I actually love this movie. I used to watch it over and over, back in the old satellite days, lol. The concept and storyline aren't ones that have been remade time and time again. When I still use quotes today from a film I first watched over 25 years ago, it's a good one! Michael Keaton and Peter Boyle are especially hilarious in this. If you like Michael Keaton in his goofier roles, you'll enjoy this one immensely.

It's been 3 weeks since 4 mental patients were taken off of their medication and the psychiatrist in charge of them has decided that it would be good therapy to take them into nearby New York City to see a Yankees baseball game. What he doesn't count on is being assaulted in an alley for witnessing a crime and being taken to a local hospital there while his 4 mental patients are left to their own devices. Neither does he realize that these 4 clinically insane individuals are all that stands between him and some rogue cops who are determined to tie up any and all loose ends by killing him. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that this turned out to be a decent comedy all things considered. Although I was somewhat disappointed with the performance of Michael Keaton (as "Billy Caufield") he still managed to contribute some comic relief here and there so I suppose his talent wasn't totally wasted. On the other hand, I thought Stephen Furst (as "Albert Ianuzzi") was absolutely hilarious and in my opinion he essentially stole the show. In any case, despite its uneven nature I happened to like this movie and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Washington Post reviewer Rita Kempley called the Dream Team "a surprisingly amiable romp about a zany quartet of escaped mental patients who flew out of the cuckoo's nest." I agree. But it also interested me because it features Lorraine Bracco in an ingénue role 15 years before she became famous as Tony's psychiatrist in HBO's "The Sopranos." Her delightful voice/speech is so recognizable!!!It would seem natural to compare this to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," but that would be like comparing an AA minor league team to the New York Yankees. Cuckoo's Nest had an outstanding script based on an outstanding novel, while "The Dream Team" is an enjoyable B-movie. Moreover, Michael Keaton is good but he's no Jack Nicholson.Christopher Lloyd (playing the nut who thinks he is a psychiatrist) is excellent. I also appreciated the performances of Peter Boyle (he thinks he is Jesus Christ but preaches nakedness), and Stephen Furst (he is a semi-catatonic who speaks only in baseball announcer clichés.)

It's good to know that some movies are just big excuses to be goofy. "The Dream Team" is one such example. We get introduced to four mental patients: Billy Caulfield (Michael Keaton) is actually close to normal, Henry Sikorsky (Christopher Lloyd) believes himself to be a doctor, Jack McDermott (Peter Boyle) believes that he's talking to Jesus, and Albert Ianuzzi (Stephen Furst (yes, Flounder from "Animal House"!)) barely does anything. When their psychiatrist takes them to New York, he gets attacked by the mafia and the four patients are left to fend for themselves. From there, it's basically two hours of everyone being as loony as possible. Probably the best scene is the box scene; I nearly died laughing when that scene came up.Anyway, this just goes to show what one can do for comedy. It's not to be missed. Also starring Dennis Boutsikaris and Lorraine Bracco.