Need to see this one! I've never even heard of it. It honestly sounds a lot like a pre-cursor "The Bad News Bears", which I've always thought of as a great political comedy disguised as a kids' sports movie.
You REALLY do. I'd only ever seen it once before - it's really difficult to get a hold of over here for some reason; there's a cracking Blu available in the US - but hadn't remembered how good it was until the revisit. Like most of Ritchie's films, it's really rewatchable as a comedy, but there's all that good stuff happening just underneath the surface too. As for the Bears, I'm rather ashamed to say I've never seen it, so I'm very much looking forward to doing the homework for next week.
For a second there I was like, "The William Katt sitcom?" But that's The Greatest American Hero. I can't believe I haven't seen a movie where Jeff Bridges plays a moonshiner/stock car racer alongside THAT cast (seriously a rogue's gallery in support!) AND a Jim Croce theme song (gotta wonder why they didn't use "Rapid Roy," though?)! I am all over it - thank you! And thank Jed. By the way, great to see you here, Pete. Get that Nerd of Noir shit on Substack, you lazy fucker.
Not seen this, but now absolutely have to, thanks to your excellent piece, Ray.
Bruce Dern…comedy…yet, whenever he does do it, he is funny, but always in a most unsettling way. Must be that sardonic grin and those eyes…with murder in them…ha-ha!
PS I had a lovely holiday in nearby Novato once, which was used for some location filming in this film. I can see how this subject would be a big deal in places such as this. All teeth and tits, as an old boss of mine once explained when telling me how some people got promoted and others overlooked. I had neither, and left thereafter…
Definitely worth seeking out. And watching again and again.
Dern - yeah, he's definitely on the unsettling side of funny, which is why he's so great in The 'Burbs and Family Plot (which I really should revisit one of these days ...). He's also incredibly good at playing dumb. And unsettling + dumb isn't always comedy gold, but he pulls it off!
As an ignorant Brit who tends to think of California as basically Los Angeles (pronounced with a hard G, like Anjelica Huston does in The Grifters, naturally) and San Francisco, it's always a treat to see the OTHER places depicted on film. This might not be the most flattering of portraits, but I don't think it's a hatchet job, either.
Need to see this one! I've never even heard of it. It honestly sounds a lot like a pre-cursor "The Bad News Bears", which I've always thought of as a great political comedy disguised as a kids' sports movie.
You REALLY do. I'd only ever seen it once before - it's really difficult to get a hold of over here for some reason; there's a cracking Blu available in the US - but hadn't remembered how good it was until the revisit. Like most of Ritchie's films, it's really rewatchable as a comedy, but there's all that good stuff happening just underneath the surface too. As for the Bears, I'm rather ashamed to say I've never seen it, so I'm very much looking forward to doing the homework for next week.
Have you seen Last American Hero? Jed Ayres hipped me to it and I dug it. Reminds me of Downhill Racer.
For a second there I was like, "The William Katt sitcom?" But that's The Greatest American Hero. I can't believe I haven't seen a movie where Jeff Bridges plays a moonshiner/stock car racer alongside THAT cast (seriously a rogue's gallery in support!) AND a Jim Croce theme song (gotta wonder why they didn't use "Rapid Roy," though?)! I am all over it - thank you! And thank Jed. By the way, great to see you here, Pete. Get that Nerd of Noir shit on Substack, you lazy fucker.
Not seen this, but now absolutely have to, thanks to your excellent piece, Ray.
Bruce Dern…comedy…yet, whenever he does do it, he is funny, but always in a most unsettling way. Must be that sardonic grin and those eyes…with murder in them…ha-ha!
PS I had a lovely holiday in nearby Novato once, which was used for some location filming in this film. I can see how this subject would be a big deal in places such as this. All teeth and tits, as an old boss of mine once explained when telling me how some people got promoted and others overlooked. I had neither, and left thereafter…
Definitely worth seeking out. And watching again and again.
Dern - yeah, he's definitely on the unsettling side of funny, which is why he's so great in The 'Burbs and Family Plot (which I really should revisit one of these days ...). He's also incredibly good at playing dumb. And unsettling + dumb isn't always comedy gold, but he pulls it off!
As an ignorant Brit who tends to think of California as basically Los Angeles (pronounced with a hard G, like Anjelica Huston does in The Grifters, naturally) and San Francisco, it's always a treat to see the OTHER places depicted on film. This might not be the most flattering of portraits, but I don't think it's a hatchet job, either.