Caddyshack is a 1980 U.S. comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Harold Ramis and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray. Bill Murray's brother Brian Doyle-Murray also has a supporting role.
| Caddyshack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Harold Ramis |
| Written by | Douglas Kenney Harold Ramis Brian Doyle-Murray |
| Produced by | Douglas Kenney |
| Starring | Chevy Chase Rodney Dangerfield Ted Knight Michael O'Keefe Bill Murray |
| Cinematography | Stevan Larner |
| Edited by | William C. Carruth |
| Music by | Johnny Mandel |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release dates | July 25, 1980 |
Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,000,000 |
The film was Ramis's first feature and was a major boost to Dangerfield's film career: he was previously known mostly for his stand-up comedy. Grossing almost $40 million in the U.S. alone (16th highest of the year) it was the first of a series of similar comedies.
In 2000, Caddyshack was placed at #71 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American films. In 2005, a line from the movie was chosen by AFI for their list of the top 100 movie quotes from U.S. films.
Bill Murray ad-libbed many of his lines to the frequent annoyance of his co-stars.
Taglines:
- At last, a comedy that bites!
- Some People Just Don't Belong.
- The Snobs Against The Slobs!
- Playing A Round Of Golf At The Bushwood Club Isn't Just Confined To The Golf Course!
- At last, a comedy with balls!
Plot
Set primarily on the golf course at Bushwood Country Club, the story is a farcical clash between classes, on one side the wealthy and privileged and on the other, the anarchic, young and noisy. The club is represented by the chronically uptight WASP Judge Smails (Knight) and opposite him the vulgar, noisy, witty self-made man Al Czervik (Dangerfield) and a group of caddies including Danny Noonan (O'Keefe), a blue-collar Irish-American who aspires to go to college. Ty Webb (Chase) is a well-to-do but unassuming golf savant who blithely plays both sides of the brawl. Out of the fight, but periodically crossing paths with the others, is Carl Spackler (Murray), a lunatic assistant greenskeeper locked in an increasingly armed death-struggle with a gopher.
The movie begins by showing caddy Danny Noonan being reprimanded by his father for wasting his college fund on drinks while caddying. Danny throughout the movie is struggling to get money to go to college despite his poor grades and economic disadvantage but comes to realize he doesn't really want to go to college. This realization makes Danny live life for himself instead of trying to please his large family. The story comically progresses to the arrival of real estate tycoon Al Czervik. Czervik played by Rodney Dangerfield tends to be a rude and obnoxious character who is meant to foil the snobbish Judge Smails. Judge Smails meets the guest Al Czervik by Al commenting on Smails' hat, "This is the worst lookin' hat I ever saw. You buy a hat like this I'll bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you, though!" Following the pro shop scene Al Czervik offends Judge Smails as he comically prepares to address the ball on the first tee to the heckling of Al. Noonan, who is on the bag for Smails, attempts to butter Smails up by moving his ball into a more favorable position. Smails shuts down this attempt to seek better pay when he is hit in the crotch by Al Czervik while walking down the fairway. Al Czervik then laughs at his caddy's difficulty to carry his abnormally large golf bag by turning on a radio contained in it and blasting Journey's Any Way You Want It.
The second major part of the film consists of Danny's love life with Judge Smail's niece and a co employee at the club. Danny is able to get Judge Smails out of a situation when Smails launches his putter hundreds of yards hitting a pedestrian. Judge Smails then informs Danny he can have the newly free scholarship if he were to win the caddy day championship. This scene includes Danny's championship victory and a classic scene featuring a pool scene where the swimmers see a dropped Baby Ruth bar as a "doodie". The movie closes with the final part including an illegal golf match involving big stakes gambling. With the team of Ty and Al losing badly to Smails and the doctor, Al purposely hurts himself and Danny must take over, forfeiting his caddy scholarship. In a climatic scene, Danny leaves the winning putt an inch short of the hole, but Carl Spackler destroys the golf course in a series of high intensity explosions, with the intention of harming the gopher, which shakes the ground allowing Danny's ball to fall into the cup. In a celebratory moment to the pleasure of the crowed, Al screams, "We're all gonna get laid"
As everyone departs the course with varying speeds such as Judge Smalls fleeing Czervik's goons to avoid paying up, the gopher emerges unharmed from the explosions.
External links
- Caddyshack at IMDb
- Carlspackler.com - Caddyshack trivia, games and multimedia.
- Caddyshack, an homage to Doug Kenney, ESPN/Golf Digest, April 2004
- Caddyshack in 30 seconds and re-enacted by bunnies