The film has some great moments and is possibly one of the most ad-libbed pictures of all time. Chevy Chase, in one of his first film roles, gives us a taste of his great comic turn in 'Fletch'(1985) with the off-beat portrayal of club pro Tye Webb. Chase is really untouchable when it comes to playing funny-straight characters. Bill Murray is hilarious as grounds keeper Carl Spackler. Murray has improvised just about all of his dialogue and it really is superb. His 'Cinderella Story' scene, followed by caddying for the Bishop in the thunder storm is one of the funniest things i've seen on screen.
Rodney Dangerfield is somewhat hit and miss. All of his dialogue is quick fire one-liners so the chances are that when he does crack a funny joke you'll be so busy laughing that you'll miss the next one. The funniest one in my book is his retort to caddy Tony D'Annunzio: 'Hey kid, when are you due back in boy's town?' For me Ted Knight steals the picture as Judge Smails. He is such an energetic over the top character. His constant put downs of grandson Spallding , 'You'll get nothing and like it!', and random acts of frustrated violence supplied constant entertainment.
The question is...why didn't the film just focus completely on these guys? Instead it kept on harping back to Danny Noonan. Michael O'Keefe is a fine actor but he was always going to struggle in a comedy which featured the above cast members and characters. Another handicap is that in a comedy he gets few comedic lines. His character's relationship with his girlfriend Maggie, played inexplicably with a terrible Irish accent, and with his own family are highly under developed. Cindy Morgan is also given an extremely under written character who's motives are never explained and who randomly comes in and out of the film. Harold Ramis's direction is at times sloppy and echoes his then inexperience. He did go on to do 'Groundhog Day'(1993) though so he obviously learned his lessons.
To sum up this is a good film to get you in the mood for the summer. Lots of beautiful weather covering some splendid golf course scenery. There are plenty of likable characters and some very funny set pieces. Its also interesting to see the launch pad for some of the 80s biggest comedic stars. But be warned if you don't like Chase, Murray or Dangerfield then don't waste your time on this. Along with Knight, the film really is their show. For further evidence to support the final sentence just look at the poster.
