It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World meets Animal House

Rating: 4/10 (30 August 2017)

Steven Spielberg's "1941" ranks as one of that legendary director's artistic nadirs. His first and only pure foray into comedy was derided by critics as a bloated, unfunny mess, and due to its massive budget it failed to meet its studio's financial expectations in stark contrast to Spielberg's previous efforts.
Set on the California coast prior to Christmas 1941, the plot is inspired by the real paranoia and fear of an imminent Japanese attack that gripped the U.S. West Coast in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Even in 1979, this was questionable material for a slapstick comedy and some of the WW2 generation objected including some older Hollywood stars who passed on roles in the film. To make it even more questionable, the film also has a full-fledged violent riot based upon the infamous 1943 Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots which were racially motivated between white servicemen and Mexican-American youths wearing "unpatriotic" Zoot Suits. War induced paranoia and race riots are not exactly the stuff of knee-slapping comedy. Yet, Spielberg, who allegedly couldn't stop laughing while he read the screenplay, soldiered-on.
One can definitely see what Spielberg was aiming to accomplish. He wanted to make a late 70's version of 1963's "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," a very frantically paced, broad, and slapstick comedy with an all-star cast, combined with the cheeky sexual/fratboy humor of 1978's "Animal House." He even got John Belushi and Tim Matheson to reprise their "Animal House" roles except "Bluto" and "Otter" are respectively re-named: "Captain 'Wild Bill' Kelso" and "Captain Loomis Birkhead" in "1941."
Sadly, the "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World"/"Animal House" combo didn't work. "1941" is essentially a who's who of late 1970's comedic talents frantically running around and shouting their lame dialogue while stuff explodes and falls apart about them as they deal with both imagined and real Japanese air and naval attacks. It just tries way too hard to garner its few tepid chuckles. The spectacle can be amusing at times, but it's mostly just exhausting, annoying, and tiresome. Even Spielberg has referred to "1941" as his "unfunny comedy."
The film does have some decent stuff:
1) John Williams' rousing score.
2) Slim Pickens' small role as "Hollis Wood."
3) The choreography of the USO dance and ensuing riot.
4) Nancy Allen and Dianne Kay (the hot blonde sister from "Eight is Enough") in 1940's outfits are very nice eye-candy.
However, overall, it's a just a very loud, overlong, not particularly funny, and indulgent mess that fortunately Spielberg was able to dust himself off from and move-on.