Review of 1941 (1979) by Mack E — 30 Aug 2007

Spielberg's 1979 film seems as though it would fit squarely in the midst of such 1960 films as "The Great Race," "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World." Like those films, "1941" sports an all-star cast, spectacular set pieces and effects, and a relatively simple plot.

This was condemned as Spielberg's first flop, but for me I don't think its a flop at all. Yes it is very overloaded with visual effects and over the top performances but that's what makes this film is so funny.

Spielberg described the film as IAMMMMW meets Daffy Duck, the only difference between IAMMMMW and this is that the former had a coherent script to the madness, Spielberg on the other hand kept throwing stuff unsure of this film. In my opinion there is no plot to this film but is seven seperate subplots and it is all set on the coastal shores of Los Angeles of December 1941, days after Pearl Harbor. Unbestknowst the Americans a Japanese submarine has landed on the coast and plans to demolish the city. Chaos and paranoia ensues which causes a tremendous amount of damages.

This is an all out assault slapstick comedy that resembles a Mack Sennett Keystone Kops comedy, this is probably the last comedy to be just have pure slapstick and not alot of setup. Some scenes will be etched in your minds forever one of them includes the Japanese demolishing a ferris wheel and it rolls down the pier, another is a tank that Ned Beatty borrows from the army that destroys his house by the force of the blasts. And Some scenes is plain stupid and I felt did not correlate well with the film like the whole Tim Matherson/Nancy Allen subplot in an airplane.

If you are looking for a thought provoking comedy by all mean, "DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE! But if you are looking for mindless comedy, I highly recommend you watch this movie!