PETER O'TOOLE is the nominal star of this brisk farce about an alcoholic action hero (based on Errol Flynn, in case anyone doubts it), given the fictitious name of Alan Swann. When he is assigned to appear in a live TV show as guest star, his reputation for booze gets him assigned to the care of Benjy Stone (MARK LINN-BAKER), a Brooklyn kid whose job it is to protect O'Toole from further exploits with the bottle so that he can perform as scheduled before a live audience.<br /><br />That's basically the plot, derived from a true-life situation involving Errol Flynn's appearance on, presumably, Sid Caesar's Saturday night live show, "Your Show of Shows". In the film, we have Joseph BOLOGNA in the Sid Caeasar role, an egotistical bully in over-sized suits who struts around bellowing orders to everyone. And once the tale leaves the studio to the home of Benjy Stone's abode in Brooklyn, the comedy gets into even higher gear for laughter--thanks largely to LAINIE KAZAN as Benjy's Jewish mother.<br /><br />Well paced, stacked with laughs, and played to the hilt by an ingratiating cast of comic professionals. Richard Benjamin can take a bow for directing this with flourish. <br /><br />Peter O'Toole gives one of his best, wickedly funny performances as the matinée idol who finds it hard to separate his adventurous screen self from real life. He performs his various pratfalls and stunts (or someone else does) with apparent ease. While O'Toole is great, his co-star, Mark Linn-Baker comes close to stealing several scenes with comic finesse.<br /><br />Trivia note: That's GLORIA STUART as the lady at the Stork Club that O'Toole dances with. She played "old Rose" in TITANIC.<br /><br />A barrel of laughs, well worth viewing--and nostalgic for those of us who remember Sid Caesar's Saturday night antics.