My review was written in April 1986 after a screening on Manhattan's UES.
Though closely resembling a backyard, homemade film in structure and technique, "Ryder, P. I." is an amusing little feature made in Port Washington, N. Y. Fans willing to take a goof on a low-budget pic will enjoy it.
Dave Hawthorne (who co-wrote the screenplay) toplines as a pudgy private eye named Sky Ryde, who is given to halting the story in order to essay his okay impression of Jack Nicholson and other celebrities. He is teamed, in Bowery Boys fashion, with nerd assistant Eppie (Bob Nelson), whose idea of getting a license plate number is to unscrew the plate and bring it to Ryder.
The duo is on a case railing a woman for her husband (actually watching the wrong lady for a whole year) when they save a lovely young woman Valerie (Frances Raines) who is being assaulted by three bikers. Ryder takes her under his wing, romance blossoms and he succeeds in saving her from a group of South American drug smugglers out to get her inherited land holdings south of the border. The bikers turn out to be undercover federal drug enforcement agents.
Loaded with silly shtick and a sense of humor drawing upon tv culture, "Ryder" has its share of funny gags. Bes sequence is a throwback to the 1960s, a lyrical interlude of the three leads romping at the beach and a miniature golf course.
Hawthorne holds the film together in a warm performance while sidekick Nelson overdoes his scatterbrained routine, using a voice similar to Frank Fontaine's Crazy Guggenheim impression. Raines is a fresh new face as the vulnerable heroine in one of her best showcases yet (after roles in "Model Behavior", "Disconnected" and other East Coast B-pictures.
Among numerous comedians in small roles, radio personality Howard Stern is unimpressive as a goofy tv anchorman named Ben Wah and Chuck Rader's carbon of Dirty Harry is subpar.
Picture was lensed on videotape with a Betacam system. Its transfer to 35mm film for theatrical release is adequate, though blurring (especially of street signs and other written material) is evident in longshots and some panning shots.
