BEFORE: Wrapping up my tribute to security guards with this film. I flew back from San Diego late last night, and arrived early this morning. San Diego is a crazy town, at least the parts I'm familiar with - but New York is just as crazy, in its own way. I slept on the plane, and on the bus from the airport, so I actually put in a few hours at the office, then left at 3 to come home and nap. I woke up at 8:00, unsure if it was 8 pm or 8 am - curse you, Comic-Con!
THE PLOT: A fired cop and useless lawyer sign up as security guards and find they've joined a corrupt union.
AFTER: Nothing too complicated for my first day back. This film was an attempt in the mid-80's to make Eugene Levy and John Candy the latest thin guy/fat guy comedy team, like Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, or Aykroyd and Belushi. But Levy is just too offbeat to play a straight man, and John Candy ended up with more success playing somewhat darker roles in "Uncle Buck" and "Only the Lonely" - so it just wasn't meant to be.
There's a lot of slapstick in this film, mixed with car chases and crashes that were obviously influenced by "Beverly Hills Cop" - Candy and Levy have to rely on each other's skills as an ex-cop and ex-lawyer to expose the bogus security firm they work for, which is robbing warehouses and the union's pension fund at the same time. Wacky mishaps ensue.
Also starring Meg Ryan (last seen in "Kate & Leopold"), Robert Loggia, and Kenneth McMillan (last seen in "The Pope of Greenwich Village"). Cameos from Tito Puente, Judy Landers, Tommy "Tiny" Lister (last seen in "Meteor Man") Brion James (last seen in "The Fifth Element") and James Tolkan (the principal from "Back to the Future")
Comic-Con wrap-up report: I bought some Star Wars flash drives, but found no new autographs for the wall - Ms. Portman doesn't seem interested in signing for Lucasfilm, but give her a couple of years without a hit film, and she may come around. Harrison Ford was allegedly at Comic-Con, but I've got his autograph already. Now if Liam Neeson or Ewan MacGregor would have done a signing, I would have made arrangements...
So maybe it was an off-year for my personal time at the Con, but the boss had a great year in DVD and animation art sales, perhaps his best, and we even pre-paid for next year's booth to get the best discount. We had a successful panel and a gallery show, hung out with friends, (one or two that we shared a booth with in years past), went out to some great dinners and I had three beer floats in 5 days, so that's got to be a win. I got a neck massage from my booth-mate Kevin (that wasn't creepy or awkward in any way), so my shoulder actually feels better than it has in months, even after dragging my luggage back home.
I broke down the booth, shipped DVDs back by FedEx Ground, went to dinner at the Tin Fish (thanks for closing early, you jerks) and got a late flight out - I felt like I was on the last helicopter out of Saigon, though I'm sure a lot of conventioneers stay over an extra night and leave on Monday.
RATING: 4 out of 10 armored cars
Ah, yes...back when Eugene Levy's hair was at the peak of its "Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Helmet" phase.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of phases, the "first film role of someone who works in TV" is almost its own genre. Whether it's a cheesy supporting role in a major movie, or a major lead role in a cheesy movie, you can usually sense the major investment the actor's making. Peter O'Toole didn't prepare as much for his title performance in "Lawrence of Arabia" as these comics prepared for their three scenes as "Wacky gay neighbor who walks the lead character's dogs."