For some reason when I began watching this, I thought I was going to despise it and probably not even make it halfway through. After a few moments of really silly comedy (which included a young woman exposed in public in her lingerie), I became interested in the fact that the three male leads, Dirk Benedict, Robert Hegyes and Kario Salem, all had romantic demeanors and weren't just looking to score. Salem plays an Arab sheik who must pose as a commoner to find out if the woman he is interested in loves him for himself so he has the black Randy Brooks take on his identity which leads to a lot of mistaken identities, car chases, and a bunch of wacky situations which involves veterans Jerry Orbach and Frank Gorshin. The three ladies getting the attention includes a young Melanie Griffith, soon to be added to "Dallas" beauty Audrey Landers and Mimi Maynard.
As enjoyable as it is, the script jumps all over the place, never clear where it is going, and having far too many characters and too many distractions involving attempts at juvenile style comedy. While the performances are good, the writing of the characters isn't very well done so the film fails as far as the script and basic stories are concerned yet succeeds simply because the cast is so likable. Perhaps because many of the cast members are familiar from TV shows of the time or would find success later, the casting works in the film's favor. Had the cast not been so familiar, it probably wouldn't have had the same impact on me, because some of the comedy bits just simply go on far too long and have no real connection to the story other than to get cheap giggles. Still, worth a look as a minor distraction, probably feeling sorry for it as well with all the promising elements so the weaker ones are easily forgiven.
As enjoyable as it is, the script jumps all over the place, never clear where it is going, and having far too many characters and too many distractions involving attempts at juvenile style comedy. While the performances are good, the writing of the characters isn't very well done so the film fails as far as the script and basic stories are concerned yet succeeds simply because the cast is so likable. Perhaps because many of the cast members are familiar from TV shows of the time or would find success later, the casting works in the film's favor. Had the cast not been so familiar, it probably wouldn't have had the same impact on me, because some of the comedy bits just simply go on far too long and have no real connection to the story other than to get cheap giggles. Still, worth a look as a minor distraction, probably feeling sorry for it as well with all the promising elements so the weaker ones are easily forgiven.
