Las prisas de Eddie

Fans of the obscure 80s comedy, 'Odd Jobs' (in which Scott McGinnis, who plays Skip here, also co-stars) might want to try out this rather silly romantic comedy, although it lacks much of the stupid humor of the former (but still contains some wry humor). This is the story of a well-meaning, somewhat naive guy named Eddie (David Packer) from Akron, Ohio who goes to live with his suave cousin, Skip (McGinnis) in Los Angeles where he finds out that success comes from pretending to be successful. It's advice that Eddie is at least willing to try, having no luck in his advertising pursuits (he's a handbill solicitor on the beach for a rental shack) and romance. Most of the movie focuses on Eddie's romantic pursuits as he enlists in a video dating service and, with one false persona after the next, he meets girls with all sorts of bizarre hangups that seem to get him no where. So Eddie thinks that maybe Los Angeles has him beat. (Think of it as like the West Coast version of Michael J. Fox's character in "Secret to my Success").

Most of the humor comes from the odd situations Eddie finds himself in with all of the strange people he meets in L.A. Look for Diz McNally in a bit part as a cab driver. For those who grew up in the 80s, you may remember her from the old Nickelodeon show, 'Out of Control,' which starred David Coulier. And, aside from my usual favorite, Scott Miginnis in his trademark role of the wealthy stud, I thought David Leisure as Eddie's boss, Lu Leonard as the dating service manager, and Frank Bonner and Luanna Anders who play Eddie's parents, were terrific and hilarious supporting characters. The lead, David Packer, has always done well with this sort of naive, well-meaning character. Those who enjoyed The Running Kind might want to give this one a try (and vice versa).

I think the title is trying to explain why this film ddrrrraaaags along. It's like swimming in molasses. Lots of dialogue here but none of it of any value. I challenge anyone to sit through this entire movie in one sitting without falling asleep or going mad. But then one should expect no less from the co-writer of "Three for the Road", that movie was no winner either. I'm sure this movie looked good to Bridget Fonda on paper, it just should have stayed there.

Okay, the movie was pretty awful, though it didn't make me want to vomit. I'm trying to figure out what the makers of this film were thinking. The most amusing part of the film was of course all the dates that the lead character got set up on. Of course it wasn't all that original because the dates from hell is a standard plot in every movie and sitcom. I am a fan of Bridget Fonda's, and even though she wasn't a big name at the point of this film's making, I have to wonder why she would consent to be in this. Other than she needed the money. I definitely don't need to see this one again. It may have been aiming for charmingly goofy, but it ended up at the destination of head shaking bad.

David Packer wants to find success, love, and his path in sunny California. Leaving his parents and home behind, he goes to live with a friend (Scott McGinnis.) The whole plot of the film is his experience of joining a dating service "Love Connection"-style and hooking up with supposedly nice girls and the quandaries they put him in. For such an obviously simple film, it has enough charm to make you relax and feel at home. This is not terribly inspired or original, but you get to see plenty of 1980s stars, such as David Leisure, Kristy McNichol, Sally Kellerman, Charles Grodin, Anthony Geary, Lu Leonard, Frank Bonner, Merete van Kemp (from Dallas and TV miniseries) and Bridget Fonda. I don't usually read other reviews, but I agree with a lot of them when I say "I ashamedly admit to enjoying and liking most of it." It's so unpretentious and is not in your face with crude jokes like others of its kind. In other words, this is better than it has any right to be, given the likable and down-to-earth lead actor and colorful and professional supporting players. The director rightly made a who's who cast to keep the viewer interested. While this is peppered here and there with some skin scenes for those who enjoy that sort of thing, on the whole, this is a better than usual 1980s film about a guy trying to find love.

Blast from the past with this cast: David Leisure, Frank Bonner (wkrp), Charles Grodin (mister low key), sally kellerman (back to school), Kristy McNichol. In the film, Eddie (Packer) heads to LA to hang with his cousin Skip (McGinnis). The midwest guy has a hard time fitting in, and the job Skip got for him is handing out flyers on the beach! He gives video dating a try, but each date is wackier than the one before. It's a bubble gum flick, with lots of saxophone, and big hair. The actors all show weird smiles after each sentence. There's barely a plot, where mom and dad are trying to convince Eddie to come back home. Of course, there's full frontal female nudity. That's about the only redeeming feature of this one. Moves so slowly. Written and directed by Richard Martini. This was his first direction of a full length film. Seems to have done a bunch of docs recently.