Wacky Taxi

So, let me see if I understand this. We meet Pepper Morales, a married man with kids and a pregnant wife, at his job in a factory. The narrator tells us he is not satisfied with his job and we next see Pepper walk off the job after impulsively overturning a rolling cart filled with empty cans that scatter everywhere, making a mess that his former coworkers will have to clean up. At least he shook the hands of his coworkers before triumphantly exiting the building and leaping in the air for a freeze frame during the opening credits. Pepper goes home and announces he's starting a taxi business, spending almost all the family's savings on a broken down 1959 Cadillac and some take out food. This is during the first ten laugh-free minutes. It never gets better.

Maybe I'm just a cynical old guy, but I don't see a lot of humor in a man placing his family into serious financial jeopardy this way. Luckily for him his wife seems to be clueless about the potential dire consequences of Pepper's actions. He acts like someone experiencing a manic episode and by todays standards, everything he does is disturbing. Playing wacky music and speeding up the frames does not make on screen law-breaking and mental illness funny.

John Astin is funny in The Addams Family, but I cannot imagine what he was thinking to star in this steaming pile of crap. Cameos from the singer/satirist Alan Sherman and Frank Sinatra, Jr. Are also awful.

I gave this two stars because despite its deep flaws, it was fun to see San Diego in 1972 and literally tons of classic cars.

A man buys a taxi to change his monotonous existence. A mediocre movie with an ending that doesn't belong to him. The only scene I liked was the loss of the taxi. I could feel the feeling of abandonment and emptiness that captured the poor taxi driver's heart. Only decent scene from the movie or at least the only one I remember.

This movie premiered as "Pepper" at The Lakewood Center Theater, Lakewood is a suburb 25 miles outside of Hollywood, which should have been indicative of the low expectations the studio had for this film. The meandering plot was impossible to stay involved with. And it simply wasn't funny. I did get to meet John Astin, so I give it an extra star.

Pepper (John Astin) is a guy who's never happy on a job. He quits his latest job and decides, spur of the moment, to open up a cab business. Sadly, he's never considered any of the details--insurance, a reliable car, licensing and much more. Not surprisingly, his dreams of riches and steady work come to nothing through most of the movie...and it's all a bit painful to watch....especially as he tries to make it work with a broken down old 1959 Cadillac.

With a title like "Wacky Taxi", you would expect the film to be a comedy. Sadly, however, there really isn't much about this picture that would make anyone laugh...in fact, it's a bit dull. No....it's a LOT dull. Considering how dull the film is I am not surprised that it's a title few have heard of and it's rarely seen. I found it on YouTube...and wish I'd just kept looking.

I bought this for £3 at a fleamarket as I collect old obscure films. The cover said, 'Family Comedy Colour' one of these didn't fit. Sure it is a family film and it's in colour, but there isn't much comedy in it except for the little bits where they really tried to inject some in. Actually it is quite a entertaining story of a poor man with kids who dreams of leaving his job at the canning factory and start up his own business. And he does, by buying an old junk heap car and painting taxi on the side he ferries people around town. But many things go wrong and he's discouraged from trying all the way by his brother in law but he carries on. It's a little strange in parts but this helps to keep you interested. Overall it's a nice family film with a bit of a grimy touch it manages to be a better than average tale of a man and his dream. 7 / 10