Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Couch Trip Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 12, 2015

“The Couch Trip” is an attempt by director Michael Ritchie to make a screwball comedy with classic cinema timing in the 1980s, where broad humor was being eaten away by cynicism. The helmer of “Fletch” and “The Bad News Bears,” Ritchie certainly understands the value of a wily punchline, but there’s an unfinished quality to “The Couch Trip” that keeps the feature from connecting in full. The cast is game to play, with star Dan Aykroyd working at his usual speed with jokes and rubbery reactions, but “The Couch Trip” ultimately feels rushed, which is a shame when it initially appears ready and willing to work through a list of neuroses, accusations, and confrontations worth a little more screen time than what the production is willing to offer. Select moments are genuinely funny, yet the movie tends to muffle what works, clinging to a story that never comes together.

Locked up inside an Illinois psychiatric hospital after faking insanity to get out of a prison sentence for fraud, John (Dan Aykroyd) enjoys a comfortable routine, trying to make life miserable for Dr. Baird (David Clennon), who threatens to return the patient to the big house if he doesn’t behave. In Los Angeles, Dr. Maitlin (Charles Grodin) is a depressed radio therapist eager to get away from his obligations, begging manager Harvey (Richard Romanus) to find a temporary replacement so he can travel to Europe with wife Vera (Mary Gross). Intercepting a phone call intended for Dr. Baird, John assumes his identity, taking Harvey up on a lucrative job offer. Breaking out of the hospital and traveling to California, John plays the part of a mental health professional, finding immediate success on the air. However, trouble comes with homeless man Donald (Walter Matthau), who immediately recognizes fraud, pressuring John to join the con.

“The Couch Trip” is based on a novel Ken Kolb and it feels like a literary narrative being crammed into a feature film. There’s substantial ground to cover with characterization, beginning with the antagonistic relationship between John and Dr. Baird, with the pair embarking on an Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny-style union that always finds the patient one step ahead of his jailer, using sharp wits and skills of deception to avoid deep trouble. John imagines the hospital as his own playground, sleeping with the staff (Victoria Jackson plays a randy secretary) and helping the patients, even talking one suicide case down from a ledge. The dynamic between John and Dr. Baird shows initial promise, giving “The Couch Trip” a boost in madcap antics and motivation, with the faux nut becoming aware that his high jinks are about to be shut down permanently, requiring quick thinking to slip out of view. The first act is amusing, having fun with hospital interactions and John’s free-flowing spirit, with monologues and jargon pouring out of Aykroyd, who keeps his “Dragnet” timing to instill the character with a whirring mind capable of such extreme deception.

Once “The Couch Trip” hits L.A., it loses concentration (a largely tuba-driven score by Michel Colombier doesn’t help the cause), caught between John’s growth as a radio host with zero medical expertise and his relationship with Donald, a shaggy con man who identifies John’s fraud through his hospital-issued pants. Donald is set-up as a major player in the scheme, remaining the only one who doesn’t buy John’s transformation into Dr. Baird, with the con men eventually teaming to keep the vagrant quiet. Donald eventually disappears from the story without explanation, or he’s regulated to a background character, only emerging to make people uncomfortable. Considering how Donald is a prime part of the grand finale, it feels like “The Couch Trip” was whittled down in the editing room, making Matthau’s contribution unsatisfying. Attention to Dr. Maitlin’s nervous breakdown is also limited, along with the saga of Dr. Rollins (Donna Dixon), one of John’s radio colleagues and a love interest for reasons that fulfill formula instead of remaining organic.

The Couch Trip Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Couch Trip" flexes adequate HD muscle. It's not a remarkable viewing experience, but the basics are cared for, delivering passable detail with somewhat flat cinematography, finding textures on faces and costuming, and hospital decoration is open for study. Colors show limited fade, holding primaries as intended, boosted by livelier L.A. street encounters and era-specific fashion sense. Skintones are natural. Grain is present and managed to satisfaction. Delineation has a few trouble spots with evening encounters, losing hair density to the night, but the rest finds depth without concern. Source is in decent shape, displaying some mild debris and speckling.

The Couch Trip Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is a little odd, with hiss winding through the listening experience, quite pronounced at times. Dialogue exchanges are acceptable, capturing comedic speeds and verbal play, holding dramatics as intended, while group interactions also keep defined. Scoring retains its strange personality, with instrumentation that accentuates the tuba, allowing for a heavier feel to the music. Atmospherics are compelling, bringing out hospital commotion and street life with ease.

The Couch Trip Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of (7:13, SD) is a standard EPK creation from 1988 that focuses on blending extensive film clips with interviews featuring the cast and crew. While the idea is to sell the tone of the movie, the featurette simply walks the viewer through nearly the entire story.

• Dan Aykroyd Profile (3:05, SD) focuses on the leading man, highlighting his sense of humor, on-set professionalism, and knowledge of the subject matter.

• "Team Comedy" (2:26, SD) details the working relationship between Aykroyd and Donna Dixon, with the married couple preserving their playful dynamic on the set. For reasons not entirely understood, Dixon is in the mood to show off her ability to make faces, immediately regretting the decision.

• Selected B-rolls (4:33, SD) is the highlight of the extras, displaying the production in motion as they hammer out takes, with director Michael Ritchie looking immensely pleased with the results.

• Selected Sound Bites (3:36, SD) corral conversations with Aykroyd, Dixon, Ritchie, and Walter Matthau, with each interviewee sharing some insight into the characters and their personal interest in comedy.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:14, HD) is included.

The Couch Trip Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fun of "The Couch Trip" emerges with John's forays into therapy, with his harsh, profane advice to miserable callers and free office visits creating a hero out of the crook. Aykroyd is silly and committed, making John's field trip to a baseball game (hilariously, the production tries to avoid any MLB trademarks) and his deal-making with Harvey pop with energy. Ritchie knows how to utilize the star's gifts, but "The Couch Trip" doesn't remain light for very long, eventually weighed down by a tedious slapstick-styled ending that ties all the characters together, brandishes a gun, and pushes basic logic to the breaking point, finding the screenplay unable to cough up believable coincidences to help accentuate the madcap ending. The picture eventually falls flat, but it's not an unpleasant ride into tomfoolery, with just enough passable zaniness and snappiness in the early going to cover for the rest of the movie.