Classic Country Club Comedy

Rating: 8/10 (2 October 2019)

This classic from 1980 is set an exclusive country club where teenager Danny Noonan is working as a caddy to earn money to pay to go to college. Other key characters are the snobbish Judge Elihu Smails, coarse property developer Al Czervik, zen-like golf pro Ty Webb and Carl Spackler the groundskeeper who is waging war against a gopher! During the course of the film we are treated to comedy antics on the golf course, in the club house and at the local marina before a finale that features an explosive grudge match that goes to the eighteenth hole.
While some have this films gags haven't aged too well it doesn't matter too much as they come thick and fast. The jokes are a more than a little crude at times but it is hard not to laugh. The cast includes several comedy stars of the time. Bill Murray is probably the most memorable as the unhinged Spackler, his increasingly extreme attempts to kill a gopher are hilarious; Rodney Dangerfield turns it up to eleven as the truly obnoxious Czervik; Ted Knight is impressive as the bigoted judge and Chevy Chase is solid if less memorable as Ty Webb. The rest of the cast is solid enough. Given when it was made it is no surprise that there is a bit of gratuitous nudity and the special effects certainly show their age. The gopher is so obviously fake it either adds to the comedy or is silly depending on one's opinion... I'm inclined to the latter. Overall I'd say this won't be for everybody but if you enjoy late '70s/early '80s comedy you need to watch it at least once.