By the early 1970s, Lloyd Kaufman was only a few years away from co-founding Troma Entertainment with Michael Herz. Kaufman had two directing credits under his belt, The Girl Who Returned and The Battle of Love’s Return. Around this time, producer Ami Artzi had his first film, The Dreamer, premiere at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Artzi convinced Kaufman and Herz that making a G-rated family comedy in Israel would be easy money. Not only would it be a hit in Israel, but the film could also play at American synagogues. Unfortunately, the trouble started when the original script Kaufman and Herz turned in was drastically rewritten by the Israeli producers. In the end, Kaufman and Herz lost money when the film flopped upon release due to war breaking out. In 1973, Schwartz: The Brave Detective, aka Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? came and went.
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Rating
Synopsis
Detective Schwartz (Bomba Tzur) is a former cop turned private investigator who works alongside his partner Simcha (Yosef Shiloach). A wealthy man has hired them to spy on his wife, who he fears is cheating on him. The wife has an affair with her doctor, so the detectives decide to take on the case. While they manage to get photographic evidence, they accidentally lose the footage, and the doctor finds out what they’re doing. In retaliation, he hires a mob boss to send his goons after Schwartz and Simcha to hide the truth. A series of “wacky” hijinks follow as our heroes try to outrun the mob and expose the wife. Thankfully, Schwartz and Simcha have friends in high places who can help them out of this jam. Will our heroes succeed, what will happen to the wife, and just who is Gus?
Review
Over the years, Lloyd Kaufman said Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? “did more damage to the Jews than Mein Kempf.” While Lloyd’s statement might be hyperbolic, it’s not like Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? is some misunderstood masterpiece. Perhaps it’s a case of culture clash since I’m not Israeli, but I can’t imagine enjoying this if I was. Cultural issues aside, this is one of the most confusing and disjointed films I’ve seen since starting this site. What’s strange is that, at first, it begins simply enough as a goofy comedy about two bumbling detectives. The plot goes off the rails into pure chaos at some point as it devolves into a string of gags. They make no sense in context and come out of nowhere, including one involving a random couple rehearsing a scene. It doesn’t help that almost none of these gags aren’t the least bit funny.
From what I understand, many of the cast members were famous in their native land and considered superstars. Admittedly, I’ve never heard of these actors, let alone seen their previous work, so I can’t say for sure. Most of them resort to simply mugging for the camera and making silly noises thinking that’s funny. It seems like they’re trying to capture the madcap energy of Benny Hill without understanding what made him work. It doesn’t help that this film is G-rated, meaning we don’t get the sexy shenanigans Benny Hill was known for. The soundtrack comprises only two songs repeatedly played throughout, which adds to the painful viewing experience. While not as bad as It’s Pat or Freddy Got Fingered, this is still a terrible comedy. Overall, unless you’re a Troma completionist, Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? is best left forgotten.
Download Big Gus, What’s The Fuss? from Troma Direct: https://bit.ly/3qsWAZM.
