Below par - 52%

Rating: 5/10 (17 November 2011)

Here's another one of those movies I'd seen years ago and fell in love with. But now, in the cold and harsh light of adulthood, I somehow find myself wondering what the fuss was about. It has its highlights but never feels like an actual movie, more like a series of golf-themed comic vignettes from the stars of the early Eighties. Speaking of which, I can think of few movies as dated as this one - it is as resolutely Eighties as Mr T, Joan Collins' shoulder pads and Kenny Loggins who (surprise, surprise) pops up on the soundtrack.
Welcome to Bushwood Country Club, an exclusive resort with a golf course and spa facilities. Owner Judge Smails (Ted Knight) likes to maintain the club's high standards and is deeply put out when obnoxious new member Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) comes along for a round or two. But Smails has other concerns beside Czervik - a troublesome gopher continues to evade the best efforts of deranged grounds-keeper Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) while semi-pro Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) tries to teach young caddie Danny (Michael O'Keefe) a few lessons about life and love, possibly involving Smails' flightly niece Lacey Underall (Cindy Morgan).
"Caddyshack" is a frustrating film in many respects. The undoubted highlight is Murray's battle against the gopher which seems to be the only constant throughout the film. For example, I got the feeling from the opening that Danny the caddie would be the film's focus but as the film goes on, I got the feeling that the script lost interest in Danny and focused more on Webb and Czervik. And sadly, the film's fatal flaw lies in its pro- and antagonist - Knight is too stuck up but is nothing like as annoying as Dangerfield who you're supposed to root for, which is something I simply couldn't do. He delivers his lines way too fast and overacts as though its the only thing he knows what to do which I can believe. The true stars are Murray and Chase and personally, they aren't in it enough for me to enjoy the film any more.
I have other issues with it as well - the comedy only really works in fits and starts and the main characters in the plot don't engage you in the same way that Murray and Chase's do. There isn't a real plot line in the movie which also doesn't help things and the humour is mostly childish and toilet-based. It also seems mildly sexist in its treatment of female characters and Dangerfield is a colossal waste of space - lots of people find him funny but I find him about as funny as a famine charity appeal. Maybe I enjoyed as a child because I was a child...