This file was generated 2002-06-09 04:23 GMT. This movie's information hasn't changed since 2001-09-03.
Caddyshack is a waste of a movie. The combination of several great actors somehow really fizzles in this movie. Only one character is the least bit capable of extracting any degree of interest, and that character doesn't get much screen time.
The story takes place at an exclusive country club with two very different co-owners. Ted Knight plays the uptight one, and Chevy Chase plays the eccentric one. The sanctity of the club is challenged by a characteristically tasteless Rodney Dangerfield, armed with golf contraption after golf contraption, and more insulting one-liners than you can shake a stick at. The closest thing to a protagonist is Michael O'Keefe as a caddy who is trying to get the money to go to college. It's a noble cause, but he doesn't make the audience care if he gets it or not. Sarah Holcomb plays the girlfriend with the inexplicable and inconsistent accent.
Laughs are few and far between, which is particularly noticeable since the jokes are densely packed. When Chase and Dangerfield get moving, they throw out one-liners like there's no tomorrow. Knight spends most of the movie fuming, but it's too easy to remember how much better Kevin McCarthy does the same in UHF, which is not a movie known for good acting! The sources of the laughs were rather limited: Bill Murray as the deranged grounds keeper, the inconveniences of object placement to an air of decorum, and the gopher that Murray is on a mission to kill. Oh, and the synchronized swimming scene was funny primarily because it was so out of place.
This movie may have been enjoyable in the eighties, but it's ready to go away now. Original music by Kenny Loggins seals it.
I haven't bothered to see it again, but I feel I should comment that my review is almost certainly a bit unfair because I saw the edited-for-television version. A lot of the good stuff may have been cut, but judging by the quality of what I saw, there couldn't have been enough to redeem it!
The hate mail I receive regarding my opinion of this movie outnumbers all other email I've received about this site. I've apparently touched quite a sensitive nerve here. I'm not yet ready to admit that I'm wrong, though. If you want to convince me that this is a great movie, there is only one way: send me a copy of the version you love so dearly, because the one I saw must be vastly different. Email me and I will happily tell you where to mail it.