Mixed Nuts (1994) TriStar/Comedy RT: 97 minutes Rated PG-13 (sex-related humor, language) Director: Nora Ephron Screenplay: Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron Music: George Fenton Cinematography: Sven Nykvist Release date: December 21, 1994 (US) Cast: Steve Martin, Rita Wilson, Juliette Lewis, Anthony LaPaglia, Madeline Kahn, Robert Klein, Adam Sandler, Liev Schreiber, Garry Shandling, Rob Reiner, Jon Stewart, Parker Posey, Joely Fisher, Steven Randazzo, Steven Wright. Box Office: $6.8M (US)
Rating: ***
Christmas Eve at a suicide prevention hotline center hardly sounds like the feel-good movie of the year. It’s probably why audiences ignored Mixed Nuts when it hit theaters in ’94. It could also be they were all Christmas-ed out by that point with three other holiday-themed films- The Santa Clause, Trapped in Paradise and the Miracle on 34th Street remake- playing in cinemas around the same time. Oh, let’s not forget The Ref which opened way back in March. I suppose the nearly universal bad reviews didn’t help any. Me, I liked it.
Directed by Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle), Mixed Nuts is actually a remake of the 1982 French comedy Le Pere Noel est une Ordure (translation, Santa Claus is a Bastard) It’s always a tricky proposition remaking a French comedy for American audiences. So many of them just don’t turn out. A few examples include Buddy, Buddy (L’Emmerdeur), Pure Luck (La Chevre), My Father, the Hero (Mon Pere, Ce Heros), Jungle 2 Jungle (Little Indian, Big City) and Father’s Day (Les Comperes). Some, on the other hand, do- The Toy (Le Jouet), Blame It on Rio (Un Moment D’egarement), The Woman in Red (Pardon Mon Affaire), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (Boudu Sauve des Eaux), Three Men and a Baby (Trois Hommes et un Couffin) and The Birdcage (La Cage Aux Folles). I’d put Mixed Nuts in the win column.
The story centers on a group of lonely people who find themselves thrown together on the most joyous night of the year. The sad truth is it’s not so joyous for some people. Suicide rates tend to rise around the holidays; that’s why Lifesavers exists. Philip (Martin, Planes, Trains and Automobiles), the head nut at the beachside call center in L.A., has just learned they’re about to be evicted by their heartless landlord (comedian Shandling) who plans to convert the old building into condos. How is he to break the news to his two employees, cranky widow Mrs. Munchnik (Kahn, Blazing Saddles) and sweet, sensitive Catherine (Wilson, Volunteers) who not so secretly harbors a crush on Philip? He decides to wait until the time is right. Isn’t it funny how news like this never comes out at the right time?
A few others make their way to Lifesavers that night. Catherine’s very pregnant and very moody friend Grace (Lewis, Cape Fear) shows up to get away from her boyfriend Felix (LaPaglia, Innocent Blood), an unemployed ex-con in a Santa suit. Chris (Schreiber, Scream 1-3), a depressed transvestite, convinces Philip to give him their address so he doesn’t have to be around his family who taunt him mercilessly. Louie (Sandler, Billy Madison), the ukulele-playing doofus who lives downstairs, shows up to serenade Catherine. Another neighbor (Klein, The Owl and the Pussycat) annoys Mrs. Munchnik to no end with his three dogs.
Mixed Nuts is one of those crazy farces that feature a large cast running around trying to avert various disasters and only making things worse. Over the course of the night, many wild situations arise as Philip tries to think of way to stop the eviction. He calls his fiancee Susan (Fisher, The Mask) for a loan, but she dumps him over the phone instead. Felix shows up waving a gun around, Grace clobbers him with a fruitcake (the subject of a funny running gag) and he ends up at a vet’s office where he ODs on dog tranquilizers. Mrs. Munchnik gets trapped in the building’s malfunctioning elevator for a spell. Felix keeps having run-ins with this unpleasant rollerblading yuppie couple played by Parker Posey (Dazed and Confused) and Jon Stewart (The Daily Show). On top of that, everybody’s on edge about the serial killer “The Seaside Strangler” terrorizing the L.A. area.
When a comedy features an all-star cast, there’s always the risk it’s going to be a complete with the actors tripping over each other as they mug for the camera. Mixed Nuts isn’t perfect. It’s somewhat uneven with Ephron struggling to strike the right balance of dark humor, broad physical comedy and romance. Fortunately, it hits the mark more than it misses.
The cast has good chemistry and everyone gets a chance to shine. Kahn is shrill but brilliant as the lady Grinch who seems destined to spend Christmas at the office with her colleagues and clients whether she likes it or not. Her exasperation and eventual breakdown when nothing goes right is well-timed and hilarious. Lewis is hilarious as perennially pissed off Grace whose idea of removing bullets from a handgun involves firing the entire magazine through the apartment door. Sandler’s character croons a love song for Catherine that could only have been written by Sandler. I love the out of nowhere final lyric about grape jelly. Rob “Meathead” Reiner (All in the Family) has some good moments as the vet who treats Felix and later delivers Grace’s baby (at a public Nativity display, of course).
There’s even a musical number of sorts in Mixed Nuts when Chris and Philip do a foxtrot around the office to “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” while Mrs. Munchnik lies unconscious on the floor behind the couch, the victim of being hit by the door when Grace lets Chris in.
Mixed Nuts could have been a maudlin affair when you take into account the setting, but the oddball characters and their spot-on comic timing make it work. Martin, who tones down the wild and crazy guy act here, is good as Philip. He’s good over the phone, but runs into trouble with the face-to-face stuff. He has sweet chemistry with Wilson whose mousy character hides a beautiful, loving soul. All she wants for Christmas is Philip. Instead, she gets a three-month membership to the “Fruit of the Month” club. She’s cool about it. Most people would say “what the f***”. And to think, she knitted him a pair of pajamas.
Ephron, who co-wrote the screenplay with younger sister Delia, makes a mostly successful foray outside her rom-com comfort zone. Mixed Nuts works for the most part, at least it does in my eyes. To me, it’s a hidden treasure and a guilty pleasure. I’d argue that it’s a feel-good Christmas movie about lost, lonely souls finding each other and creating a de facto family. Somehow, these dysfunctional folks, these mixed nuts belong together. It’s one of the ones I like to watch every Christmas. It deserves more attention than it gets. It’s a delicious holiday treat.
