This Chevy Chase vehicle from the early ’80s is a total mess. The plot moves all over the place and a lack of a consistent tone leaves the film completely repulsive.
Max Fielder (Chase, FUNNY FARM) is an air traffic controller who is so paranoid about his girlfriend Darcy (Patti D’Arbanville, THE FAN) cheating on him that he bugs her. Early in the film she breaks up with him. Depressed Max tries to find comfort from his ex-wife Lorraine (Mary Kay Place, SILVER CITY), who ends up falling for Max’s high school friend Brian Stills (Brian Doyle-Murray, GROUNDHOG DAY), who has become a publisher for egotistical relationship guru Mark (Dabney Coleman, 9 TO 5). Brian’s personal assistant is Dorita (Nell Carter, TV’s GIMME A BREAK), who is into voodoo.
At first the film seems to be a relatively straight-forward romantic comedy with some gags regarding modern technology. Then the film takes a 180-degree turn toward stupid land with Max’s car literally dosed in nuclear waste on the highway. He develops superpowers and ends up wooing Darcy back, which turns the film from their relationship as the core conflict to the fact that he has superpowers.
The mess of a plot continues with the superpowers making no sense and is only used to cram in lame gags. Plausibility is completely abandoned and the film lumbers forward with no direction or focus. The filmmakers don’t even stay true to the nuclear waste twist turning into more of a demonic possession spoof. Darcy’s motivation is only to serve the plot. Max is a weak character who just lumbers through the plot until a conclusion is thrust upon him. The film has some funny gags, but they aren’t combined in any meaningful way. The story really seems like a bunch of random sketches strung together on a weak plotline. It’s a total disaster.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
