Caddyshack (1980)
HBO On Demand,
February 28, 2008
*** ½ / ****
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by Scott Muoio
How did I go thirty years
of my life and only tonight see Caddyshack for
the very first time? It makes no
sense. This movie has everything I like:
comedy, sports, goofy performances, gratuitous nudity, class rivalry, and that
unmistakably ridiculous 1980s sheen.
Perhaps Caddyshack was slightly before my time and
that’s the reason I never saw it, but that’s not a good reason. Whatever the case, now that I have seen it I can at last admit, “Yes, I had been missing out. Caddyshack rules!”
Caddyshack doesn’t
have a plot so much as it is the canvas for four classic comedians to go
crazy. The script, sprung from the mind
of writer/director Harold Ramis’s teenage reminisces,
is something about a caddy scholarship, a promiscuous niece, and a frisky
groundhog, but that’s not the point. The
heart and soul of Caddyshack is Ted Knight,
Rodney Dangerfield,
Fighting for comic
attention is main curmudgeon, Judge Smails. Ted Knight plays the stodgy, egomaniac judge
and country club founder as a man whose greatest pride comes from his ability
to overlook anything but his own bludgeoning and blundering egomania. Whether losing bets on the golf course, being
upstaged in the banquet hall, or having his sailboat crushed by a high speed
yacht, Smails’ temper is second only to his
grandstanding idiocy.
Smails’ nemesis is Al Czervick
(Rodney Dangerfield), a blowhard bulldozer of a goof who wants to develop
condos on Knight’s country club, has a golf bag with a keg in it, and takes
pleasure in being the obnoxious, rich guy you know you shouldn’t enjoy but do
in spite of yourself. Dangerfield plays Czervick as if he is on stage doing his stand-up routine,
and it works to perfection. His endless stream of one-liners are gut busting.
Next there’s Ty, played by
Finally, there’s Carl, the
dim-witted groundskeeper whose self-absorbed, self-contained silliness comes to
a boil when he does battle with a groundhog who just won’t die. Bill Murray plays Carl to perfection. With a lisp, a furrowed brow, and that
irresistible dopey charm that only he can pull off, it’s no wonder
Together, these four
distinct cooks battle for cinematic attention and laughs while Michael O’Keefe
as a teenage caddy competing for a scholarship, Lacey, Cindy Morgan as Ted
Knight’s promiscuous niece, and Tony, Scott Colomby
as the typical ‘80s Italian stereotype, allow the big shots to chew every piece
of scenery on set. It’s all very
bizarre, blender-style craziness, yet surprisingly much more enjoyable than the
flimsy plot and absurdly different comic touches have any right to be,
especially when thrown together. Quite
simply, this is breathtaking modern vaudeville for the late ‘70s/early ‘80s
comedy crowd. No wonder everyone loves it!
The biggest laughs in Caddyshack, however, come not from one comic or
another, but from the out-there moments that go beyond any of the respective
comics’ formidable skills. Indeed, it is
director Harold Ramis that takes things one step
further with his uncompromising, out there self-indulgences. In particular, one prolonged tangent, which
takes place in and around a swimming pool and for no particular reason
whatsoever, had me laughing out loud for several minutes straight. Between the ineffectual lifeguard, the
floating Baby Ruth, the Jaws music, the water gymnastics, and the silly
late ‘70s/early ‘80s looks, outfits, and mannerisms this unnecessary though
thoroughly enjoyable scene was pure comedy gold. That scene alone is brilliant and enough to
ensure Caddyshack the longstanding cult status
that it has happily enjoyed the past 28 years.
Now if you haven’t seen Caddyshack
yet, then please do. It is as good and
funny as you’ve heard.
Copyright 2008, Scott Muoio and Undependent Media. You may link to this review but may not reproduce it in full for your own means.