Caddyshack

The film has some great moments and is possibly one of the most ad-libbed pictures of all time. Chevy Chase, in one of his first film roles, gives us a taste of his great comic turn in 'Fletch'(1985) with the off-beat portrayal of club pro Tye Webb. Chase is really untouchable when it comes to playing funny-straight characters. Bill Murray is hilarious as grounds keeper Carl Spackler. Murray has improvised just about all of his dialogue and it really is superb. His 'Cinderella Story' scene, followed by caddying for the Bishop in the thunder storm is one of the funniest things i've seen on screen.

Rodney Dangerfield is somewhat hit and miss. All of his dialogue is quick fire one-liners so the chances are that when he does crack a funny joke you'll be so busy laughing that you'll miss the next one. The funniest one in my book is his retort to caddy Tony D'Annunzio: 'Hey kid, when are you due back in boy's town?' For me Ted Knight steals the picture as Judge Smails. He is such an energetic over the top character. His constant put downs of grandson Spallding , 'You'll get nothing and like it!', and random acts of frustrated violence supplied constant entertainment.

The question is...why didn't the film just focus completely on these guys? Instead it kept on harping back to Danny Noonan. Michael O'Keefe is a fine actor but he was always going to struggle in a comedy which featured the above cast members and characters. Another handicap is that in a comedy he gets few comedic lines. His character's relationship with his girlfriend Maggie, played inexplicably with a terrible Irish accent, and with his own family are highly under developed. Cindy Morgan is also given an extremely under written character who's motives are never explained and who randomly comes in and out of the film. Harold Ramis's direction is at times sloppy and echoes his then inexperience. He did go on to do 'Groundhog Day'(1993) though so he obviously learned his lessons.

To sum up this is a good film to get you in the mood for the summer. Lots of beautiful weather covering some splendid golf course scenery. There are plenty of likable characters and some very funny set pieces. Its also interesting to see the launch pad for some of the 80s biggest comedic stars. But be warned if you don't like Chase, Murray or Dangerfield then don't waste your time on this. Along with Knight, the film really is their show. For further evidence to support the final sentence just look at the poster.

I saw Caddyshack on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies, and it was really up there in the top three. But when I asked my mom if she saw it, she said it was highly over rated, then I asked my movie buddy if she saw it, she also said that she found it over rated. But I decided to go ahead and check it out myself, just see if I would like it or not. I rented it and watched the movie last night, while I do agree that it is slightly over rated, I still thought that this was a funny comedy. For me, Rodney definitely brought life to the movie, without him, I think the movie would have just been average. I know some people find him annoying, but he was just so funny in this film, I loved his out fits and crazy love for life was just so great. Also Bill Murray, I don't see too many movies where he is more funny than obnoxious, but he and the gopher was just classic. Golfing is becoming the funniest sport ever.

Danny and his co-workers are caddy's, they have a blast when they're on break. But Danny wants a life outside his family and city, so he is going for a scholarship where if he's a great caddy, he could win it. So he starts getting in with the big time golfers. He's slowly getting into their good graces. But he also meets the more lively golfers, who are less snobby and actually enjoy life. But they decide that the older and more stuffy golfers need to get their butts kicked and should leave the course, they're ready to party down with the sport.

Caddyshack is really funny at times, like I said, I think the story that got me most was the battle between Bill Murray and the gopher, it was so stupid that it just went from dumb to funny. The gopher did look very fake and corny, but it's all good. I would recommend Caddyshack if you are looking for a few laughs, I did enjoy it. When it comes to top comedies, I'm still debating if this should've made the top three on Bravo's top funniest movies, but it's all good, it's other people's opinions. Just check it out for yourself and try not to think of those who over blow how funny it is.

7/10

Caddyshack has some uniquely funny moments. Carl's (Bill Murray) war with the gopher is hilarious. The gopher is cheaply made, not even close to taking advantage of the special effects available at the time, but, even that seems to add to his charm.

Rodney Dangerfield has one of his best performances in this film. I don't particularly enjoy his brand of humor, but, he fit in perfectly with the rest of the cast.

It is a campy, goofy, sometimes vulgar movie, but that is what was intended. I have fond memories of this movie from when I was younger, and it seems to get better with each viewing.

The sequel was made 8 years later. Unfortunately, it didn't even begin to live up to the standards of the first. Here are my suggestions for other films you may enjoy from this genre and time frame: Stripes, One Crazy Summer, and Animal House.

I highly recommend this movie, as well as the others listed.

Parental caution: Nudity, vulgar humor, and sexual references.

Ah, yes, Caddyshack. The king of low brow comedies. I remember working at my dad's San Leandro restaurant as a young jerk and loving the sound of the Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright" theme song as they played Caddyshack on the big screen TV's in between sports games. That friggin' song made me wanna jump down and rock out, baby!

Caddyshack isn't so much a movie as it is an excuse for a bunch of one liners, gross outs, and stand-up comedy schtick. Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield were at their funniest in this movie.

In fact, this movie was made back when Chevy Chase WAS still funny. Remember those days? Man, was that a while ago. I read an article recently where a reporter asked Chevy, "What happened to your career?" And Chevy looked totally pained and wounded at that cruel question. Chevy's a great comic actor, he just needs to track down another decent script like the one in Caddyshack and get his comic chops back on track. But I dig everything about this film, the background music, the great comedy gags, the gopher, even the look of the ritzy, snob ridden country club setting! Freeze gopher!

CADDYSHACK is one of the Top 5 funniest movies of all time. The show-stealer is obviously Rodney Dangerfield, who also happens to be the coolest old dude ever. His outrageous lines such as "Did somebody step on a duck?" are all knee-slappers. Another standout is Carl Spackler, played perfectly by Bill Murray. Carl is a goofy groundskeeper that is obsessed with killing a mischevious gopher. Some of the funniest parts in this movie are Murray's ad-libs. Unfortunately, the plotline of the caddies is overlooked by the outstanding performances by comedic stars such as Dangerfield, Murray, Chevy Chase, and Ted Knight. While CADDYSHACK is an absolute classic, CADDYSHACK 2 is a bomb and fails to live up to the hilarity of this one.