Directed by Harold Ramis
Released July 25, 1980
Written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Harold Ramis, & Douglas Kenney
Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB
"An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher."
So, after watching this movie for a second time, it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being. Yes, it still has some cheesy humor in it, but it does have a decent storyline and jokes that are not ,horrible. While I probably won't watch this movie in my spare time, it is not the worst that I have seen.
The first thing that struck me in this movie is the whole idea of college. Back in the 80s, it wasn't a given, like it is today, that everyone goes to college. While a vast majority of people did, it wasn't as big of a requirement as it is now-a-days to have a college degree in order to have a successful job. On top of that, Danny says that college is $8,000 a year! A year! As a recent college graduate, all I have to say is that I wish I was in college during the 80s. I know due to inflation $8,000 was considered a lot of money back then, but now college costs people an arm and a leg. I know a lot of people who had to drop out/struggled throughout college to pay tuition. Which is ironic because you pay so much more now for a college degree and yet there are not many jobs for college grads or people don't want to hire you because you are a grad without work experience. Back in the 80s, having a college degree alone made you a great candidate for a job, no matter the work. College degrees equaled well-paying job back then. Now they expect a college degree plus five years of work experience in your field just to get an entry level position.
Anyways, back to the movie. I would think the easiest character to talk about is Al, the loud mouth golfer. The way I see him, is he is the grown up version of Denise the Menace. He is loud, breaking things, has no sense of authority, and honestly he dresses like a five year old. It is what Denise would have looked like as a grown-up. And instead of harassing Mr. Wilson all the time he has found the Judge to bother, annoy, and make miserable. It was actually pretty smart of the costume department of how they portrayed Al. They made his outfits loud, distracting, and colorful just like his personality. He sticks out amongst all the other golf club members which makes his actions and dialogue more noticeable.
While on the topic of Al, I really don't understand his need for a caddy. His golf bag pretty much does the work of a caddy, minus carrying it, but he could have used a golf cart. He presses a button and his golf club shoots out of the bag. It has a radio in it and a water fountain. I guess he just likes the attention of a caddy to show off his fancy bag.
Another character that is easy to talk about in this movie is Carl (aka Bill Murray). Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a Bill Murray fan. I will skip the reasons why because I already know that people think I am crazy for not liking him. Anyways, in this movie, no surprise, he is a big goof and honestly a little creepy. If you notice, in most of his scenes he either says or has a physical "dick joke." Starting off when he is cleaning the golf balls and he is talking about the women golfing, then when he brings the hose over and he is holding it in between his legs, etc. This whole movie for him was just that running joke over and over again.
Long story short, in this movie Bill Murray is just the bumbling idiot. He is creepy and he has low intelligence, which makes him easy to throw all the jokes and punch lines at.
Now since this is a golfing movie there are a few things I want to talk about in terms of golf. Now I am not a big fan of golf, never have been, so that puts my knowledge of the game at a minimum. I mean, I get a score of about 75 when I play mini golf. One thing that I have noticed, though, is the age for golf. I would say a vast majority of people in the past, which is shown a lot during this movie, are older people that play golf. Adults who are either retired or close to retired age. Now there is the exception of Danny and Ty, but everyone else at that gold course is older. I have found that now-a-days, a lot more young people are getting into the sport. I don't know why or how. Maybe it is the increased televised popularity of it and people like Tiger Woods? Or maybe this generation is trying something new? Either way, I find it interesting to see a younger crowd starting to change the stereotype of what golf used to be. The one big thing I don't understand able golf though is the attire. Golf is a sport, yes? So then why do golfer have to dress up so fancy in pants and a nice shirt to get all sweaty and walk around outside for hours? It just doesn't make sense. I would think they would want to be cool and comfortable in clothes that are less restricting. Now I am sure golf clothes are made so that they are comfortable to golf in, it just looks uncomfortable from an outsider's point-of-view. And it seems strange when you look at other sports and they are no where near dressed up when they are playing. Just imagine, a baseball player in a tie and dress shoes running the bases.
The last thing I want to talk about, going back to the 80s, how swimsuits have changed over the years. Just look at what the guys were wearing back in the 80s.
Anyways, that's all I have for today. Let me know what 80s movies you think I should watch and talk about. Let me know in the comments section.
Ty Webb: "You take drugs, Danny?"
Danny Noonan: "Everyday."
Ty Webb: "Good."
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