Comments on: “Funny Farm:” Chevy Chase’s Cape Cod in the Country

By: amwh

amwh — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:06:15 +0000

I have always loved this movie and watch it whenever I want to relax – take a nap afterward on the sofa. I love the scenery and the home – it matches what I think of as a “home.” It’s a “shingle house,” and I am wondering what year it was built. Looks a little Craftsman, with the shingling and window trim on the outside. I agree that these HGTV gotta-have houses are getting very cookie-cutter with their granite countertops etc…everybody has to have what the next guy has. I’d grab this house in a heartbeat – it’s “lived-in.” A real home. I get a home-y feeling of comfort when I watch the movie and can smell the cinnamon and Christmas cookies when I see those scenes. I also love the man sitting on his porch in the beginning of the movie – giving directions to the movers. That red color of his house is so pretty, with the white trim, wood chairs and flowers – looks great in the VT countryside! I think of this movie when I watch reruns of “Newhart.” Was Funny Farm possibly the inspiration for the show, with the people and the Inn etc?

By: hookedonhouses

hookedonhouses — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:59:54 +0000

Thanks for confirming it, Sue!

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:05:09 +0000

Yes, you found it! The owners do not want anyone trespassing however, and they have a sign up at the end of the drive, which is quite a bit down hill from the house. You can’t actually drive up near the house as the mailman does, due to that portion being private property. The tops of the dormer windows are just visible from the end of the driveway, but that’s all you can see from that point of view. It’s unfortunate (though not for the owners I guess) that more can’t be seen from the road.

By: hookedonhouses

hookedonhouses — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:02:48 +0000

It does look like it could be–good detective work, Aaron! Does anyone know for sure?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:50:10 +0000

I think I found the house location using Google Maps, anyone want to confirm?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=198+Fire+Pond+Rd+Grafton,+VT+05146&ll=43.174591,-72.618921&spn=0.005665,0.008143&gl=us&t=h&z=17

By: “Her Alibi:” Tom Selleck’s House in Connecticut

“Her Alibi:” Tom Selleck’s House in Connecticut — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:04:08 +0000

[...] done by James W. Payne, the same team that worked on another one of my favorite movie houses–Funny Farm. (You can see my post about that one [...]

By: Gwynneth

Gwynneth — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:24:56 +0000

Castleton is further south than Grafton, near Lake St. Catherine (a great swimming/boating place in summer…possibly where Andy loses his fishing buddies?). My husband and I went there for our honeymoon (yes, we’re both into fishing and camping) but it rained at Lake Bomoseen’s State Campground where we had reservations. So, about 2 hrs. and a couple bottles of rum later) we rolled into the hotel at Lake St. Catherine. NOTHING stays open in VT past 8 PM!

My sister lives just down the road from Groton, in a house eerily similar to the one in “Funny Farm” (decor, pond, hillside and all!). The town of Groton is classic VT (on route 302-E-W). There are three excellent campgrounds/VT state parks on the three lakes to the north of town (no doubt where they filmed some of the movie–Lake Groton is the biggest). The entrance is about 5 miles from Interstate 91 and roughly 4 hrs. from the MA/CT border.

Groton and its environs are actually closer to and have more in common with the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but don’t tell a Vermonter that! The quaintness pretty much stops around White River Junction (or Bradford, depending on your definition of quaintness).

If you want the kind of friendly, pretty, well-kept town and neighborly attitude you are shown (by LA filmmakers) in “Funny Farm”, stay to the south (visit the “Antique Shop” in Townsend, just outside Brattleboro. The next town south, Newfane, has a HUGE fleamarket each weekend, well worth visiting. Townsend itself has a spotless State campground and swimming area. Both towns are on Route 30 and are so civilized that many Vermonters don’t consider them to be part of the state!

By: AmyLou

AmyLou — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:39:54 +0000

I love this movie and watch it every Christmas. I love this house with all it’s furnishings and decor. This is back when houses had charm. I find all these new kitchens with all of this granite, new cabinets, fancy sinks, new tile floors etc. too cold. What’s wrong with kitchens like this? Not outdated just charming!! The whole house inside and out is simply charming!!

By: Ashley

Ashley — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:01:15 +0000

The comparisons that you have are great. I’m not sure how much of a coincidence they are. With Chevy being in them both, maybe they had some of the same writers. Oh, and one thing, you said Chevy got chased by an eel, I believe that it was a black snake that he caught in his pond and it slithered into his house that you are thinking of.

By: Tony Galla

Tony Galla — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 08:53:42 +0000

HI,I love funny farm and christmas vacation more than anything in the world.These two movies are on my mind so often tht I am begining to think something is wrong with me.Only once in a lifetime does a movie have all the most perfect lines and actors that they become legendary and classic.I think both of these great movies deserve this status.Its almost magical how something funny happens in every single seen.I have to say I am suprised that nobody else has mentioned this before.I may be the first to say it.Both of these movies must have been linked to each other .There can be no doubt.the comparisons are uncanny yet they go totally unoticed.Ill mention just a few.The Squirrel,flying out of theGrizwolds tree,the squiirel flying into the back of Andys truck,Clark waiting for his mailman to deliver the bonus,Andy waiting for his mailman to battle it out with him,Clarks christmas tree burns,he also cuts one down falls into the neighbors window,Redbud tree falls down aftger getting hit by the sherrifs car,The simple acknowledgment of the sherrifs presence in funnyfarm,and the swat teem in vacation.another words both reference the law.Grizwolds chased by the squirrel,Andy chased by the eel,ha ha ha funny and both have wildlife enter the household.Grizwolds car smashes into the snowbank,Andys publishers car gets totaled by the boulder,ha ha another funny one ha ha lol.The Cat gets burned by the tree lights,Andys yellowdogs tail gets sizzled by the fireplace.I can go on and on.IM telling you there has to be a connection .Im sure you will agree that the references in each movie are so obvious and similiar that one movie must have helped make the other.Since Funnyfarm came out first i can only guess that the creators decided to basicaly make funyfarm into one of the vacation franchises movies because they liked it so much.I dont know,all I can say is I think its so cool to compare them.I cant wait to find more similarities.Im posting a page on my website soon about this topic.please contact me at lonewullf@rochester.rr.com if you can think of any other comparisons.I would like to say thank you for this great page.Tony Galla