The Godson (1998, directed by Bob Hoge)

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

After the violent death of his son Sonny Calzone, the Oddfather (Dom DeLuise) announces that his other son, Guppy Calzone (Kevin McDonald, of the Kids In The Hall), will be taking over the family business. Guppy is sent to Mafia University, where he learns how to garrote a traitor and dismember a body. Guppy falls in love with Don Na (Fabiana Udenio), the daughter of the Rodfather (Rodney Dangerfield), the leader of a rival family.

The Godson tries to do to gangster movies what Airplane! did to disaster movies. Dom DeLuise does a good Brando impersonation and there’s a funny moment where Guppy stops the action and tries to convince people in the audience to buy a Guppy action figure. Otherwise, this is a poorly-done parody film. Good comedy is all about timing and The Godson flunks that test. Jokes are either too long or too short but hardly any of them stick. The idea of Mafia University is funnier than the, if you’ll excuse the phrase, execution. Even worse, the movie doesn’t make much use of Rodney Dangerfield. When one of the funniest men who ever lived appears in your movie, it’s cinematic malpractice not to give him a chance to shine.

If the film has a highlight, it’s Lou Ferrigno as a member of the Oddfather’s crew. Otherwise, this is a missed opportunity.

Caddyshack (1980, directed by Harold Ramis)

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

Whenever I think about Caddyshack, which is one of the funniest moves ever made, I think first of the Gopher, burrowing across the course and dancing to the music.

I then think about Bill Murray, playing the demented groundskeeper and growing his own special grass that you can both play golf on and smoke afterwards.

I remember Rodney Dangerfield dancing on the green while Ted Knight throws a fit. This was the first film that I ever saw Rodney Dangerfield in. “It looks good on you, though,” was one of those simple lines that Rodney could turn into a classic.

I remember Ted Knight, appearing in one of his few film roles, and saying, “Well, we’re waiting!” and drawing out every single word.

I remember the scene in the pool. You know which one I’m talking about.

I remember Chevy Chase, back when he was still funny.

Then I remember how Rodney Dangerfield’s classic last line, “We’re all going to get laid,” was changed to “We’re all going to take a shower!” for television. Why the censors thought that sounded less dirty than the original, I’ll never know.

I remember the Bishop getting struck by lightning while playing the best game of his life.

And, of course, I remember Cindy Morgan as Lacy Underall.

I remember so many classic moments and funny lines that I’m always surprised when I rewatch the movie and discover that it’s not really about the Gopher, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, or even Lacy Underall. Instead, the main character in the movie is Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe), a teenage caddy at Bushwood Country Club who wants to win a scholarship so he can go to college and avoid having to work in the lumber yard with his father (Albert Salmi). Danny has a friendly rivalry with caddy Tony D’Annuzio (Scott Colomby) and is dating Maggie (Sarah Holcomb). Danny has to decide whether to ally himself with the snobs (led by Ted Knight) or the slobs (led by Rodney Dangerfield).

Caddyshack was originally envisioned as being Danny’s story but, once filming started, Harold Ramis (making his directorial debut) realized that the comedic characters were actually more interesting. The movie went from being a straight-forward coming-of-age story to an almost plotless collection of gags and jokes, with both Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield improvising the majority of their dialogue and the Gopher emerging as the film’s true star. That was bad news for the younger actors playing the caddies, who all found their roles greatly reduced in the film’s final cut but that was good news for audiences. Caddyshack may not have much of a narrative structure but it does have some of the funniest people who ever lived at the peak of their powers.

Despite a legendarily troubled production, Caddyshack was a huge success with audiences and eventually, the critics came around as well. Harold Ramis always said that he had a hard time watching it because all he could see were the mistakes that he made. All audiences could see, though, was a hilariously funny movie that continues to bring people joy to this day.

Meet Wally Sparks (1997, directed by Peter Baldwin)

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

Wally Sparks (Rodney Dangerfield) is a talk show host with a program that is so raunchy that even Jerry Springer says, “At least this isn’t The Wally Sparks Show!”

Despite being a huge hit amongst teens and college students, the show is on the verge of being canceled by the head of the network, Mr. Spencer (Burt Reynolds, wearing a fearsome toupee). He is tired of Wally’s antics and he tells Wally and his producer, Sandy Gallo (Debi Mazar), that they have a week to make the show respectable.

Wally doesn’t know what to do. Wally Sparks act respectable? Wally’s a guy who don’t get no respect, no respect at all. Then Sandy finds a letter inviting Wally to attend a party at the home of Georgia Governor Floyd Patterson (David Ogden Stiers), a noted critic of the show. Hoping to get the interview that will save the show, Wally and Sandy head down south.

At the party, Wally acts like Wally and scandalizes all of the politicians and socialites. He also shares a bottle of whiskey with a horse and then rides the horse through the mansion. The party is a disaster but, after Wally claims that he can’t walk because of a spinal injury he suffered when he fell off the horse, the Governor allows him to recuperate in the mansion. Wally causes more chaos while also teaching the Governor’s wife (Cindy Williams) how to play strip poker and eventually exposing a scheme to blackmail the Governor into building a Confederate-themed amusement park.

Rodney Dangerfield playing a talk show host sounds like a great idea and there are a lot of talented people to be found in Meet Wally Sparks. Debi Mazar is an actress who should have appeared in a lot more movies and she and Rodney Dangerfield make a good team. The movie actually gets off to a funny start, with a montage of actual talk show hosts talking about how much they hate Wally Sparks and his show. Gilbert Gottfried has a cameo as a manic guest and Wally repeats some of Rodney Dangerfield’s classic jokes.

Unfortunately, the movie starts to fall apart as soon as Burt Reynolds threatens to cancel the show for being too lowbrow. No network executive has ever threatened to cancel a show that’s bringing in the ratings, regardless of how lowbrow it might be. Things get even worse after Wally goes to Atlanta and ends up staying there. The movie tries to recreate the Snobs vs. the Slobs dynamic of previous Dangerfield films but the Governor comes across as being such a decent man that there’s no joy to be found in watching his life get turned upside down. The movie has a surprisingly large number of subplots, including one about Wally’s son (Michael Weatherly) falling for the Governor’s daughter (Lisa Thornhill), but most of them go nowhere and just distract from the man who should have been the film’s main attraction, Rodney Dangerfield. By the end of the movie, even the usually irrepressible Dangerfield seems to have been neutered.

Rodney Dangerfield was a national treasure but Meet Wally Sparks was not the best showcase for his persona or his style of humor. Fortunately, Caddyshack and Back To The School are available to watch anytime that we need a good laugh and we want to show Rodney Dangerfield a little respect.

Music Video of the Day: Rappin’ Rodney by Rodney Dangerfield (1983, directed by ????)

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

I’m running behind today so I’m going to keep things simple and funny for our music video of the day. Here’s Rodney Dangerfield performing Rappin’ Rodney. This is taken from his 1983 TV Special I Can’t Take It No More. Joining Rodney on stage are Robert Urich and Andy Kaufman.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Twist and Shout by Rodney Dangerfield (1987, directed by ????)

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

Twist and Shout is a song that has been a hit for a lot of artists. Rodney Dangerfield took a swing at it 1987, performing the song for the Back to School soundtrack. The video is largely made up of scenes from Back to School and introduced a whole generation of MTV viewers to not only Rodney Dangerfield but also Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, and Ned Beatty. They probably already knew Sam Kinison.

Enjoy!

Great Moments In Television History #31: Rodney Dangerfield On The Tonight Show

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

Since we could all probably use a laugh or two right now, here’s ten minutes of Rodney Dangerfield doing what he did best on the May 30th, 1979 episode of The Tonight Show.

Previous Moments In Television History:

Music Video of the Day: Wild Thing by Sam Kinison (1988, directed by ????)

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Jedadiah Leland

In 1988, evangelical preacher-turned-comedian Sam Kinison had a hit with his cover of Wild Thing. For the music video, he not only recruited Rodney Dangerfield and a host of other 80s rockers, he also cast Jessica Hahn, who was at the center of the scandal that took down two other evangelical preachers, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

For completists, here is who can be seen in this video, backing up Sam, Rodney, and Jessica: Joe Perry and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Steve Adler and Slah (Guns ‘n Roses), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Jon Bon Jovi, Alec John Such, and Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Jonathan Cain and Deen Castronovo (Journey), Robbin Crossby and Warren DeMartini (Ratt), C.C. Deville (Poison), Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot), Billy Idol, and Dweezil Zappa.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxMiClFIvxg

Music Video of the Day: Rappin’ Rodney by Rodney Dangerfield (1983, directed by ????)

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

Yes, this is a real thing that happened.

In 1983, Rodney Dangerfied released the Rappin’ Rodney album, which was basically Rodney doing his usual routine but this time, he was rapping about how he didn’t get no respect instead of just talking about it. It’s always easy to make fun of these celebrity projects but this one gets a pass because it’s Rodney Dangerfield and he obviously wasn’t trying to start a new career as a rapper. Dangerfield received a Grammy nomination for Rappin’ Rodney so there’s that.

This video was reportedly popular when it was released on MTV in 1983. Since MTV didn’t play black artists during the first few years of its existence, you have to wonder how many many early MTV viewers were first exposed to rap as a result of Rodney Dangerfield. Pat Benatar and Don Novello both make appearances in this video. Novello appears as Father Guido Sarducci, his SNL character who was never really that funny but still showed up on a frequent basis.

Enjoy!

The Onion Movie (2008, directed by James Kleiner)

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Jedadiah Leland

From some of the funniest people on Earth comes one of the least funny films ever made.

That was, at least, my initial reaction to watching The Onion Movie. Written by two of the founders of the world’s premiere satirical news sight, The Onion Movie is a collection of skits that are almost all based on Onion headlines. Some of the skits are amusing. Most of them aren’t. When it comes to the Onion, the headlines are often funnier than the details. A headline about a murder mystery party switching over to a rape investigation party might be funny but having to sit through a lengthy skit about it is considerably less amusing.

Len Cariou plays an anchorman at the Onion News Network, who introduces each satirical story and who gets upset when his employers keep using his newscast to promote a new Stephen Seagal movie called Cock Puncher. (Seagal, who appears as himself, punches people in the groin. The joke would have been funnier if the fake movie had starred Dolph Lundgren.) In between introducing absurd stories, Cariou yells at the network executives, who don’t care about the integrity of the news. Len Cariou is the best thing in the film because he plays his role straight, never once smiling or winking at the camera.

The Onion Movie was written by two of the Onion’s founders and was originally filmed in 2003. It sat on the shelf for five years before being released, without much fanfare, direct-to-video. By the time it was released, The Onion itself had all but disowned the movie, announcing that they were no longer involved beyond the use of the site’s name. (Something similar happened in the 80s when MAD Magazine briefly tried to branch out into films.) Watching the film, it’s easy to see why The Onion distanced themselves from the final product. It’s not just that, for the most part, it’s not very funny. It’s also that the majority of the humor is shockingly racist and sexist. (Halfway through the film, a black civil rights leader announces that he’s going to lead a walk-out to protest the way that blacks have been portrayed in the film. It’s played as a joke but the man has a point.) The Onion Movie wants credit for being politically incorrect but instead, most of the humor just feels lazy. The Onion Movie is type of movie that, if it were released today, The A.V. Club would demand that it be banned. Schadenfreude is nothing to brag about and I’m not proud that I felt some of that as I watched The Onion Movie. If the people who created one of the funniest sites on Earth could create something this bad, I thought, that makes me feel better about every mistake I’ve ever made over the course of my entire life.

By the way, the film’s best joke is borrowed from Caddyshack but at least they got Rodney Dangerfield to come back and deliver it. Dangerfield was always good, even in something like The Onion Movie.

A Movie A Day #151: Easy Money (1983, directed by James Signorelli)

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Jedadiah Leland

Rodney Dangerfield. He didn’t get no respect but he did smoke a lot of weed.

It’s true. Rodney first lit up in 1942 when he was a 21 year-old struggling nightclub comic. According to his widow, the moment meant so much to Rodney that, decades later, he could still remember the room number — 1411, at the Belvedere Hotel in New York City — where he and fellow comedians Bobby Byron and Joe E. Ross smoked that first joint. That was back when Rodney was performing under the name Jack Roy. (His was born Jacob Cohen.) Rodney’s first comedy career went so badly that he quit and spent the next twenty-two years as an aluminum siding salesman until he found the courage to return to the stage. However, whether he was selling or performing, Rodney never stopped smoking marijuana. When he was working on his autobiography, he wanted to call it My Lifelong Romance With Marijuana. His wife convinced him to go with a different title: It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs.

There’s plenty of drugs in Easy Money, which is a problem for baby photographer Monty Capuletti (Rodney, of course). Monty likes to gamble, drink, and smoke pot, much to the disapproval of his wealthy mother-in-law (Geraldine Fitzgerald). When she dies, she stipulates in her will that if Monty goes for a year without indulging in any of his vices, he and his family will receive 10 million dollars. Sounds easy, right? The only problem is that Monty really likes to eat, drink, gamble, and get high. His best friend (Joe Pesci) doesn’t think he can do it. His mother-in-law’s former assistant, Quincy Barlow (Jeffrey Jones), is determined to catch Monty slipping back into his old ways so that he can inherit the money. Monty’s determined, though, to win the money for his family, especially now that his daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has married the bizarre Julio (Taylor Negron).

The episodic plot is really just an excuse for Rodney to be Rodney, spouting off one liners and making snobs like Quincy look foolish. Rodney and Joe Pesci were a surprisingly effective comedy team. The scene where they get stoned and try to drive home without damaging the huge wedding cake in the back of the van is a hundred times funnier than it has any right being. Even though it is hard to imagine her being, in any way, related to Rodney Dangerfield, Jennifer Jason Leigh is always a welcome presence. Like many comedies of that era, Easy Money is uneven, with as many jokes failing as succeeding but, for Rodney Dangerfield fans, it is a must see.