The Tall Guy (1989) on Netflix
Dexter King, an American actor in London, plays straight man to Ron Anderson in a long-running comedy revue. Chronic hay fever sends him to a doctor, where he meets Kate, a nurse.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.2/105,275 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
Dexter King, an American actor in London, has spent six years as the tall guy, the straight man in a two-man comedy revue dominated by Ron Anderson. He lives platonically in Camden Town with his landlady. Chronic hay fever sends him to a doctor, where he meets Kate, a nurse, and falls for her quickly. Soon after that, Ron fires him, and an audition for a Steven Berkoff play comes to nothing because Dexter lacks anger. He wins instead the lead in Elephant!, a Royal Shakespeare Company show that makes a musical of The Elephant Man and sends up Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Tall Guy (1989)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Richard Curtis's script for The Tall Guy drew on his experiences as straight man to his long-time collaborator Rowan Atkinson, who plays the domineering comedy star Ron Anderson.
- Mel Smith, calling his directorial debut the high point of his career, said nearly twenty years later: "I didn't know enough about the film business, and so it seemed wonderfully easy."
- The score is by Peter Brewis, and the soundtrack includes Labi Siffre's "It Must Be Love" performed by Madness, with a montage in which various characters sing along to the song and Madness frontman Suggs makes a cameo.
