'menthal' patient takes the place of a psychiatrist. He and his radio show become an huge success. But of course soon things are starting to go crazy again when people start to see through his scam and the real psychiatrists shows up. It provides the movie with some great silly moments and some real great laughs. The movie made me laugh out loud at times, due to how silly it all became at times.But things start to get really crazy toward the ending of the movie, in a not so positive way. The movie tries to put way too much in the ending, both comically and dramatic/morally. The movie gets very crazy and unbelievable and things get rushed way too hard. Even the characters start to not work out as good anymore. The movie tries too hard but it simply fails. The ending just doesn't feel right and satisfying enough. A shame, otherwise I would had surely rated this movie higher.A movie definitely worth watching for a couple of good laughs but it just isn't the best 'silly' '80's comedy around.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/