Foolin' Around

This movie has too much adult material in it, but if you accept that fact, it is a pretty good movie. Busey plays Wes, a likable underdog from Fort Cobb, Oklahoma. His friend Clay has been going to the University of Minnesota, and Wes enrolls to learn building engineering. Susan's grandfather offers wisdom to young Wes. Seals and Crofts perform the title song and "These Moments Never Live Again." The movie paints Minnesota in a favorable light. It shows a Vikings game and the Mississippi River, and it gives you the feeling you're right there. There is a lot of silliness in this movie, but, then, it's called "Foolin' Around."

I saw this on cable around 1982, and have fondly remembered it ever since. Very funny! My sister and I cracked up the whole time watching the average-Joe, Gary Busey, try to win the love of rich-girl, Annette O'Toole, and the crazy antics involving the butler. The butler (Tony Randall) was so funny in this movie! Unfortunately, it is not currently available on DVD/video. I sure hope it is re-released soon.

The fact that this little gem of a movie isn't on DVD in an age when every bad film ever made had met it's digital home is a crime against cinephiles everywhere. I loved this movie as a kid and still have it on VHS but it is very worn and needs to have a DVD upgrade very soon.

You have an all-star cast, a whip-smart script and one of the most underrated performances of Tony Randall's career. What more are you people waiting for.

If you get a chance and happen to come across a VHS copy at your local video store, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It is well worth your time, for Tony Randall if nothing else.

"Foolin' Around" is one of those films that harkens back to 1930s screwball comedy, and that knows enough not to take itself too seriously. Likewise, it knows one of the key lessons of such comedies -- get likeable leads together with wonderful supporting actors to make the genre work.

Busey (one of my favorite actors when he's on his game) plays a good ol' boy who's going to the University of Minnesota who falls in love with fellow coed O'Toole. Despite the fact that she's ostensibly spoken for (with obnoxious boor Calvin), a romance blooms between the two of them, not the least because her grandfather (Eddie Albert, in an extremely fun character performance) sees in Busey a lot of the same blue collar roots and values that brought him to the top. Busey is wonderfully likeable (as he usually is) as is O'Toole, but it is Albert, Cloris Leachman (as O'Toole's status-conscious mother) and Tony Randall (hilarious as their stiff-as-a-board butler) that really get into the screwball spirit. Randall's efforts to keep track of a mysteriously disappearing and reappearing bag and his (off-screen) sex scene with Leachman are among the many highlights in this film.

On a one-to-ten scale, this film definitely hits a 7 1/2.

This movie is an enjoyable experience from start to finish. Two all time great comedic moments in movie history are in this jewell. Tony Randall steals the show with his portrayal of Cloris Leachman's butler at the engagement party and Busey's thinking out loud comments on answering questions while he has has been summoned to fix an air conditioning problem.

The movie has it all... a little romance, a little comedy, great character development, good acting, but most of all, a great script.

The editing is above average, good locations and even the chase scene at the end has its thrills. Look for William H. Macy in the beginning.

Why can't Hollywood make more movies like this one?