Stars: John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms, Raymond Burr

Director: Tom Mankiewicz

Summary: A TV soap writer bangs his head and wakes up to find himself appearing in his own series...

A soap opera writer bumps his head and wakes up in the town where his daytime serial takes place. What begins as a nightmare turns into the opportunity of a lifetime as he discovers he can control events by simply writing them.

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A 1991 comedy, Deliriousstars John Candy as the head writer on a soap opera set in the fictional small town of Ashford Falls, whose naff power dressing and power wrangling is distinctly reminiscent of Dynasty. Candy has a crush on the somewhat imperious and Joan Collins-esque star of the show, played by Emma Samms, although waiting in the wings to be written into the show is the more wholesome and unaffected actress Mariel Hemingway.

Delirioustakes a turn when Candy is felled in an accident and awakes, supernaturally, to find himself in the very world of his own soap, with Ashford Falls a real town and its fictional characters, including Samms, now real people. Candy discovers, however, that in this world he has the power to "write" situations as they suit him--in this case, by casting himself as a dashing, wealthy and mysterious Wall Street hero, able to sweep Samms off her feet.

The film is in some ways a precursor of Pleasantville(in which two teens are sucked into the world of a "Honey, I'm home" black and white 1950s sitcom). However, between them the star, writers and director (Tom Mankiewicz) make a ham fist of Delirious. The parody of soap mores is quite well done but quickly palls in its obviousness; Candy's performance is misjudged, as if trying too hard to make the best of a bad job; while overall, the film feels cheap, tacky and broad, once again raising the question why in the 1980s and 90s America produced such great sitcoms but such poor film comedies.

On the DVD:Deliriousis presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. It's a decent enough edition but looks its age in places, in terms of colour definition in particular. The only extra is the original trailer. --David Stubbs

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Original Theatrical Trailer, Scene Selection
Subtitles:	Dutch, French, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Spanish
Year:	1991
Release Date:	August 12, 2002
Runtime:	92 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	15799 D V D
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Delirious
Genre:	Comedy