Chevy Chase Shines in Fletch

Chevy Chase, one of the many "Not Ready for Primetime" players who went to the big screen, is in a new movie called "Fletch." This movie plays to his strength of improvising. He must play a dozen different characters and each is more hilarious than the last. Chase plays "Fletch," the title role, a reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper. He writes under the byline Jane Doe in order to protect his identity. Fletch writes investigative pieces about the seamier side of life in LA. He's currently investigating the drug trade at the beach and goes undercover as a bum. While hanging out at the beach, a well-dressed and clearly wealthy man named Alan Stanwyck approaches Fletch and makes him a proposal. Stanwyck claims to be a dying man and wants Fletch to shoot him so his wife can receive the insurance money. He will pay Fletch $50,000 to do the job and disappear. He's intrigued and agrees to do it. Naturally his investigative instinct takes over and he checks out Stanwyck's story. We realize there is more to the story than meets the eye. During the course of the investigation, Fletch gets into situations and talks his way out of trouble. This is classic Chevy Chase. He plays Dr. Rosenpenis, an LA Laker, Harry S. Truman, and Igor Stravinski among others. His harried boss is close to the brink of a nervous breakdown as Fletch's antics cause him trouble. But in the end, Fletch delivers a hell of a story about Stanwyck, a corrupt cop and the drug trade. Chase is at his best getting into and out of trouble in his usual "charming" manner. The plot is intricate enough to make it interesting and believable. You find yourself rooting for Fletch to uncover the truth and expose the bad guys. "Fletch" is well worth seeing. I hope Chase can find more roles like these.

Watching Movies on an Airplane

Not every movie is best seen while flying. This is a conclusion I drew after several twelve hour flights that I had to take recently. While it is much better to try and sleep on planes, who can resist watching a few movies? Especially on the newer planes that have individual seat screens where each passenger can choose what movie to watch and when to watch it. This is a huge advance from the one showing -- you snooze, you lose -- traditional view of in-flight entertainment. Yet even the new system is not perfect.
The screens are small so full blown action features just don't work. Take my advice, if one of the options is a violent, military or law and order flick, wait until you can see it in a movie theater. You will just lose most of the effects that major action films spend millions of dollars on these days.
The other problem is with the sound. Airplane headphones are just awful and key dialogue is often missed. I have no idea why the airline entertainment gurus don't give passengers the option to view movies with subtitles. I mean, every DVD these days has such an option. It would make viewing much better. As it is, steer clear of movies with complicated plot and lots of dialogue.
I would say that without violent pictures or those with interesting plots, you might be left with romance movies. Yet the problem is that to be shown on an airplane, all the interesting bits of romance movies have been censored out. What results is just plain (no pun intended) boring. Skip the romance flicks.
I guess that leaves comedy movies, but try not to laugh out loud. Nothing will disturb fellow travelers more that a guy laughing loudly in the next seat. Plus, most comedy movies these days are just not funny. I can't remember the last time I saw a "laugh out loud" movie. Where are Chevy Chase and Steve Martin these days?
On second thought, skip all the movies. Get your sleep and hit the cinema after you land!

Beverly Hills Cop Packs a Punch

"Beverly Hills Cop" is a great cop buddy movie, but it's really Eddie Murphy's film. He dominates every scene with his wise-ass comments, defying authority, and pushing the edge of the envelope. He's a Detroit cop who lands in Beverly HIills where he's a fish out of water. Being out of his element makes for some very funny moments. Murphy's previous movie "Trading Places" showcased his comedic talents but "Beverly Hills Cop" raises him to leading star status. The movie starts with Murphy as Detective Axel Foley getting a visit from his childhood friend, Mikey, who landed a job in California working for an art dealer through another childhood friend, Jenny. He ends up shot because Mikey took some bearer bonds from his employer. Foley takes vacation time to find his friend's killer, which takes him to tony Beverly Hills, a far cry from the streets of Detroit. Foley reconnects with Jenny who takes him to Victor Maitland, Mikey's former boss. He's thrown out and ends up catching the attention of Sergeant Taggart and Detective Rosewood. Their boss assigns them to watch Foley while he's in Beverly Hills on "vacation" to keep him out of trouble. The three cops end up teaming together to take down the evil Maitland, who's dealing drugs and illegal bearer bonds. I don't want to reveal every comic scene between the straight-laced, by-the-book Beverly Hills cops and the rough and tumble Detroit cop, but the chemistry is great. Foley cannot believe the grandeur of the BH Police Department, as well as the "I'm better than you" attitude of the population of this famous zip code. In the beginning, Foley questioned Taggart and Rosewood's ability to follow one's instincts and disregard regulations for the sake of catching a killer. By the end, the cops are allies and friends. "Beverly Hills Cop" has great action scenes and, of course, plenty of humor. It's worth the price of the ticket.

A Remarkable Performance by Hoffman

"Tootsie" is about a down and out actor named Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) who cannot land a role because he's considered "difficult." In an act of desperation, Dorsey tries for the part of a hospital administrator on a popular soap opera. But the part is for a female. He ends up cross dressing for the role, and becomes hired! Dorsey justifies taking the role because it pays great money and he needs the funds to finance a play he's written. Hoffman has shown his versatility and talent over the years, but I have to admit that playing "Dorothy Michael" has to be his best performance yet. As Dorsey playing Dorothy, he gets a glimpse of life from a woman's perspective and discovers that women are not taken so seriously, especially when having to deal with a letcherous director. While "Dorothy" is not young and beautiful, "she" sees how limited women are when youth (and an amorous director) are the key to success.
Dorothy's life becomes complicated when "she" finds herself falling for Julie (Jessica Lange) another actress on the soap opera. Julie tells Dorothy that she likes her, but not in that way. To further complicate matters, Julie's father (Charles Durning) starts to fall for Dorothy and eventually proposes to "her"! And Dorsey's close friend Sandy (Teri Garr) is upset that some frumpy actress (Dorsey) got the part she auditioned for. Dorothy has become a very popular character on the show and finds herself on the cover of magazines. Dorsey's roomate (Bill Murray) and his agent (Sydney Pollack) are the two allys who support what he's doing. Events are spiraling out of control, and Dorsey has to finally "reveal" himself for what he is. "Tootsie" is a wonderful movie with many brilliant performances, but especially Dustin Hoffman's. After years of serious roles in movies like "All the President's Men," "Kramer vs. Kramer," and "Midnight Cowboy," "Tootise" is his breakout comedy role.

The Blues Brothers: Classic Musical Comedy

If you're of the generation who grew up with the "Not Ready for Primetime" players, also known as the original talent on Saturday Night Live, you can appreciate this movie. Seeing the Blues Brothers on the big screen is awesome. It started as a musical skit by Dan Akroyd and John Belushi playing Elwood and Jake Blues on SNL. What a talent Belushi was. What a waste that he died so young. In the movie, which is a who's who from the R&B world, Jake has been released from the prison. He and Elwood take it upon themselves to raise $5000 to pay off the tax debt of their childhood orphanage. This becomes a "mission from God." The brothers want to reunite their band. En route to convince the various band members to rejoin Elwood and Jake, they make enemies with the Illinois State Police, as well as a group of neo-Nazis. There's also a mysterious woman (Carrie Fisher) who appears often trying to launch attacks on the brothers, unsuccessfully. The musical talent in this movie is fabulous. James Brown plays a choirmaster. Aretha Franklin sings "Think." Cab Calloway performs "Minnie the Moocher." The Blues Brothers play an array of songs, and more. Not only are you entertained by the comic antics of Akroyd and Belushi as the collect their bandmates, and the all the trouble which follows them, the soundtrack itself can stand on its own. There's a hysterical scene where the band ends up at a country western bar with a discriminating audience. They're a blues band, and they don't play C&W. Luckily they start playing the theme from "Rawhide," before they're physically assaulted for offending the clientele. "The Blues Brothers" is very silly, but highly entertaining from a musical and comedic perspective. I loved the deadpan, straight-laced Elwood Blues character, and Belushi was great as the take charge Jake Blues. It's also fun to see the many cameo appearances throughout the movies. See if you can name them all.

Ghostbusters Delivers the Laughs

If Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd headline a movie, chances are excellent that audiences will love it. "Ghostbusters," written by Akroyd and Harold Ramis, who also starred in the movie, is about a group of scientists who fancy themselves "paranormal investigators and eliminators." In other words, "ghostbusters." After their grant from Columbia University is terminated, Murray, Akroyd and Ramis decide to set up shop on their own. They buy an old firehouse, dilapidated ambulance, hire a secretary, then advertise their special skills on television. Ghosts are coming out of the woodwork, and the scientists find themselves busy capturing hundreds of them while increasing the ghostbusters' visibility and popularity. In the meantime, something evil is brewing in a beautiful young woman's refrigerator. Murray's character becomes interested in a new client, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver). She heard something growling in her refrigerator, then eggs started flying out and frying on her kitchen counter. The ghostbusters don't see anything unusual, but take readings with their equipment. Later, Dana becomes imprisoned and forced into her kitchen by some unseen force. Apparently the rooftop of Dana's building is the portal for an evil force to enter the world. The ghostbusters use all their resources to save New York. The chemistry among the characters is fun to watch, especially while they're in the middle of a "job." Rick Moranis plays the supernerd neighbor of Dana Barrett. He only has a few scenes, but they're very funny. "Ghostbusters" is highly entertaining. If you're looking for laughs, this is the one to see.

Airplane goes for the funny bone

The movie "Airplane" is a laugh-out-loud, hysterically funny movie. I give it two arms up, way up. This movie doesn't have a political message or pull at the heartstrings or make you reflect on personal issues. Not in the least! It's simply one of those movies you watch for the pure entertainment value because sometimes it's nice to just laugh your head off. That is what you get with "Airplane." If you've ever watched airplane disaster movies, then you'll appreciate this spoof even more. Written and directed by Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, "Airplane" stars several serious actors: Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen and Peter Graves. When you hear those names, you think drama, not comedy. Well this talented writing and directing team was brilliant to cast these men as the fall guys or the "butt of many jokes," as it were. That's what makes this movie work. The plot revolves around a young fighter pilot named Ted Striker who's lost his girl and lost his nerve to fly jets. He's a passenger aboard a domestic flight whose crew is stricken ill from food poisoning. Also on board is Striker's former girlfriend who's a flight attendant. It is up to Striker to overcome his fear and land the plane safely. It doesn't take a genius to figure out if Striker succeeds and gets the girl. Several cameo appearances include basketball legend Kareem Abdhul-Jabbar and Barbara Billingsley, the mother from "Leave it to Beaver" who plays a passenger who speaks "jive." You have to see it to believe it. So check out "Airplane" for a great time and prepare to be entertained.