Crazy People is a 1990 comedy film directed by Tony Bill and starring Dudley Moore and Daryl Hannah, with a supporting cast including Paul Reiser, J. T. Walsh, Mercedes Ruehl, and David Paymer.
It's the story of Emory Leeson (Moore), an ad-agency copywriter who's had enough after finding out that his fiancé has taken most of his things and left him. He flips out and, in a surge of inspiration, writes a few honest ads, which lands him in a mental institute after his co-worker finds out what happened while moving the ads to the side so they don't get used. Unfortunately, due to a mistake, the honest ads are published, and even less fortunately, all the ads are a smash hit. Now Emory has to create more honest ads. And the only people who can help him are his fellow patients, including a man who can only say "Hello", a man who is a bit ''too'' obsessed with the Saab brand of cars, and others with similar types of quirks to them. Hilarity Ensues.
Crazy Tropes:
- Accidental Public Confession: Nowadays its a bit cringeworthy.
- The Alleged Car: Saab. Every other car given to the patients as a reward for their ads is in mint condition; the 1976 GLE has rust and oddly painted parts. And by far that's the most loved car.
- Bedlam House: Inverted. The place is nice, the personnel helpful, and even the evil director is not really effective.
- Boring, but Practical: Emory's ad for Volvo, noting it's not as "sexy" as other cars but is safe. "Volvo: Boxy but good"
- Brutal Honesty: Part of Emory's breakdown is turning his ads into this ("Quaker Oats: At least the box is cute"
◊, "Metamucil: It helps you go to the toilet" or an United ad focused on those afraid of flying◊). - Calvinball: Or rather, Volleyball without the ball. It's played by the patients (most likely so they don't accidently hurt each other with an actual ball).
- Exact Words: No one mentioned wings. Cue in Simple, yet Awesome Huey.
- French Jerk: Referenced in one of Emory's tourism ads. "Forget France. The French can be annoying. Come to Greece. We're nicer."
- Go Among Mad People: Emory is sent to a mental institution. And embraces their madness!
- Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: 4 out of 5 pharmacists recommend it.
- Precision F-Strike: A beautiful one about a famous newspaper and words which are not supposed to be there.
- Also done by George when the patients get their cars, he finds that his has a car phone, and decides to call someone:
George: Hello, Mom? W-where the Hell are you? - One-Word Vocabulary: George, one of the patients, can only say "Hello" at the start of the film, but overtime he begins to open up and begin to use other words again, though he does use "hello" more often.
- Our Slogan Is Terrible: The Brutal Honesty leads to that, with slogans such as "Metamucil. It helps you go to the toilet. If you don't use it, you'll get cancer and die."
- Sex for Product:
- Used blatantly in Emory's car ads. "Jaguar. Sleek and smart. For people who'd like handjobs from beautiful women they hardly know."
- Inverted in the Volvo ad, which says "Be safe instead of sexy".
