There are really very few saving graces in Caddyshack, but like a lot of other people I harbor a guilty pleasure in watching this 1980 comedy, at least in bits and pieces
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When you think about all the films that Warner Bros. have in their catalogue that they could have chosen to showcase the virtues of high-definition disc technology, did they include among their first entries such spectacular visual treats as "Amadeus," "2001," "Ben-Hur," "Barry Lyndon," or "My Fair Lady"? No, they chose "Caddyshack." Ahem, yes, well, uh...OK. How about the fact that no matter how bad practically everybody thinks the film is, practically everybody likes it?
There are really very few saving graces in "Caddyshack," but like a lot of other people I harbor a guilty pleasure in watching this 1980 comedy, at least in bits and pieces, again and again. "Caddyshack" is one of those dumb farces that has become a minor cult classic and shows up on one cable channel or another about six times a week. Every time I surf into it, I have to stop for at least a moment and chuckle. Could the film already be over twenty-five years old? And could HD make me revisit it more often?
Cowriter and director Harold Ramis ("National Lampoon's Vacation," "Groundhog Day") said that his initial intention was to make a comedy about a bunch of young caddies at a posh country club. But then he hired funnymen Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight, and the whole show had to be tailored around their talents. The resultant film goes in every direction. It hasn't so much a plot as it has a string of routines or set pieces spotlighting each performer. Some of the gags work, some don't, but it doesn't matter. Everyone is having so much fun, the cast and the audience, that the whole thing is like a communal experience rather than a movie.
The action is set almost entirely at the snooty Bushwood Country Club, presided over by its most influential and snooty member, Judge Elihu Smails, played by Ted Knight. Knight basically reprises the character he played on the old "Mary Tyler Moore Show" (remember Ted Baxter, the newscaster?), this time with more money but the same pompous, arrogant, haughty, know-it-all attitude. He's the balloon waiting to be popped.
Chevy Chase plays Ty Webb, a wealthy young loafer with a passion for golf. Chase plays him with his usual laid-back, nonchalant air. He's our hero, able to remain calm and flippant under the most trying circumstances. The judge asks him why, if he's so good, he never plays golf against other opponents or keeps score: "How do you measure yourself with other golfers?" Chase answers with perfect timing, "Height." It's that kind of insouciance that among the rich is referred to as "eccentric."
Now, if you're poor, you're Bill Murray's character, assistant groundskeeper Carl Spackler. Spackler is just plain goofy. He speaks with a demented twist to his lips that makes him appear mentally challenged, except that he displays a sly streak as he wages a pitched battle with gophers throughout the film. For all intents and purposes he's in a movie to himself.
Rodney Dangerfield makes his motion-picture debut as a crass, loudmouthed, obnoxious multimillionaire condo developer named Al Czervik, obviously a role well suited to his stage persona. It is he who does the most puncturing of self-important, hot-air balloon heads as he crashes through the country-club set with flashy clothes, voluminous insults, and a gaudy red Rolls Royce.
Finally, almost lost in the crowd is Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan, a caddy who is trying to win a club scholarship to college. One can see at a glance that the film started out as his story, but with the appearance of the comics above, the movie quickly took another course.
Much of the humor falls flat, but there are moments that remain indelibly etched in a viewer's mind. For instance, there is the gopher that practically steals the show. In the accompanying retrospective, Chevy Chase says he hated the gopher, and who could blame him? It upstages all of the high-flying comedians. The little critter and his underground environs were designed by special-effects wizard John Dykstra, who had worked on "Star Wars" and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" before doing "Caddyshack." His creature is nothing more than a hand puppet, yet it is endearingly charming. We root for him. Then there's a swimming pool scene that involves the caddies in an exquisitely choreographed synchronized ballet, as well a chocolate candy bar floating in the water. I also liked the caddies betting on a kid picking his nose and the climactic detonation of the golf course. Everyone will have their own favorite silly scenes.
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[release]19604[/release]