REWIND REVIEW: Caddyshack

MOVIE
Caddyshack

CAST
Chevy Chase,
Rodney Dangerfield

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 25, 1980

DIRECTOR
Harold Ramis

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 38 minutes






STARS
***










REVIEW:

Well this may come as a shock to some, but I have never seen the 1980 golf comedy 'Caddyshack' before. Not that it was my parents fault or anything. Actually it kind of was their fault, as it was the MPAA's fault for rating this movie "R." It wasn't until two weeks ago that my parents actually bought the DVD of it, along with two other "R" films, to let me check out for my own teenage viewing experience. Getting back to the film, 'Caddyshack' has been considered by many to be the greatest sports comedy of all time. The question that is presented here is, does this 14 going on 15 year old care for this comedy classic. I want to start that off by saying that in my opinion 'Caddyshack' is NOT the greatest sports comedy of all time. I even don't think it's the greatest golf comedy of all time. ('Happy Gilmore' holds that special title in my heart) Before people get all snippy with me about this, I want to point out that I think 'Caddyshack' is a very funny movie. With all of the racist jokes, screwball factors, and (giggitty) ladies in this film, 'Caddyshack' is a film for any man's fantasies. I would probably tolerate watching it again, but it surely wasn't a perfect comedy.

The thing I was really disappointed about came from the actors. Sure their comedic timing was spot on in many of the scenes, but I want to let you know now that every big star on the DVD cover of this movie is just a supporting player. Chevy Chase in my opinion is one of the funniest comedians to ever walk the Earth, so it made me sad to see him in this movie for just over half of it. Even Rodney Dangerfield was in it for about 30-40 minutes. Luckily Bill Murray, another favorite comedian of mine, was able to deliver the movie's best scenes when he's stopping at nothing to catch the dancing gopher in the ground. The real story of the film revolves around this teenager who's trying to get into college but doesn't have the money for it. This story of course all goes cliché with some evil old dude trying to sabotage Dangerfield's plan to change up the Country Club and keep it in control. The kid is Michael O'Keefe and the old asshole is Ted Knight. I felt that this story was both unnecessary and stupid in what could have been about a bunch of old guys in a country club. Is it too much to ask for three of the 80's funniest men to have more prominent roles in a comedy? There was one advantage to the Knight/O'Keefe story, and that is Cindy Morgan. Giggitty Giggitty Goo!

For all of the concerned parents out there who aren't sure about letting their teenager see 'Caddyshack' because of its "R" rating, just let them watch the movie. There's nothing wrong in it, other than one small "f**k" and some sets of boobs that are shown in the middle of the flick. Really there is no reason in today's standards that this should be an "R," unless the MPAA is still strong on boobs in a PG-13 flick. If I were to rate it, I would give it a good PG-13 for language, sexual content, and nudity. Classics like 'Airplane!' and 'Titanic' are able to pull off a PG and PG-13 when showing boobs, so why couldn't this? Parents, please don't worry about your kids knowing too much about sex before college, because I, a freshman in High School, am learning about abstinence, the types of sexual pleasures, etc. This is a perfectly fine movie for kids 13 and up, though I don't know how scarred they'd be if they were watching it with a parent or grandparent.

Is 'Caddyshack' a funny movie? Absolutely. Are Bill Murray and the Dancing Gopher the best characters in the movie? Hell yes! Should 'Caddyshack' be considered one of the funniest movies of all time? I don't think so. It has funny moments without a doubt, but the lack of screen time for the comedy legends is very dismal, and the main story bored me quite a bit. For the "classic" that it is, I'd say check out 'Caddyshack' if you can. You will laugh, and your teenage son or daughter will also laugh a couple of times. I wish that this movie could have been raunchier and had more jokes, rather than this version which I swear to you feels "TV edited" compared to the stuff that's thrown at us these days, like 'The Hangover' and 'Bridesmaids.' Overall, 'Caddyshack' is a good comedy that didn't fully satisfy my comedic appetite. I hope I can watch this movie in 10-15 years and find more out of it. For now, I'll just leave it at saying 'Caddyshack' is good, but not a classic by any means.