(8/10)
Am I the only person who likes this movie? Well, yes, I am. That’s not exactly true – I have actually run
into one or two other closet “Caddyshack 2” fans in my time. So, basically it’s just the three of us. I’ve
heard even Jackie Mason hates this one and it’s his movie!
OK, the story begins even before the movie begins. It seems almost ten years after the surprising
success of the original ‘shack, Warner wanted to bring the ‘shack back (and hopefully the success). Let’
s face it, they were grasping at straws, but after the year before saw them releasing bombs like
“Masters of the Universe,” “Who’s That Girl,” “Superman 4: The Quest for Peace,” and “Disorderlies”
(starring the Fat Boys) they needed all the help they could get!
It all probably looked good on paper – Rodney Dangerfield would reprise his role and would be bringing
along his buddy Sam Kinnison who was a hot young comic at the time. They were fresh off of the smash
hit “Back to School,” and they’d team with Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and an all-star cast of really funny
people. What went wrong?
Well, Rodney and Sam bailed after seeing the script which was more of a remake than a follow-up to the
original. Apparently they bailed in the eleventh hour because most of Mason’s material seems clearly
written for Rodney, and even more bizarrely, character actor (and ‘Uncle Eddie’ from the “Vacation”
movies) Randy Quaid imitates Kinnison, doing his same screaming and cursing schtick as Mason’s
lawyer. I guess they left so quickly there weren’t even time for re-writes!
Additionally, Aykroyd is clearly filling in for Bill Murray, playing a spaced-out mercenary who rambles on
about nothing, has a run-in with the gopher and blows stuff up (yep, sure sounds like the second
coming of Murray’s greenskeeper). Ted Knight had passed on and his role (with a different name) is
played by Robert Stack (hey,we all laughed at “Airplane!” so why the hell not?). Chevy clearly had
nothing better to do.
Behind the scenes the reunion was pretty poorly attended as well. Though Harold Ramis is one of the
writers credited, one gets the feeling his participation was pretty minimal and Allan Arkush takes the
reins as director. They did manage to get Kenny Logins to compose another theme song, though.
Now, understand when I say I like this movie, I don’t say I like it in the same way I like a good movie like,
say, the original “Caddyshack.” But in a really stupid mood (or perhaps drunk) how can you not laugh at
Jackie Mason’s farting horse? And what makes it funnier is that this was actually funded by a major
Hollywood studio and stars name actors. What were they thinking (other than, “you’ll pay how
much???”)?
If you’re a huge fan of the original (the sort of guy who quotes the movie daily and calls people
‘Spalding’) you’re no doubt going to be displeased and even offended. But if you are in a silly mood and
can appreciate a huge cast of Hollywood stars making asses of themselves by doing schtick that would
have a 3rd grader’s eyes rolling, look no further!
Besides the aforementioned leftovers/replacements on hand, the film also has Dyan Cannon as Mason’s
love interest (clearly a science-fiction subplot), the late great Paul Bartel (oh, the things this poor man
had to do to get funding for his brilliant pet projects like “Eating Raoul”), Dina Merrill, Jonathan
Silverman, Chyna Phillips, Jessica Lundy, and Marsha Warfield. None of those people have been known
to list this on their resume (ok, maybe Chyna Phillips).
The Kenny Loggins tune is actually kind of groovy too – though it’s no “I’m Alright” (and he does make a
lyrical reference to ‘being the ball’ – Kenny must be one of those guys I mentioned who’ll be offended).
If you do get the cheapo bare bones DVD Warner released, the best extra is that you can watch the
movie in French. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re really in a stupid mood, try watching the
Randy Quaid/Kinnison rants in French (never fails to pull a laugh out of me).
Am I the only person who likes this movie? Well, yes, I am. That’s not exactly true – I have actually run
into one or two other closet “Caddyshack 2” fans in my time. So, basically it’s just the three of us. I’ve
heard even Jackie Mason hates this one and it’s his movie!
OK, the story begins even before the movie begins. It seems almost ten years after the surprising
success of the original ‘shack, Warner wanted to bring the ‘shack back (and hopefully the success). Let’
s face it, they were grasping at straws, but after the year before saw them releasing bombs like
“Masters of the Universe,” “Who’s That Girl,” “Superman 4: The Quest for Peace,” and “Disorderlies”
(starring the Fat Boys) they needed all the help they could get!
It all probably looked good on paper – Rodney Dangerfield would reprise his role and would be bringing
along his buddy Sam Kinnison who was a hot young comic at the time. They were fresh off of the smash
hit “Back to School,” and they’d team with Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and an all-star cast of really funny
people. What went wrong?
Well, Rodney and Sam bailed after seeing the script which was more of a remake than a follow-up to the
original. Apparently they bailed in the eleventh hour because most of Mason’s material seems clearly
written for Rodney, and even more bizarrely, character actor (and ‘Uncle Eddie’ from the “Vacation”
movies) Randy Quaid imitates Kinnison, doing his same screaming and cursing schtick as Mason’s
lawyer. I guess they left so quickly there weren’t even time for re-writes!
Additionally, Aykroyd is clearly filling in for Bill Murray, playing a spaced-out mercenary who rambles on
about nothing, has a run-in with the gopher and blows stuff up (yep, sure sounds like the second
coming of Murray’s greenskeeper). Ted Knight had passed on and his role (with a different name) is
played by Robert Stack (hey,we all laughed at “Airplane!” so why the hell not?). Chevy clearly had
nothing better to do.
Behind the scenes the reunion was pretty poorly attended as well. Though Harold Ramis is one of the
writers credited, one gets the feeling his participation was pretty minimal and Allan Arkush takes the
reins as director. They did manage to get Kenny Logins to compose another theme song, though.
Now, understand when I say I like this movie, I don’t say I like it in the same way I like a good movie like,
say, the original “Caddyshack.” But in a really stupid mood (or perhaps drunk) how can you not laugh at
Jackie Mason’s farting horse? And what makes it funnier is that this was actually funded by a major
Hollywood studio and stars name actors. What were they thinking (other than, “you’ll pay how
much???”)?
If you’re a huge fan of the original (the sort of guy who quotes the movie daily and calls people
‘Spalding’) you’re no doubt going to be displeased and even offended. But if you are in a silly mood and
can appreciate a huge cast of Hollywood stars making asses of themselves by doing schtick that would
have a 3rd grader’s eyes rolling, look no further!
Besides the aforementioned leftovers/replacements on hand, the film also has Dyan Cannon as Mason’s
love interest (clearly a science-fiction subplot), the late great Paul Bartel (oh, the things this poor man
had to do to get funding for his brilliant pet projects like “Eating Raoul”), Dina Merrill, Jonathan
Silverman, Chyna Phillips, Jessica Lundy, and Marsha Warfield. None of those people have been known
to list this on their resume (ok, maybe Chyna Phillips).
The Kenny Loggins tune is actually kind of groovy too – though it’s no “I’m Alright” (and he does make a
lyrical reference to ‘being the ball’ – Kenny must be one of those guys I mentioned who’ll be offended).
If you do get the cheapo bare bones DVD Warner released, the best extra is that you can watch the
movie in French. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re really in a stupid mood, try watching the
Randy Quaid/Kinnison rants in French (never fails to pull a laugh out of me).
 |
Rating;
| by Jim Haggerty |
