Blu-Ray Review: Still-Hilarious ‘Caddyshack’ a Perfect Father’s Day Gift

CHICAGO – The best comedies are just as funny decades after they were released as the day they come out. Watch “Blazing Saddles” for the perfect example. Or “Young Frankenstein”. Or even “Caddyshack,” a film that’s not in the league of the absolute best but is still hysterically funny three decades after its release, a fact made clear by a fantastic Blu-ray release hitting stores just in time for Father’s Day.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

What more could possibly be written about “Caddyshack” that hasn’t already been since its 1980 release? The film is the perfect example of the right group of people getting together at just the right time and finding comedy gold in their chemistry. Veterans like Ted Knight and Rodney Dangerfield blending with the new stars of the day like Chevy Chase and Bill Murray with a crew of talented young actors and actresses. “Caddyshack” is proof that so much of the comedy fight is won before a frame is even filled. It’s often just in getting the right people together.

Caddyshack was released on Blu-ray, On Demand at Amazon, and for download on iTunes on June 8th, 2010
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The Blu-ray release of “Caddyshack” is a notable one not merely for providing such a beloved ’80s film in HD but because of a truly spectacular special feature — a feature-length behind-the-scenes doc called “Bio Caddyshack: The Inside Story”. The special includes new interviews with many of the major players including co-writer/director Harold Ramis. Sadly, Chase and Murray apparently couldn’t be bothered to take the time, but the rest of the participants more than make up for their absence with a great mix of trivia (Mickey Rourke almost starred in the film), anecdotes about its making, and reflections on what it means three decades later. Even if you’re not as big a “Caddyshack” fan now as you were in the college days when you quoted it constantly, don’t miss this doc. The other special feature is a retrospective featurette from the fan perspective called “Caddyshack: The 19th Hole”.

Finally, as for the technical quality of the release, it’s pretty good if not great. The overall HD picture has an odd inconsistency in that some scenes seem to have been kept more grain-heavy than others and some night scenes losing a bit of line detail. But the majority of the film looks better than the VHS copy you broke back in the ’80s.

For the documentary, the technical upgrade, and the fact that the film has held up as well as any of its day, “Caddyshack” deserves a spot on nearly anyone’s Blu-ray shelf. It may be already three decades old, but you’ll still be watching it thirty years from now.

Synopsis:

“30 years ago, the game of golf was redefined when Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray and Ted Knight took to the fairways of Bushwood Country Club. When Caddyshack hits Blu-ray, fans will see the riotous hole-in-one comedy like never before. The fairways will be greener. The golf balls whiter. The gopher…err…fuzzier. The Blu-ray will contain all of the special features from the original standard definition version: Caddyshack: The 19th Hole (37 min), a retrospective documentary featuring hilarious outtakes, rare footage and interviews with stars Chevy Chase and Cindy Morgan, producers Jon Peters and Mark Canton, and director Harold Ramis, along with other cast and creative team members recalling their on-set experiences; and the theatrical trailer.”

[14]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [15] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [14]