Scavenger Hunt

In our series of "dumb, forgettable and tremendously entertaining 70's movies" we today proudly present "Scavenger Hunt"! It's an irresistibly silly flick with a rudimentary plot and predictable denouement, but the enthusiasm of the (tremendous) ensemble cast and incontrollable laughs caused by stupid jokes pretty much compensate for all its defaults. The script is a non-stop series of clichéd situations and stereotypical characters, but the beauty is that you expect everything to be like this! By today's standards "Scavenger Hunt" looks extremely dated, because it doesn't feature any vulgar humor or hi-tech devices, but the charming atmosphere will catapult you straight back to the 1970's. The cynical old millionaire Milton Parker (outstanding cameo of Vincent Price) found an inventive to divide his fortune between his greedy vultures of inheritors. All names mentioned in the testament, including direct relatives as well as servants and even a completely unrelated taxi driver, are put in small groups and send out on a giant scavenger hunt. The list includes the oddest items that can't be bought (public toilets, obese people, an ostrich …) and the winners are whichever group that collects the highest number of stuff by 5pm that same afternoon. Needless to say the game quickly turns into a hectic game full of cheating, fighting and public disturbance. "Scavenger Hunt" is a lot of fun and I'm nearly inclined to say that only a true sourpuss can sit through this movie without a single smile on his face. Heck, even the prominent cast members enjoyed themselves very much in their roles and clearly didn't care too much about the inferior artistic value. The cast list is impressive to say the least, with Scatman Crothers, Cloris Leachman, Roddy McDowell, Cleavon Little, Richard Mulligan, Dirk Benedict, Tony Randall and many others. There even are big names in small cameo roles, like the aforementioned Vincent Price as the sadist patriarch, Meat Loaf as a sleazy biker gang leader and governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as – surprise – a fitness teacher! Good fun, no more … no less!

This is what I call one of my "guilty pleasure" movies. It's not a particularly well-made movie, and it is, admittedly, somewhat dated, but for some reason I never tire of watching it, and it still makes me laugh every time. I'm sure this makes me a geek (and some, I'm sure, will argue a geek with a poor sense of humor), but I think this film is hilarious. I've easily seen it 300+ times and have the whole thing memorized, and I still laugh at it. I love sophisticated comedy, old classics, art-house films, epics, and blockbusters as much as the next guy; but when I just need pure mindless entertainment or a good laugh, I pull out this film, and it always does the trick. Scavenger Hunt has a talented cast of famous names from the seventies, including Richard Benjamin, Richard Mulligan, Cloris Leachman, Tony Randall, Roddy McDowall, James Coco, Cleavon Little, Willie Aames, and Dirk Benedict plus cameos from such names as Vincent Price, Avery Schreiber, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Liz Torres, Meat Loaf, and Arnold Schwartzenegger. Richard Mulligan, Avery Schreiber, and Stephanie Faracy play my favorite characters (actually I enjoy the whole servant team, which includes Faracy, McDowall, Little, and Coco). I remember seeing this movie as a kid, and I thought it was so funny (and maybe that's why I like it so much, because it reminds me of my innocent days of youth). I realize this flick isn't for everyone, but I find it humorous and entertaining, and it's clean. Some of the characters are overly broad, some of the humor is stupid, and some situations are simply unbelievable, but if you just go into this movie knowing that it's far-fetched comedy for comedy's sake and understand that it isn't taking itself seriously, you can still have a good time. I know I have.

Okay, I don't know who it is that hates this movie, but it is one of my favorite movies of all time. I laughed as the funny characters gathered up kayaks, moose heads and ostriches. How could anyone hate this movie? If you liked this movie, you should also check out Midnight Madness!

I don't know what the rest of you think, but if you grew up in the 70's and early eighties you'll love this movie!!! Don't listen to the idiots who don't know COMEDY!!! IT IS FUNNY!!! ALL OF IT!!! Especially when James CoCo has to put on the panty hose over his head as a disguise when they are robbing the convenient store!!! HILARIOUS!!! There are so many funny parts in this movie I can't type all night to mention! BUY IT! You'll love it. IT IS JUST FOR ENTERTAINMENT!! This isn't Gladiator!!! It is supposed to be silly, it's a comedy, STUPID!!!:-)

While not one of my favourite movies of all time, Scavenger Hunt is one that I do consider very underrated. The ending is predictable sure and some people may find some parts too on the cruel side. But the backdrop is lovely and it does look good still. While the story has a premise done a lot before and since and may feel thin to some, I personally found it never dull. If I were to compare it to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(which I've seen a lot of people comparing it to), which I do like very much, Scavenger Hunt is a lot shorter and the pace brisker, so first-time viewers of both movies may find themselves less exhausted-feeling depending on their patience levels watching this. I do agree that Scavenger Hunt is hilarious, the dialogue is plentiful, endlessly quotable and often enough to split the sides though you may be in danger of missing things from laughing. It isn't just the dialogue though, Cloris Leachman in 3-inch heels, Georgie's nasal whining("They killed Buzzy"), the laughing gas scene, the four servants overflowing the lab with suds, Scatman Crothers with the wedding veil and Richard Mulligan's priceless facial expression, James Coco trying to rob the market and the toilet-stealing scene are enough to raise a number of laughs. The cast show great comic timing and have plenty of star power. I personally don't think this is a case of a great cast working against the script. And this is not just the main parts(James Coco, Richard Benjamin, Stephanie Faracy and Scatman Crothers stood out), but also the cameos especially from Arnold Schwarznegger and Vincent Price. All in all, a hilarious and underrated if not perfect or award-worthy movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox