The Tall Guy: An American Goofball in London

By Albert Ohayon

The Tall Guy (1989 United Kingdom, Mel Smith)

Synopsis: An American actor, Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is working as a “second banana” in a comedy review in London that stars the self-centred, vile Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson) who treats him terribly. When Dexter’s allergies get out of control, he goes to the hospital to find a solution. There he falls in love with a no-nonsense nurse (Emma Thompson) who administers his allergy injections. Will he get the courage to ask her out? Will he stand up to Anderson? Will he find a better acting gig? Will he find love?

This absolutely hilarious comedy from the 1980s has a terrific performance from Jeff Goldblum. He plays such an underdog that you can’t help but love him. His romantic life is a disaster. We get some very funny flashbacks of some of his doomed relationships including the one where the woman keeps banging her feet on his head and calling him Mr. Petrol when they have sex.

His career is stalled big time. He is the “tall guy” that Anderson knocks over during his act in every single performance. Anderson isn’t interested in anything Dexter has to say. He is less interested in helping Dexter deal with his many issues. Forget I said stalled, his career is quickly going down the toilet.

All of this changes when he meets nurse Kate Lemon (Thompson). He is instantly smitten but doesn’t have the courage to ask her out so he tells her he is going to Morocco. This way he can see her once a week for travel vaccinations.  A pretty pathetic plan, but that is how he does things.

Of course, since this is a comedy, you know the two will end up together. This leads us to one of the funniest sex scenes where the two of them annihilate her apartment while making love. Thompson and Goldblum look like they are having a blast in this sequence. There is also a funny moment when they both fit in Dexter’s oversized Superman pyjamas.

The second half of the film has Dexter auditioning for several roles including a play called England, my England where everyone stands around yelling F… off! to the others. Dexter also shows up to play a part in a musical based on the Elephant Man (which includes the hit song “packing his trunk”)!

Speaking of music, there is a music video starring the entire cast smack in the middle of the movie (It Must Be Love performed by Madness). Very odd but it works.

The cast of this film is sublime. I have never seen Rowan Atkinson so good. He plays such a disgusting human being that you want to strangle him. Thompson is wonderful as the “normal” person who wears everything orange (maybe she isn’t so normal). The star is Goldblum who shows us his versatility in this film. His character could have been played as one-dimensional but he doesn’t do that. He gives it depth and makes us care for him. There are also many amazing secondary characters that are sprinkled throughout-the doctor who barks at Dexter, the blind neighbour who is allergic to his guide dog, Dexter’s agent and others.

The only part of this movie I found stupid is the entire bit with Dexter’s landlady Carmen always having a naked man (or two) in the house. That visual joke gets old very quickly. The character of Carmen doesn’t do a lot in the film and could have been cut out without a problem.

Overall, this is a very funny film that is smartly written and has great performances (as well as that uproarious sex scene). It is well worth seeing. I give it 4 oversized pyjamas out of 5.

(at the time this article was published, the film was available to stream on YouTube)