Absolutely the worst movie.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Peter O'Toole has the distinction of being the actor with the most Academy Award nominations who has never won an Oscar. Eight times he was nominated as best actor over a span of 44 years. That's testimony to the enduring talent of a great actor. He did win four Golden Globes as best actor for four of the films for which he received Oscar nominations. And one, "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1962 also earned him the best British actor award from BAFTA. O'Toole's earliest roles were especially superb and worthy of Oscars. Those were years of tough competition with some great performances by a number of actors in many excellent films. One year in which he should have won was 1962 for "Lawrence." This isn't to diminish Gregory Peck's role in "To Kill a Mockingbird," which may have been carried by sentiment for the story and actor. But the role and performance weren't especially demanding or outstanding. And three of the four other nominations that year were much better performances in much more demanding roles and films. Burt Lancaster's nomination was for "Birdman of Alcatraz." Jack Lemmon gave probably the best performance ever in film of an alcoholic who then recovers in "Days of Wine and Roses." And O'Toole's Lawrence was remarkable and should have edged them all out.So, in "My Favorite Year," O'Toole gives a great performance that might have been risky for an actor of his age. But he escaped his falls and tumbles without noticeable injury. Other reviewers describe and discuss the plot and the rest of the cast, all of whom turn in very good performances. This is an entertaining film with a superb job by O'Toole who will be watched and remembered in films for generations to come while many Oscar winners of the past will drop out of sight.

Reviewer Bill Slocum ("Plastered Makes Perfect", Bill Slocum from Greenwich, CT United States, 15 May 2003) has a nice summary with insight in Sid Caesar's troubles later in his career. Also, theowinthrop ("Sid Caesar, Errol Flynn, Mel Brooks, and Jimmy Hoffa meet 'incognito'", theowinthrop from United States, 29 July 2006) has more background information that is interesting to fans of this great movie."My Favorite Year" is at times uproariously funny, poignant and romantic, taking the viewer to great heights within the comedy/romance genre. With adroit skill, Peter O'Toole plays dissolute film legend Alan Swann, a cross between the washed-up, 1950s version of Errol Flynn and O'Toole himself. Hopeless tipper Flynn's booking on comedian Sid Caesar's live TV program is a general inspiration for the almost entirely fictional narrative.This is also a love story, as Mel Brooks-stand-in Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) succeeds romantically with office co-worker KC Downing (Jessica Harper), thanks largely to the help Swann gives to his young chaperon. The stream of sage wisdom that O'Toole offers Stone about women and getting the most out of life is a very rich cinematic experience. So is the depiction of an actor's torment; as he must perform even when his mental reserves to do so are exhausted.O'Toole did all of his own stunts, which generally are quite dangerous. The finish is a scream; I can't recall anything quite so funny in a long time. If you ever get the opportunity to watch this screened in public, go for it! Mortals!!

"My Favorite Year" cleverly depicts early television shows of the 1950's and enfolds as charming Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) junior comedy writer for the "Comedy Calvacade" promises to keep his movie hero, former swashbuckler Alan Swann and guest star, out of trouble. Swann, beautifully played by Peter O'Toole is a washed out movie star infamous for his drinking and making unsavory headlines. This leads to some very funny scenarios as Stone works overtime to watch over his colorful hero. There are also wonderful heartwarming scenes between Benjy and Swann and both quickly find out they have things in common. Benjy is embarrassed by some of his relatives and wants to hide his mother's offbeat marriage. Swann shares his secret of Tess, a daughter he has never visited. "My Favorite Year" has a talented cast including Lainie Kazan as Stone's mother and Joseph Bologna as King Kaiser, the star of the television show. After a mob boss wants the sketch parody of him scratched from the show, accidents start to happen. Keiser refuses to do away with the characterization for the show and it results in funny outcomes on stage before a live audience. Hiding his insecurities especially around K.C.Downing (Jessica Harper) a coworker Benjy has a crush on, Swann gives Benjy romantic advice. These two unlikely characters bond over the course of the film. Reminiscent of real television programs like "Your Show of Shows with Sid Ceasar," Screenplay writer, Dennis Palumbo was inspired to write this enjoyable screenplay when he found out producer Mel Brooks worked as a comedy writer and had to keep an eye on movie star Errol Flynn. When Swann finds out the television show is shot live minutes before the show opens, he panics and threatens to walk out of the studio. Swann, accustomed to doing several movie takes, declares he can not do the live show, "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!" "My Favorite Year" takes place in 1954 and Benjy's narration at the beginning and end of the story, gives the film a nice nostalgic touch. There are so many funny and memorable scenes throughout. Richard Benjamin does a great job in his directorial film debut. But it is O'Toole who practically steals the show with a fantastic performance that earned him an Oscar nomination. The film "My favorite Year" is a joy to watch from start to finish!

Someone recommended this to me recently and given that he watches a lot of movies from a good spread of time and genres and that I'd never heard of it, I decided to give it a try. The plot is told from the point of view of young television writer Benjy Stone who has been charged with keeping the guest star of a live Saturday night television show in line through rehearsals and onto the show itself. This is not easy task given that the guest is none other than the Errol-Flynn-esquire Alan Swann, the legendary lothario and drinker. The narrative charts their escapades over the week and sees them learn lessons from one another (to a point).I say "to a point" because the plot is not that strong when you go much below the superficial and indeed there isn't the action/reaction that I expected from the character dynamics – or at least it is not that strong on the page. This is a bit of a weakness in the film – not that I wanted it to be serious or insightful but more that I felt it could have done with being a little sharper and more structured in regards its characters. That said, what it leaves is a rather superficial and frothy film and this is in no way a totally bad thing because it plays into this very well. The word of the day for me was "whimsy" with this – because it seems to have been founded on a bed of nostalgia for a particular place and time that may not even have existed. Given that nostalgia (as opposed to reality) is the foundation, it was wise to build with a whimsical comedic approach because the two things compliment each other well as the various backstage shenanigans and characters get on. It is an odd coincidence that this all occurs in 30 Rockefeller Plaza because the exaggerated antics and 100% comedic characters did very much put me in mind of 30 Rock – not as funny perhaps but the base elements were very similar.It is a comedy though and, while I was not laughing out loud very often, I did have several good laughs and otherwise found myself quite charmed by the amusing material. There are some great lines but there are also plenty of funny little characters around the edges to provide chuckles and feed into the overall comedy (for example the throwaway creation of Rookie Carroca, which is odd but yet very funny). As in 30 Rock today, the cast here are a massive part of making the comedy work and in particular carrying off the whimsy and silliness so that it remains charming and does not become stupid or grating. Linn-Baker is the narrative-device and as such he is pretty good, doing enough so that we like him and care a bit in regards his character's romantic ambitions but never pushing himself forward so that he challenges the main show in town – which is O'Toole. With his wonderful swagger and droll delivery of his lines, O'Toole nails his comedy character perfectly and is very funny doing it (his finest moment being the "for ladies only" exchange). OK at times the material lets him down (the more "serious" character moments towards the end jar a little in contrast with the rest of his performance) but otherwise he is very good. Harper is cute and works well with both men, while Bologna is a blast from the past that is simple but effective while the rest of the support cast has plenty of recognisable faces doing great little comic characters (Kazan, Hoffman, De Salvo, I could go on).My Favourite Year doesn't have the substance that the narrative (and narration) suggests that it will have and perhaps is a little unsatisfying if you are trying to take it even slightly seriously as a story but if you are even vaguely in the mood it is hard not to be charmed by it. With nostalgic whimsy as the approach the film delivers laughs that range from the slap-stick to the witty and, while you'll not be rolling on the floor it produced such consistent chuckles for me that it was hard not to enjoy it despite its apparent weaknesses in other areas. Not a classic comedy that will stand for all time, but one that more than does the job for its own running time, which in fairness is all you should be asking of it.