I had never heard of this movie and just today (20121215) came across it on Netflix.
So, for those looking to watch it, you have the opportunity. (and this is where my review would end, were it not for the 10-line minimum rule! So, on to the blathering...)
Casting (or, possibly, makeup) and score selections were slight distractions. Less cartoonish portrayals of 'Aunt' Beverly and Billy would have helped the audience relate more with these characters, who represent a genuine compassionate, charitable neighbor to everyone and a war veteran. As it stands, they are presented as kooks and the antagonists (I'll let you figure out who they are) are presented as the sane, "normal," most-easily-related-to folks. That may have been the only way to get the film made, however. Sort of like Churchill being forbidden from writing about Hitler - he still did it, using animal abstractions, but people read between the lines and understood.
I've also never been a huge fan of scores that include whimsical flute playing. I understand the link to our nation's history, but the sound just doesn't strike the right chord for such a serious topic.
The presentation of the story is typical for the 80s. Not quite the gritty "French Connection/Dog Day Afternoon/Dirty Harry" quality of the 70s films and not the over-the-top "Dumb and Dumber/Scary Movie" silliness of the 90s/00s. Somewhere in the middle.
If this film were made today, it would be darker (truer?), and the omnipresence of the IRS, while significant, would be but a mere shadow of its true power. Still, I think you'll get the intended feelings when watching the current film.
