Weekend in the Country

Co-writer comic Rita Rudner must be a diehard fan of The Love Boat, for her Weekend in the Country seems like one long episode of the old TV show, not a hilarious comedy penned by a comedienne. The film follows a group of people slapped together in California wine country for a weekend. The hardcore New Yorkers (Richard Lewis, Rita Rudner, Faith Ford) meet the flaky Californians (Dudley Moore, Jack Lemmon, Christine Lahti), and, of course, no one gets along--until the end, that is. Stereotype after stereotype parades across the screen, from a New Age fanatic and an aging bachelor to a tortured comedian and his bumbling promoter. This is a weekend in the country you can surely miss. (L. Russo)