Warner Bros. | 1980 | 98 mins. | Rated R
To a film purist, Caddyshack might be thought of as a mess. Rather than a clear story from beginning to end, the movie plays out like a series of skits or vignettes, weaving its way through a 100 minute run time. However, with a cast that included Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Ted Knight, and Rodney Dangerfield in his film debut, what would have become a disaster in the hands of most became a frequently quoted classic.Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe) is a recent high school graduate trying to figure out what to do with his life. He’s working at the Bushwood Country Club as a Caddy, in hopes of making enough money for college in order to avoid working at the local lumberyard. To complicate matters, his girlfriend just might be pregnant. Putting the class struggle into perspective are the wealthy club members he and the other lowly caddies have to put up with. There’s immature, millionaire playboy Ty Webb (Chase), snob extraordinaire Judge Smails (Knight) who is constantly exasperated by his promiscuous niece, Lacey Underall (Cindy Morgan) and lowlife real estate developer Al Czervik (Dangerfield). Despite the obvious challenges, Danny’s only real hope of going to college is to endear himself to those members and snag a caddy scholarship. For my money, Bill Murray is at his best here as sadsack greenskeeper Carl Spackler. Perpetually addled, Carl is waging war with a crafty gopher and delivering rambling monologues to himself or anyone who’ll listen.
Initially, Murray, Chase and Dangerfield were supposed to have little more than cameos in the film; however, there ability to improvise lead to a mass expansion of their roles. Murray and Dangerfield in particular, were masters at ad-libbing and delivered some of the films classic lines: So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself.”; “So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.”; “Oh, this is the worst-looking hat I ever saw. What, when you buy a hat like this I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you though.”; and “Licensed to kill gofers. By the government of the United Nations.”
Any attempt to glean real serious meaning out of Caddyshack generally falls flat. Yes, as discussed in one of the special features on this disc, there’s the same “slobs versus snobs” theme that was part of Animal House. And, yes, there are still at least the vestiges of the initial story about Danny trying to find his way in the world. But the truth is, with all the one liners, sight gags and hilarious monologues, Caddyshack is just one heck of a funny romp.
The Blu-ray disc presents the film in its 1.85:1 ratio theatrical dimensions using a VC-1 codec. Overall, the picture quality is pretty good, although it varies from bright and crisp to slightly rough and grainy, with almost everything in between. Though with a thirty year-old film, this may have been the best material engineers had to work with.
The opening sequence is probably the grainiest, but the film does clear up considerably as it goes along. The filmmakers shot much of it on location at several Florida golf courses, and it is those outdoor scenes that sometimes look the roughest. Faces in medium and long shots can occasionally look more than a bit dark. That said, the high-definition picture can also be gloriously sharp and well detailed, with close-ups particularly vivid and natural. I guess you could call it a bit of a grab bag.
WB processed the audio in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and it, too, varies. The sound is sometimes a little hard and edgy, and voices can in a few scenes sound a bit nasally; otherwise, the clarity is outstanding. Despite a lack of true surround activity, its strong dynamic impact and midrange lucidity make up for some of its other shortcomings. One thing: You’re not going to miss a word the characters say.
Two above average featurettes augment this new Blu-ray release. Originally airing on The Biography Channel, Caddyshack: The Inside Story (80 minutes; 1080i) is an in-depth look at the development and filming of the movie. You’ll get a sense of what the original Danny story was all about, why O’Hooligan has that incredibly thick Irish accent, and a host of other questions answered. Almost all of the cast and crew are interviewed, and while the television origins of the piece are evident (lots of recaps coming out of the now excised commercial breaks), it still makes for an interesting viewing. Caddyshack: The 19th Hole (31 minutes; 480p), offers some deleted scenes which aren’t in the longer documentary. The original theatrical trailer rounds out the package.
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