Saturday 8 September 2012

Capering Chucklers


Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn are at the top of their respective games in the charming comedy thriller, Foul Play, released in 1978. The Hitchcockian plot sees Hawn unwittingly embroiled in a preposterous goulash of murder, intrigue and albinos after coming into possession of a mysterious roll of film but luckily she has laid back police detective Chase in her corner. The blend of comedy and thriller is actually not bad and played, quite wisely, with tongue firmly planted in cheek but it's the excellent performances which make this fluff into something special and the two excellent leads are joined in the fun with some brilliant turns from Burgess Meredith & Dudley Moore.

Seems like Old times sees Hawn & Chase reunite a few years later in another comedy thriller this time from the pen of Neil Simon. This time it's Chase, playing a feckless author, who finds himself caught up in a miasma of crime and misunderstanding who turns to his beautiful ex wife for help, only to discover she's now married to the District Attorney who's trying to bring him to justice. The comic pair are joined by Charles Grodin in the fun and like Foul Play manage to lift this whimsical, farce from drifting into mediocrity and though it doesn't quite match the former in pace it's still an entertaining, undemanding piece of fluff.

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