Random In Defense Of 'Nothing But Trouble,' A Macabre Screwball Gem From '90s (12 items)

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  (#1) Dan Aykroyd Plays Two Grotesque Roles

  Dan Aykroyd was a busy man on the set of Nothing but Trouble. He not only co-wrote the script with his brother, he also directed the film. On top of all that, he plays two prosthetic-heavy parts. The first is the film's main antagonist, Judge Alvin "J.P" Valkenheiser, a decrepit old coot who is literally falling apart. He's nasty and gross and it's impossible to look away from him when he's on screen. 

  Aykroyd's second role is Bobo, a weird mutant adult-baby who spends the entire movie in a diaper and slathered in some kind of goo. What kind of goo? No one ever says, so you'll have to assume it's something normal and not gross at all. Just kidding - it's very upsetting. 
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  (#2) John Candy Also Doubles Up On His Roles

  Even though he plays two roles, there's not enough John Candy in this movie. For the first half, Candy mostly appears as officer Dennis Valkenheiser, a constable who pulls over drivers that pass through his speed trap. At about the midpoint of the movie, the audience meets Eldona Valkenheiser, the judge's daughter - a character also played by Candy.

  Eldona is mostly silent through the back half of the film, with her appearance being more of a visual goof. Unlike Aykroyd, Candy doesn't wear a lot of prosthetics. Instead, he wears a series of unflattering dresses and wigs. None of it's bad; it's just strange to see Candy sidelined to a supporting role as a visual gag.  
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  (#3) Judge Valkenheiser's Nose Resembles A Certain Body Part

  Judge Valkenheiser is repellent to look at thanks to the pounds of prosthetics Aykroyd wears. Like some of the most repulsive horror monsters, the detail in Valkenheiser's makeup is astonishing - but there's one particular piece of it that's super gross. 

  Valkenheiser's nose very clearly resembles a man's privates. It's not immediately noticeable when the judge first appears, because the prosthetic changes depending on the scene, but in several close-ups, the suggestively shaped schnoz is 100% a ding dong.

  To really hammer the joke home, the most explicit prosthetic appears when the judge is chowing down on a soggy gray hot dog. The sight nearly makes Chevy Chase's character lose his lunch.
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  (#4) Valkenheiser Might Be Undead

  Technically, Judge Valkenheiser is 106 years old, but considering his physical state (he wears several prosthetic body parts), he might be technically undead. Nothing but Trouble never gets into it, but there are some hints that the judge has been feeding on the poor folks that get trapped in his house of horrors. 

  The most overt hint arrives with the Digital Underground (yes, that Digital Underground). When the hip-hop group finds themselves in front of the judge, they note that his residence is "extremely Draculated." They probably mean that the residence is just spooky, but it's also a tip of the hat to the judge's status as a member of the undead. 

  Other hints to Valkenheiser's zombie-like nature include the piles of bones that fill his home, and his ability to survive the film's explosive finale.
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  (#5) '90s Rap Group Digital Underground - And Tupac - Perform In The Film

  Near the end of the film, the Digital Underground - of "The Humpty Dance" fame - show up in court because they were caught speeding in a hearse. When the group states that they're musicians, this piques the judge's interest (naturally, because he's played by bluesman Dan Aykroyd). After they treat Valkenheiser to a performance of "Same Song," in which the judge joins in on the organ, he happily lets them go. 

  As strange as the whole Digital Underground thing is - and it's very strange - the wildest part of the whole performance is that it features a young Tupac Shakur singing backup with the group. 
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  (#6) The Mansion Is A Funhouse Featuring Mechanisms Of Mayhem

  There are a lot of parts in Nothing but Trouble that don't work, either because of the writing or pacing, but one thing that's never a let down is the judge's mansion, the "Valkenheiser." It's a fully built-out funhouse complete with spinning beds, paintings with holes where the eyes should be, and a slide that takes the rider outside. 

  Built on the Warner Bros. soundstage, the mansion is an absolutely beautiful set. The detail alone makes the movie worth watching, especially in the scene where Chevy Chase finds his way into a room covered in driver licenses and newspaper clippings. The mansion is a little bit Pee-wee's Playhouse, a little bit Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and an unqualified feat of art direction.
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  (#7) The 'Mr. Bonestripper' Roller Coaster Is Everything

  In this very real movie that definitely exists, there's a section in which the judge sentences a malcontent (played by Daniel Baldwin) and his friends to execution by roller coaster. Their sentence is carried out for the transgression of speeding through Valkenheiser's town with a bunch of unlawful paraphernalia. Rather than just drop them into a pit or something, the judge loads the quartet onto a roller coaster called "Mr.  Bonestripper," which does... exactly what it sounds like it does. 

  Mr. Bonestripper is basically a carnival ride lined with flame-throwers and spinning blades. Inside, there's a bunch of mechanical teeth that chew up Baldwin and his friends, and then spit out their bones.  
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  (#8) Despite Featuring Famous Comedians, It Isn't Funny In A Traditional Sense

  How can Chevy Chase, John Candy, and Dan Aykroyd star in a film that's meant to be a comedy and not make it funny? It's telling when the funniest line comes from one of the guys in Digital Underground. 

  Nothing but Trouble is best viewed as a surreal, WTF film experience. All of the characters, not just those who live in Valkenvania, act nutty throughout the entire film, and every few minutes there's a new set piece that's crazier than the last. This is a film that's best viewed with a group of friends who don't care about things like narrative structure or character development. 
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  (#9) There's Some Pretty Biting Commentary About Backroad 'Good Ol' Boy' Culture

  The movie doesn't let anyone off the hook. The yuppies played by Chevy Chase and Demi Moore are shown to be vacuous and fearful of outsiders and any people who are different than they are - something that makes their time in Valkenvania all the worse.

  The most cutting commentary is saved for the good ol' boy mentality that runs through small town police departments, as well as larger government organizations. Even after escaping the clutches of the judge, Chevy Chase and Demi Moore find that the US government knows all about Valkenvania. Even worse, these authority figures respect Valkenheiser's jurisdiction.

  The writer-director's feelings about these guys is clear when they're all swallowed up by an earthquake. 
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  (#10) The Tone Is 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Meets Bugs Bunny

  Nothing but Trouble isn't a movie that you sit down to enjoy with the family. It's crude, the film looks grimy, and none of the characters are particularly worth rooting for - aside from the constable played by Candy, but he disappears halfway through the movie. 

  The film seems to take its tonal cues from both from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Merry Melodies cartoons of the 1950s. The Bugs Bunny feeling is evident in the vignette-esque nature of the film, and in the way that its characters act like complete cartoons. For example, at one point Chevy Chase jumps through a wall and leaves a person-shaped hole behind him. 

  As far as the film's connection to Chainsaw, the set design of the judge's mansion is a major hat tip to that '70s panic-fest, as is the gross-out dinner scene, the family of disgusting weirdos, and the group of cityfolk who find themselves in trouble (and nothing but!) when they go off the beaten path. 

  Even if the film doesn't deliver on its promises of being a horror-comedy, it's worth watching to see the way Aykroyd blends all of his influences into one big, bizarre movie. 
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  (#11) Valkenvania Is Based On A Real Place

  Valkenvania, the rural Pennsylvania town that was ruined by wealthy industrialists and turned into a desolate place where smoke and fire literally billow out of the streets, is actually based on a real place. Centralia, Pennsylviania, was once a major mining town before it was wiped out by an underground fire that began in 1962 and is still burning to this day. 

  Centralia has since become a ghost town with a handful of remaining residents. Aside from being the basis of the town in Nothing but Trouble, it's also the inspiration for the film adaptation of Silent Hill.
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  (#12) None Of The Actors Seem Like They're In The Same Movie

  This might seem like a criticism - and if this was any other movie it would be - but the fact that the actors are all acting like they're in a different movie just adds to the tonal weirdness on display. 

  Chevy Chase clearly took this job as a favor to a friend, and basically sleepwalks through the movie. Dan Aykroyd, meanwhile, puts out enough manic energy to power the sun. Demi Moore is relegated to being a kind of scream queen but without any screaming. John Candy does his best Divine impression, but he's kind of laidback about the whole thing. And then there's the couple - which isn't a couple but a brother-sister duo - who are doing impressions of flamboyant Brazilians. They basically just walk out of the movie and take Candy's police officer with them.

  It's weird. It's going to make your head hurt. Just don't try to overthink it. 

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