Review of Caddyshack (1980) by Matthew O — 04 Apr 2015

One of the great mysteries of the movie universe: Why is it so many comedies think they have to have a less or straight up non-funny protagonist instead of using one of the many funny people in it? I mean, what the heck was MGM's logic when they felt the Marx Brothers movies had too much Marx Brothers in them? Caddyshack is an example of one of those movies.

Ask anyone what they remember from it and they'll say Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, or Rodney Dangerfield. I'm pretty sure not many people will say Danny, that guy who did.... stuff and got into relationship trouble with his girlfriend.

With that aside, even with that issue this is still a very funny, enjoyable little comedy. The story here, which mainly involves a golfing tournament for caddies and a man who brings trouble to a fancy country club, isn't that important, this is a comedy which is comprised of situations involving different characters, and the characters are the best thing about it.

All three previously mentioned comedians bring some of their best material to the table here, and turn what could have been one of the many Animal House clones into a film that remains beloved to this day.

Who can forget Chevy's golfing philosophies or Rodney's ingenious, fast paced insults? Also special mention has to go to Bill Murray's character Carl, whose never ending battle with a troublesome gopher and constant rambling are some of the greatest gags to hit the silver screen.

Not every character has golden material though, and that brings us back to Danny. To be honest, I might have been a little too harsh on him earlier, he is likable enough to make us want to root for him and he's able to produce a surprisingly good amount of funny spots, but the issue is he's just not main character material, especially in a movie with so many memorable people.

Sometimes it feels like Danny is holding the film back, making it so it never reaches its comedic potential, and that's definitely not helped by the random pregnancy subplot, which comes out of nowhere and leaves just as fast.

Despite that though, for a simple teenage hero Danny gets the job done, and who can't love his girlfriend's adorably heavy Irish accent? Also on the positive side, even the more low hitting jokes are fun, especially the time spent at the titular caddyshack and the infamous Baby Ruth scene, which features another hilarious Carl moment.

In the end, Caddyshack is a light and funny film that, while sometimes feeling restrained, is a good time for when you need to see Bill Murray whack some flowers in his own way, and if you love to laugh that happens pretty often.