#140RVW
Dangerfield fails to ruin Harold Ramis’ directorial debut, a loosely strung together collection of classic improv. Unapologetically dumb…
What’s more:
I’m not the world’s biggest Caddyshack fan. I know that’s sacrilege to many. I’m reviewing it today because the ridiculously talented Harold Ramis has just passed away and this was his directorial debut.
It’s hysterically funny and I enjoyed the hell out of it as a kid who was too young to be watching it. (I have no idea where I saw it – someone else’s house, that’s for sure.) It is unquestionably a comedic classic.
But it has a few flaws that are deal breakers for me:
- It is directly responsible for the career of Rodney Dangerfield. Really I could probably stop there. He was an obscure stand-up comic who would have likely never have gotten a break into film without this movie. And would I accept this movie having never existed as a reasonable price for having never been exposed to Rodney Dangerfield? I absolutely would. I’d take that every time.
- Ted Knight is unwatchable. I know he’s doing his thing and it’s his shtick; I don’t care. I hate it. It was funny on the Mary Tyler Moore show. It’s cartoonish and stupid here.
The biggest thing against the film is also actually it’s best feature: it’s really just a long series of improvised scenes. It’s not that there isn’t a plot, it’s just that no one cares about it. Think about it – who is the star of the movie? It’s Danny Noonan, the dorky caddy played by Michael O’Keefe. You forgot he was even in the movie, didn’t you?
This is exactly the movie you expect from a bunch of sketch comedy professionals. But then you’d expect National Lampoon’s Animal House to have felt even more like that for the same reason – but it didn’t because John Landis was able to rein in the comedians. Ramis let everyone go for it and the bit parts essentially became the film. So you get genius scenes like Bill Murray’s “Cinderella story” but you also end up with Dangerfield becoming a main character.
In the end, the great comedy far outweighs the lack of cohesiveness, leaving us with a classic.
Poster:
Trailer:
http://youtu.be/zrTqenN1SqQ
Bechdel Test:
Fail
| Main Cast | Chevy Chase Ty Webb, Rodney Dangerfield Al Czervik, Bill Murray Carl Spackler, Ted Knight Judge Elihu Smails |
| Rating | R |
| Release Date | Fri 25 Jul 1980 UTC |
| Director | Harold Ramis |
| Genres | Comedy, Sport |
| Plot | An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 98 |
| Tagline | At last, a comedy that bites! |
| Writers | Brian Doyle-Murray (written by) &, Harold Ramis (written by) … |
| Year | 1980 |
