11 reviews
Even when I first saw "Roll, Freddy, Roll" as an 11-year-old fan of anything starring Tim Conway, something puzzled me. Sure, I enjoyed Tim as always. And the climax where he's rolling through the streets like "Bullitt" on roller skates is amazing. But I just couldn't figure out the ex-wife and kid. I mean, Freddy's rival for his son's attention is a car dealer during an oil crisis ... while Freddy designs mainframe computers before anyone even knows what they are! So it's pretty obvious who the cool dad really is. If the ex and the kid are really that shallow, we need a sequel to set things straight - one where Freddy's a billionaire with a half-dozen IPOs under his belt, preferably roller blading with his third trophy wife.
- dave-conley
- Feb 10, 2007
- Permalink
It has been years since I even thought of this movie. When I first saw this I laughed my ass off. I had always known that Tim Conway was funny. Some of his best stuff was on the Carol Burnett Show, where his improvisation was second to none. Conway was also a very understated comedian playing a bumbling ensign on McHale's navy. In Roll Freddy Roll, he is at his physical comedy best as a dad trying to impress his son by getting into the world record book. The situations he gets into as a man who wearing his roller skates everywhere to break a record is great. The story is simple and very funny. The supporting cast is also very credible and play off Conway's physical humor very well. If you ever get a chance to watch this movie do so, and with the whole family, they will love it.As a comedian Conway has always been underrated and in some area underappreciated. Roll Freddy Roll, shows you why Conway was so funny. Yes, this isn't the Bard, but this little made-for-t.v. movie is very funny and entertaining. I just sorry they didn't do some kind of sequal or follow up to it.
The last regular season of "The ABC Movie of the Week" was very weak. Apart from a few surprise hits (such as "Trilogy of Terror"), too many of the films in 1974-75 were incredibly lame...such as "Let's Switch" and this movie, "Roll, Freddy, Roll".
When the film begins, you learn that Freddy Danton (Tim Conway) is a divorced father of a young son. The son, however, seems to really admire his new step-dad and Freddy is worried he'll lose his son's love and respect. So, when a chance accident occurs and the skating rink loses his shoes, he decides to keep the skates and try to brake an endurance record for how long someone keeps their skates on without taking them off. This movie was filled with a LOT of kooky and incredibly stupid situations but it was interesting see just to actually see Conway performing his own stunts. But that was it when it came to why to see the movie. Apart from seeing Conway skate about and fall a lot, the plot is filled with stupid writing and made me annoyed the more I watched....and the ending was REALLY stupid. A huge mistake of a film that I hope never to see again.
When the film begins, you learn that Freddy Danton (Tim Conway) is a divorced father of a young son. The son, however, seems to really admire his new step-dad and Freddy is worried he'll lose his son's love and respect. So, when a chance accident occurs and the skating rink loses his shoes, he decides to keep the skates and try to brake an endurance record for how long someone keeps their skates on without taking them off. This movie was filled with a LOT of kooky and incredibly stupid situations but it was interesting see just to actually see Conway performing his own stunts. But that was it when it came to why to see the movie. Apart from seeing Conway skate about and fall a lot, the plot is filled with stupid writing and made me annoyed the more I watched....and the ending was REALLY stupid. A huge mistake of a film that I hope never to see again.
- planktonrules
- Mar 15, 2017
- Permalink
I remember seeing "Roll, Freddy, Roll" when it first aired on December 17, 1974; I had just begun junior high school in Lansing, Michigan.
Seeing this film again would bring back many great memories; unfortunately, the last time I saw "Roll, Freddy, Roll" was in 1987 when an independent station here in Detroit ran it. Naturally, the station cut the film in order to fit the time slot (without commercials, "Roll, Freddy, Roll" ran about an hour and 40 minutes).
I discovered Disney now owns "Roll, Freddy, Roll;" in mid-1995 they purchased ABC, whose former ABC Circle Films division produced the film (ABC Circle Films was later responsible for "Moonlighting").
In unity there is strength, and the more requests Disney receives about "Roll, Freddy, Roll," the quicker they'll dig into their vaults, unearth it, and put it on DVD!
(Postscript, May 12, 2020: I discovered about five years ago *MGM* now owns the rights to "Roll, Freddy, Roll." It's part of an ABC Films portfolio MGM distributes for all media including such other ABC Circle Films made-for-TV movies as "Can Ellen Be Saved?" and "The Day After," as well as such ABC Motion Pictures theatrical films as "Silkwood." So all I can suggest now is to try contacting MGM and/or Universal Studios Home Entertainment, who now distributes all MGM product - with the exception of the pre-June 1986 MGM films, which are owned by Warner Bros. - on DVD. If either or both companies are hounded enough, then hopefully they'll put "Freddy" on DVD.)
Seeing this film again would bring back many great memories; unfortunately, the last time I saw "Roll, Freddy, Roll" was in 1987 when an independent station here in Detroit ran it. Naturally, the station cut the film in order to fit the time slot (without commercials, "Roll, Freddy, Roll" ran about an hour and 40 minutes).
I discovered Disney now owns "Roll, Freddy, Roll;" in mid-1995 they purchased ABC, whose former ABC Circle Films division produced the film (ABC Circle Films was later responsible for "Moonlighting").
In unity there is strength, and the more requests Disney receives about "Roll, Freddy, Roll," the quicker they'll dig into their vaults, unearth it, and put it on DVD!
(Postscript, May 12, 2020: I discovered about five years ago *MGM* now owns the rights to "Roll, Freddy, Roll." It's part of an ABC Films portfolio MGM distributes for all media including such other ABC Circle Films made-for-TV movies as "Can Ellen Be Saved?" and "The Day After," as well as such ABC Motion Pictures theatrical films as "Silkwood." So all I can suggest now is to try contacting MGM and/or Universal Studios Home Entertainment, who now distributes all MGM product - with the exception of the pre-June 1986 MGM films, which are owned by Warner Bros. - on DVD. If either or both companies are hounded enough, then hopefully they'll put "Freddy" on DVD.)
This movie had my husband and I "rolling" on the floor in laughter. I have been searching for years for "Roll Freddy Roll". This the the first time I have even seen it come up on a website, THANK YOU. Now to get Disney to bring it out on DVD or even VHS would make me very happy.Tim is one of my favorite actors and everyone should see this hilarious film. We were newly married when we watched this on TV and I have never forgotten it. I have searched the web over and over and was beginning to think I had the wrong title, I knew that Tim Conway was the main actor so continued to search. I will be using this site to search for movies that I would love to buy. Please stress that this movie needs to be brought back for my children and my grandchildren to see. Come on Disney, bring it back!
After all these years, I've finally found someone else who remembers "Roll Freddy Roll". Maybe we are the only two demented minds to have reacted similarly when it was viewed, but it has been an ongoing project to obtain a copy of this movie in any form as a means of either validating the absolute comic genius of this movie; or to finally denigrate my ability to assess what is funny. As I read the previous comment, I kept saying "YESSS!!!" after each sentence as if it came from my keyboard. All I can say is if Disney, Persky, Conway, or anyone else with access to this movie can make it available to the public, they have a confirmed customer in me.
This was one of the funniest movies my family has ever been privileged to see. My husband and kids literally laughed so hard that they fell on the floor. My jaw and stomach muscles ached for days afterward. I have tried for years to find information about this made-for-TV film to no avail. Most of the time there was simply NO information to be had. It was as if the media moguls just let this hilarious piece fall through the cracks into some sort of limbo. It did my heart good to see other folks so interested in seeing this film again. Laughter cures so many ills and the world sure could use some laugh medicine about now. Come on Disney, give us a smile, give us a DVD.
- bwunique-1
- Dec 5, 2006
- Permalink
I've spent YEARS looking for a copy of this movie. I'm normally a very reserved person but this movie had me laughing uncontrollably. Everyone will sympathize with Freddie as he competes for his son's time and attention with the 'flashy' step-father, a used-car dealer who makes a grand promotion about people breaking records in the Guiness Book of Records. Freddie, who can't skate, becomes the owner of a pair when the desk clerk at a roller rink has lost Freddie's shoes. This is where the movie gets funny....its one laugh after the other, as only Tim Conway can do. What follows is the movie. I've told so many people about this movie--they all want to see it if I ever find a copy. A previous comment mentioned that Disney owned rights to the video. I'm going to contact them and encourage it be brought back on the market.
This is a funny movie about a man trying to get his son's approval. He decides to get in the Guinness Book of records by wearing roller skates longer than anyone. He ends up being a pall bearer on roller skates and whipping out of control down a parking ramp--all silly fun that's a perfect vehicle for Conway type physical humor and a good movie for kids to watch.
My Mom has been talking about this movie for years! I remember watching this in the TV room in the basement of our house in Wilton, CT. My Mom was laughing so hard her stomach was shaking and tears were rolling off her face. I was four years old and I remember crystal clear. She asked me to run upstairs to fetch a box of Kleenex for her. The only part of the movie I remember is Tim Conway rolling down a hilly road, I think out of control.
If there is any way to get this on DVD it would be the best gift I could get her so she too could see if it really was that funny or if she is nuts!!
Can anyone let me know if this is available on DVD? I have looked around for it but come up empty
If there is any way to get this on DVD it would be the best gift I could get her so she too could see if it really was that funny or if she is nuts!!
Can anyone let me know if this is available on DVD? I have looked around for it but come up empty
- sbrown-idesign
- Mar 5, 2008
- Permalink
- mark.waltz
- Aug 17, 2024
- Permalink