Simply Perfect

Instant Favorite.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Back in the dark ages of those Go-getter 1980s,Game shows were mighty populous on network television. The Barry-Enright production team,comfortably re-established in syndication with shows like "Tic Tac Dough" and "The Joker's Wild" decided to try their luck in territory owned more by the likes of Goodson-Todman and Reg Grundy with this half-hour show where teams of three contestants--at first,it was differing occupations,later it was merely single contestants flanked by two B-list celebs--to try to either solve a list question(much like ones presented on the much,much,much more successful "FAmily Feud")survey of the top seven answers or knock out each opposing team's players with wrong answers. They played a best of three game,with the winner of two rounds going on to play a 50/50 bonus question for cash prize amounting in $5,000 increments(e.g. base prize is five grand,with the bonus raised by that amount if the winner either fails to complete the round or takes the smaller amount and in case of their successful defense of their title). The show's less-than-scintillating pacing would prove to be less-than-inspiring to both audiences and the network (in this instance,NBC) and the show was canceled in six months,less than a month before a much more ambitious network effort,"The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" would also be clicked by the same network. To me,this was a harmless,even sometimes interesting half-hour game show,whose value was greatly added by the legendary Bill Cullen as its host. I have no idea how this show could be viewed now,but maybe if we'rte lucky,GSN will dust this off some vault floor and replay it,assuming they haven't already.