Both the good and the bad thing about "The Tall Guy" is that it is a British comedy with an American sense about it. That may mean that it's not terribly appealing to either people who like the British form of comedic style or those that like the American type, but it works surprisingly well! It's an absurd tale of an American actor (Jeff Goldblum) relegated to perform as a second banana for a West End favorite (Rowan Atkinson) in a London theatrical production. His allergies force him to go to the infirmary, but his view of a nurse (Emma Thompson) gets him over his dislike of injections and begins getting weekly shots from her, just to spend a moment of pleasurable pain in her presence. After finally getting a date, and upstaging his fellow thespian, and after getting sacked for it, he then lands the lead role in a new musical, all about the life of John "The Elephant Man" Merrick! But, of course, complications arise.The plot is helped greatly by the performances of unbelievable moments from the musical, and by a very raucous love scene with Goldblum and Thompson, one of the most violently joyous ones I've ever seen in a film! The three leads are all brilliant in their performances, especially Atkinson, who is much more Blackadder here, and not at all Mr. Bean.OK. It might not become your favorite comedy ever, But it's very cute for what it is, and is definitely charming and wonderfully funny.

There's a scene in this film which perfectly mirrors people's reaction to this movie. When Goldblum's Girlfriend and Landlady share a box to watch the first night of his starring role as the Elephant man their disparate reactions to the show echo the disparate reviews that appear here.As with most comedy, you have to be somewhat in the right frame of mind to enjoy it... and the sneering classes aren't ever going to be in the right frame of mind.British comedy has a tendency to be either gentle and thoughtful and unafraid to mix real drama and sadness in with the humour (As Time Goes By, Last of the Summer Wine, 4 Weddings and a Funeral) or traditional farce (Monty Python, keeping up Appearances, Fawlty Towers).Americans seem to "get" the latter more easily and this is one very much of the "gentle, thoughtful" ones. If your reaction to the death in "4 Weddings" was "why did they put that in there? It's not funny" don't see this film. But if your reaction was discover that the sadness highlighted the joy of the remainder and brought it into focus then you'll "get" this film and enjoy it.Jeff Goldblum and Rowen Atkinson fans beware! Both are playing very much against type and in Atkinson's case that is a deliberate self parody and part of the joke. He is funny by being as unfunny as it's possible to be.So what about the film, specifically? The story is a fairly simple one except with some clever role reversals on sexual stereotypes. Shy boy, worldly wise girl, evil boss, hard times survived, good times lead to temptation and betrayal and, finally, a denouement which echoes back to the role reversed attitudes that cemented the relationship in the first place.The show is funny and well, though not perfectly, paced. The straight and personable acting enhances the comedy as do the moments of real drama. There are zingers throughout the show, not all of which are verbal.Everyone takes away a different "perfect moment" from the film and for me it was the exchange between Goldblum and the policewoman... "I'm sorry, I know I was speeding but I have to get to the hospital right away", "Oh yes, of course... You poor man".If you want to know WHY that's so funny you can probably work it out from all that's been said or you'll just have to see it to find out.

"The Tall Guy" is an enjoyable little trifle, featuring Jeff Goldblum as an American actor in London. Rowan Atkinson is hilarious as a conceited bugger, and Emma Thompson plays Goldblum's love-interest. An interesting film, not a classic by any stretch, but worth ninety minutes.

I had never heard of The Tall Guy, and essentially still haven't, until it was shown on television a few years ago at about two o'clock in the morning. I was idly flicking channels and came across a scene with Jeff Goldblum and Rowan Atkinson. Thinking to myself that this was an interesting-looking cast, I stayed with it, and was later also introduced to Emma Thompson, and much to my surprise, extremely small one-line roles for Angus Deayton, Robin Driscoll and Charles Augins.It was fun while it lasted. Rowan Atkinson has some more memorable scenes as a snide, unlikeable character, and Jeff Goldblum is actually quite fascinating in romantic, love-me mode. Considering it was very late at night, I hope I can be forgiven for not regurgitating the plot correctly here, but I seem to remember that Goldblum played a reluctant straight-man to Atkinson in his stage show and decided to step out on his own, which eventually led to him getting the lead role in a musical production of "The Elephant Man". I'm not sure if it was all as corny as that sounds but it was roughly it. It was certainly enough fodder for a few laughs and a few smiles all around. I wouldn't mind viewing this film again while fully awake, but I'm sure it would be just as entertaining. I give this one three stars out of five.