Movie Reveiw: M*A*S*H

Tania Says:

I remember my Dad watching this television show all the time and me hating it. I thought it was dark, dirty and not funny. Probably all good things for a 5 year old to think. I don’t think I was the target audience on this show. But, because of that – I have carried a life long hatred of all things MASH with me to this day. So – it showed up on the list and I was determined to keep an open mind. I haven’t see a ton of Robert Altman films but what I have seen (Gossford Park, Prairie Home Companion) I really liked. I put my hatred of MASH aside and was actually a little excited to watch this after all the subtitled movies we have been watching and my ill-fated On Demand rental of the movie American Dreamz (brutal). After watching MASH, I thought it was okay.

I think most people know the plot or really lack of plot (it is more like a series of scenes then an actual storyline). A Medical unit in Korea deals with the war. Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland are the main characters in the movie (it is an ensemble piece but they are certainly the featured actors). They play Hawkeye and Trapper John and are the leaders of all the hijinks and mayhem that ensues. I realize this makes me sound like a 12 year old girl but I didn’t really find all their pranks and antics funny, instead I found them kind of mean and unlikable. Before I say anymore, I do get the point of it all. These people are trying to find a diversion from all the horrors (and absurdity) of war going on around them so they are just trying to have a good time. I totally get the point of that. I still thought they were just bullies. I did find some parts of the movie funny and I thought everyone did a good job in their respective roles – I just thought they were mean.

So, war takes a horrible toll on everyone and how they choose to deal with it all kind of determines how well they will fare while they are over there. That is what I got out of the movie but it doesn’t mean I have to find the characters likeable. But like I said, I thought the movie was still ok. I just don’t think the movie was meant for me. Maybe I was right when I was 5 and I never will be MASH’s target audience.

Josh Says:

I was never a fan of the TV show and for good reason. I wasn’t the target audience or even the target generation. I have grown to love Alan Alda since but that’s another story completely. I’ve always loved the idea of Robert Altman however, and occasionally, I’ve even loved his movies (I’m looking at you Short Cuts) so I went into this expecting the best but completely prepared for the worst. I got something in between I guess rather than either one of those extremes.

The movie has a pretty neat cast with Donald Sutherland as Dr. Jack Bauer and Elliot Gould playing his wacky sidekick probably giving the most memorable performances. I quite liked Odo as Father what’s his name and it’s always neat to see these guys years before you realized they ever got work.

I think the big story in this movie is Tom Skerrit. He starts out with a bang almost seeming like a leading man, then much like his career, he’s quickly overshadowed by Gould, Sutherland and even Duvall such that it seems he went off to make a USA feature movie or guest star on the latest West Wing or Law and Order or whatever after the first 20 minutes. Much like in real life, I wanted more Skerritt and was saddened by his being obscured by the bigger names in the film.

The movie itself is ok I guess. It seems to almost aimlessly wander around between something resembling the sitcom, something resembling Apocolypse Now and something that’s not quite but almost Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. Sometimes that’s confusing, sometimes it’s entertaining and sometimes, you just don’t care.