Universal. Director Michael Ritchie; Producer Alan Greisman, Peter Douglas; Screenplay Andrew Bergman; Camera Fred Schuler; Editor Richard A. Harris; Music Harold Faltermeyer; Art Director Boris Leven
Chevy Chase
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
Tim Matheson
Joe Don Baker
Richard Libertini
Geena Davis
What propels this contempo LA yarn about a dissembling newspaper columnist on the trail of a nefarious con man (Tim Matheson) is the obvious and successful byplay between Chevy Chase's sly, glib persona and the satiric brushstrokes of director Michael Ritchie. Their teamwork turns an otherwise hair-pinned, anecdotal plot into a breezy, peppy frolic and a tour de force for Chase.
Most supporting players have little to do, such as M. Emmet Walsh as an inane MD. The film is sparked by some hilarious moments, among them Chase as an unwitting surgeon in attendance at an autopsy conducted by a cackling pathologist and, in the script's funniest scene, Chase donning the guise of a legionnaire in a hall full of VFW stalwarts.
(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1985. Running time: 96 MIN.
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