Starring: Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, Dan Aykroyd and John Candy
Director: Dan Aykroyd
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Financial advisor Chris Thorn (Chase) tries to impress his sexy new neighbor (Moore) and two of his best clients by taking them on a road-trip to Atlantic City. They get sidetracked, and they find themselves at the mercy of an insane small-town judge (Aykroyd) and his equally insane family.
This film is a funny spoof of movies like "The Hills Have Eyes" and the remake of "House of Wax", or any other of dozens of the "city folk get menaced/killed in a horrific, backwoods death-trap inhabited by inbred, nutty hicks" horror movies. It takes that already ludicrous concept and sends it waaay over the top in the most absurd and hilarious fashions. Heck, in some ways, the movie's even better thought out than most of films it's making fun of, because it explains how the crazy family has been able to murder literally hundreds of travelers without law enforcement noticing.
Although a comedy, the film also manages to be supremely creepy. The junkyard surrounding the mansion where the maniac judge holds court is more chilling than some of the locations for serious movies with the same sorts of settings.
Where "Nothing But Trouble" falls down is that director Aykroyd doesn't know when to quit. The movie has two denouements, one which is cute and one which is unfunny and left a slightly sour taste in my mouth.
I love this movie. The last good film with Chevy Chase in it (would have liked to have seen him go through the bonestripper). My favorite part is the dinner scene and those weird looking frankfurters with the slimy tips at the end. Aykroyd stuffs one in his face and says with a mouthful, "go ahead folks, make yourself up a couple of dogs!"
ReplyDeleteChase did seem to lose whatever ability he had to pick projects after this one, didn't he?
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