Poll Position: Caddyshack

Last week proved to be a difficult choice on the poll. Seems the decision was split almost down the middle between Caddyshack and Sixteen Candles leading to the second tie our little site has seen. Seeing as these are both popular 80s films, I didn't want to miss out on either of them, so I decided to watch both. Today I watched Caddyshack, and tomorrow I'll check out Sixteen Candles. I really wasn't sure what to expect, I just knew there was a gopher involved somehow. Hit the jump to see what I found in this 80's classic comedy!


Well, I'm not exactly sure what to say about the story, cause there really isn't much of one. I guess if anything, the only small thread that runs the course of the entire movie is that this kid Danny is trying to go to college and wants a scholarship he can get from the golf course he works at. Also, there's a gopher that is ruining the greens, and the crazy assistant greens-keeper Carl, played by Bill Murray, is tasked with killing it no matter the cost. Other than that, the majority of the movie just seems to be filled with small unrelated events. It was almost like a skit show with little bits for each of the comedians in the movie to show off their comedy chops.

Carl holds the whole movie together

The lack of a solid story might be a bit of a theme with 80s movies, as Police Academy was quite similar. You're just given a collection of odd characters and we watch them goof around for an hour and a half until there's suddenly some big stakes risk that emerges in the last 15 minutes of the movie. It worked a little better in Police Academy because they were constantly going through training, but in Caddyshack one event has almost no direct connection to the next. It was a little off putting to be honest. At least we always have Carl and his gopher problems to always fall back on, because the kid and his scholarship dreams really aren't very interesting.

"I'm not talking anymore... Be the ball"

Caddyshack is probably known best for it's cast of comedians, if we ignore the gopher. Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight and the ever wacky Rodney Dangerfield. Dangerfield basically just plays himself in the movie, so you know exactly what to expect there. Luckily I find him quite funny, and I loved his amazing golf club bag with the radio, tv, telephone, automatic club dispenser and beer keg installed inside. Where can I get one of these?! Bill Murray as Carl is amusing and definitely a little crazy, but it was Chevy Chase that somehow stole the show for me. Why do I say "somehow"? Because he's the straight man in this, believe it or not. I've only ever known him from the National Lampoon movies where he's insane and wacky, so to see him take the straight man role was pretty interesting. I really liked his cool, calm relaxed nature and how everything just seemed to work out for him like when he takes a shot while blindfolded.

I can totally see why so many people hold Caddyshack up in their nostalgia, but I'm not entirely sure if it lives up over the years. There are a lot of really great moments, but there are also a lot of boring parts that just didn't work. Of course there's the pointless throwing in of the 80's boob shot, but not so much like in Police Academy where it became almost an on-going joke. Basically anything involving the 4 main comedians was funny, but anything involving the kid Danny, who is supposed to be the main character, was completely uninteresting. Luckily the majority of the movie has at least 1 of the 4. To conclude, I thought it was alright, but not the comedy goldmine I was hoping for, or had been led to expect I'd find.