Zlomov

So 1954 is just first year after Stalins death. Life more or less became normal (after end of war in 1945). People still need to laugh. And movie makers tried hard to make audience laugh twice more than in previous Five-Year Plan.They get some stars, and put them in situations that suppose to be funny plus easy music and communistic moral. For some reason its not work. Arkadi Rajkin playing himself - famous comedian with changed name - Genadij Maximov (you know, its like Mariah Carey in "Glitter"). Maximov and his wife Larisa Levkoyeva (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya) going to vacation, but in last minutes Levkoyeva were called back to theater. And Maximov goes all alone to the Crimea on the train. On the one of station he miss his train and must check the city and make a concert to reach the point of destination. But he is so popular that people just didn't let him rest like he want. That should be funny...Rajkin were a TV star and had his own theater, but in this movie his Maximov causes no sympathy. Tselikovskaya is even worse case. If you weren't charmed by her in early 40's, you probably won't in 50's too. Mironova is in her usual image of sneaky and stupid woman didn't made anything new, but OK. Even Sergei Filippov and Vasili Merkuryev in their episodes just can't get this movie out of tomb. Easy music is not so easy to listen. No songs from this movie became popular.You know what? There's 2 funny verbal jokes, and i think no real funny gags at all. The salesman in store tried to get more money for less weight and Maximov notice that, salesman said "That's optical hokum!" Maximov respond "I see that hokum, but just didn't get that's optical". I believe there was another one joke, but this one is most famous. When, several years later on the new year TV-show, Yuri Gagarin said "I wish to see more funny comedies in upcoming year" he mean it! Soviet Union made a lot comedies every year but not every year made really funny one. My verdict is 3 stars because its wasting of actors.

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