Mixed Nuts

Directed by Nora Ephron, Mixed Nuts follows the staff of a suicide hotline, including Steve Martin’s Philip, Madeline Kahn’s Mrs. Munchnik, and Rita Wilson’s Catherine, as they deal with a whole host of problems and complications during an especially eventful Christmas Eve. Filmmaker Ephron, working from a script written with Delia Ephron, delivers an unapologetically larger-than-life comedy that’s only effective in fits and starts, as the movie, which is rarely as fall-down-funny as Ephron has obviously intended, has been infused with an often egregiously frenetic feel that does, when coupled with a continuing emphasis on silly, low-rent jokes and gags, pave the way for a distressingly momentum-free atmosphere. There’s little doubt, then, that Mixed Nuts‘ extremely mild success is due almost entirely to the engaging, charismatic efforts of its various performers, as Martin’s predictably winning turn is matched (and heightened) by an impressive roster of such engaging periphery players as Anthony LaPaglia, Adam Sandler, and Liev Schreiber – although it remains completely clear throughout that Kahn’s typically captivating work here is responsible for the picture’s scant laughs. The final result is a decent-enough endeavor that never quite becomes the cinematic classic, Christmas or otherwise, one might’ve anticipated, which is a shame, really, given the massive potential afforded by the premise and talent both in front of and behind the camera.

**1/2 out of ****