Foul Play Movie Review

I've seen Foul Play more times than I'm willing to admit, but watching it again on DVD reveals just how brainless and silly the film really is. Not that that's a bad thing: With Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in the leads, what more would you expect? But the movie, at last, is showing its age after all these years.

Hawn plays a San Francisco librarian who unwittingly gets wrapped up in a massive conspiracy revolving around the Catholic church and a host of bad guys, including an albino and a dwarf (possibly teaming up these two iconic movie evildoers for the first time in cinema). Chase, after appearing in one early scene, vanishes for the first 45 minutes, returning to reveal himself as a bumbling cop who protects her for the remainder of the film. Together they crack the case, one of the most absurd stories ever put on film.

Of course, movies like this (see also Seems Like Old Times) weren't designed to showcase intricate plots. Rather, we are meant to giggle at Hawn and Chase's chemistry, laugh at pratfalls, and roll our eyes at cameos from the likes of Dudley Moore, who has a helium-filled blow-up sex doll secreted in his apartment (among other novelties). In the end they'll come together, even though Goldie's first impression was unfavorable.

The highlight of the film, however, is Burgess Meredith, as an elderly man who lives in Goldie's building and fancies himself a badass. His comic turn is reason enough to check out the DVD.