Vibes - Ken Kwapis - (1988) DVD

Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum play two psychics hired by Peter Falk to find his long lost son in a foreign country. When they get there they discover he's really hired them to help find a hidden temple in the mountains where all the psychic energy in the world comes from.

I have seen this film at least five times and each time I find it hilarious. Not only are the jokes funny, the performers superb, but unlike many comedies the jokes fit tightly with the action and the plot line is solid and engaging. It has components of the romantic comedy and the action-adventure film.

It has not been a big success and this must be because the jokes are all about new-age topics- psychic powers, astral travel, mysterious Incan cults, etc. Nothing is funny if you are not very familiar with the subject. The best mother-in-law joke is not as funny to someone who has never had a mother-in-law, and not funny at all to someone who doesn't even know what one is.

The cast, as you can see, includes Falk and Goldblum, two extremely funny guys who give superb performances. But Lauper also gives, in her first screen appearance, an extremely funny performance; she is a gifted comedienne, and it is a shame her film career never took off. Sands, Gress and the other supporting actors are also very good in their roles; each character is very vivid and three-dimensional in spite of being comic caricatures.

The script, by veterans Ganz and Mandel (Splash, Parenthood, lots of TV stuff) is in my opinion their funniest by far. So if you have interest in psychic, new-age, metaphysical, channeling and other such eccentricities, you might also find this one of your favorite comedies.

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