Harold Ramis's directorial debut is a hysterical farce set at the typically hoity-toity Bushwood County club. A send-up of the typical class struggle, it pits the caddies against the establishment with riotous results. This wacky comedy features insanely funny performances from Bill Murray, as the local groundskeeper obsessed .. Read more
| Starring | Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe |
|---|---|
| Director | Harold Ramis |
| Genres | Comedy |
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Harold Ramis's directorial debut is a hysterical farce set at the typically hoity-toity Bushwood County club. A send-up of the typical class struggle, it pits the caddies against the establishment with riotous results. This wacky comedy features insanely funny performances from Bill Murray, as the local groundskeeper obsessed with killing off the gophers who are infesting the golf course, as well as Chevy Chase as a wealthy antiestablishment member of Bushwood and Rodney Dangerfield, who shines as a land-shark real estate mogul who couldn't care less about the rules and regulations at the snobby club.
| Starring | Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Bill Murray, Sarah Holcomb, Scott Colomby, Cindy Morgan, Brian Doyle Murray, Dan Resin |
|---|---|
| Director | Harold Ramis |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 34 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | French, Italian |
| Hearing-impaired | English, Italian |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Released | DVD: 28 Jun 1999 Production year: 1980 |
| Format | DVD |
This wonderfully crass comedy from Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis is a sort of Animal Golf Club. It wins no prizes for subtlety, yet breezes along in a cheerfully tasteless manner. There's no real plot as such: loud-mouth millionaire Rodney Dangerfield gets up snobbish Ted Knight's nose when he attempts to take over the golf club, setting the scene for a climactic contest on the links. There's an annoying subplot about caddies, presumably for the teens, and Chevy Chase is given little to do as the louche golf professional. Dangerfield reprises his stand-up persona to gloriously vulgar effect, however, and Bill Murray nearly steals the show as a psychopathic groundsman continuing a running battle with the club's resident gophers.
"...A pleasantly loose-limbed sort of movie....You appreciate the effort and the intelligence behind [Murray's performance]..."
If you enjoy witty dialogue then avoid this like the plague. The whole thing is dire but Rodney Dangerfield is embarrassing. Am I missing the point? Is it so unfunny its funny? Er.....No.
Without spoiling the plot, Caddyshack is the story of a young man who works as a golf caddy in order to fund his dream of going to university and one day becoming a Senator. Paid to look after the kind of social elite he one day wants to join, will his working class background hold him back?
This film was a let down for me on so many levels. The class divide between the young, downtrodden caddies and the rich professional golfers and millionaires they look after was full of dramatic possibilities, but the theme was only ever gently prodded, never fully explored. Granted, Caddyshack never pretended to be a social drama, but nonetheless there were countless comic possibilities which were passed over.
However, the biggest failing of the film is that it is a comedy which just isn't..........well, funny. Okay, so that's a very subjective thing to say, but let me put it to you this way - I'm a massive fan of Chevy Chase and 80's comedy in general but even I felt that far too many of the 'jokes' fell flat. I can't be any more honest than that. Unless you're an avid fan of Chevy Chase, Bill Murray or the sport of golf, I really can't find a reason to recommend this movie. All in all, a missed opportunity.