Gallagher: The Maddest
Gallagher: The Maddest
| 01 January 1983 (USA)
Gallagher: The Maddest Trailers

Gallagher wants to talk to you about style. Yeah, the sweaty guy on roller skates with the one-of-a-kind "bowling ball wearing a hula skirt" hairdo. Might seem like an odd topic coming from the man who uses humor as a blunt instrument (and not just when he's wailing a watermelon with his Sledge-O-Matic), but that's just what you get in this hour-long stand-up piece from 1983. You see, for comedy's prop master extraordinaire, style isn't so much about finesse as it is about flair. Flair he's got in spades, as long as you're willing to call stupid hats and a trampoline disguised as a huge couch flair. The bits travel well-worn paths through mating and parenthood, and the material does often betray its age (the fact that National Enquirer headlines are stupid isn't exactly revolutionary comedy). However, what ultimately makes Gallagher giggle-worthy isn't the material itself, but the zeal with which he swings for the big laugh. Hammer in hand or not, the man's got style.

Reviews
Linbeymusol

Wonderful character development!

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Ogosmith

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

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Kaydan Christian

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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Francene Odetta

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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juscurious

OK, it was not named his ecology show, I don't recall the name of the TV Show. If I recall correctly he uses a sailboat as a prop and he states (all to prophetically) that we are poisoning our oceans among all the other havoc corporations and people are doing to destroy our earth and is more or less pleading with people to stop and think. This show was done prior to the current ecological awareness. I can't help but recall that particular statement now that we are at day 56 of BP's negligence and the horror that is happening in the Gulf of Mexico. I would like to see it again but haven't a clue, after much on-line searching, just where I might find it. Any help out there would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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Frank T. Miller

I forgot just how much damn FUN Gallagher was. I just watched The Maddest for the first time in almost 15 years and it's just as funny as it ever was - and by that I mean it's OUTSTANDING. Intelligent comedy, fun FUN use of props, and of course the famous Sledge-O-Matic as the grand finale...Gallagher used to put on some damn good shows. Too bad no one remembers him for that. Here's hoping the release of his best material (finally) on DVD will help change that view - he really was/is a great comedian."I'm not gonna talk to you people for an hour and a half and then close my show... with a mass of stupidity..."

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knsevy

Now relegated to a semi-obscure 80s reference for snarky gen-Zers, Gallagher seems to be remembered only for the messy slapstick 'Sledge-o-Matic', used as an ironic closer to his show. The only image most of the younger crowd has of Gallagher is a man smashing watermelons with a hammer. His insightful and intelligent comedy has been overshadowed by a running gag that was as much of a joke to him as it was to the audience.

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Michael DeZubiria

In one of his earlier stand-up videos, Gallagher solidifies himself as one of the funniest and zaniest comedians in the world. His genius use of props as well as his trade-mark of smashing miscellaneous produce in front of the crowd with his Sledge-O-Matic (`...it is not a slicer, it is not a dicer, it is not a chopper or a hopper. What in the hell could it possibly be?!') have set him apart from other comedy acts. This is stand up comedy of the highest quality. He is not just up there making sick jokes, he analyzes the world and makes fun of the stupid stuff, like the locks on the doors at the 7-11 that's open 24 hours a day. He makes fun of commercials, school, the government, people in relationships, banks, pretty much everything that can be frustrating in real life. You've used that bathroom cleaner to clean off mildew that says to only use it in a well-ventilated area right? Gallagher says, `If it was well-ventilated there wouldn't be mildew on it!' This guy is a genius, not only is he endlessly hilarious, he also has a very active mind that makes things funny in ways that you wouldn't have ever thought of. His comedy is surprising, it's intelligent, it makes you think, and above all, it makes you grab your sides as you fall into almost painful hysterics. Go out and look for his videos, you won't regret it.

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