Under the Rainbow

With a bit of dark humor thrown in. This is one of my top favorite movies. Mistaken identities and foiled evil plots abound. Those concerned with its lack of "political correctness" should relax and not be so serious. One reviewer said that, if there was anyone they missed making fun of, it must have been only because they ran out of film stock. Exactly! This film has equal opportunity humor. A Japanese friend of mine, personally not known for his tremendous sense of humor, thought the film was hilarious, and has watched it several times, laughing hardest at the Japanese caricatures.

I highly recommend this overlooked gem. Get it, watch it, loosen up and laugh.

Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Pat McCormack, Billy Barty, Eve Arden, Joseph Maher, Adam Arkin, Cork Hubbard, Robert Donner – how could it not be good. The temporary manager (Arkin) of the Culver Hotel, across from MGM in 1939, changes its name to Hotel Rainbow to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the soon-to-be shot Wizard of Oz. It works as the studio's talent agent (Fisher) books rooms for all of their wouldbe munchkins. So, we start with hundreds of partying little people who make a Shriners convention look like a religious retreat. Throw in an FBI agent (Chase) protecting a traveling Duke (Maher) and Duchess (Arden) from a crazed assassin (Donner), and then a couple of dozen photo- snapping Japanese tourists whose bus breaks down in front of the hotel. Finally, sift in a Japanese agent (Mako) and a dwarf Nazi spy (Barty) who are looking for each other in a hotel full of Japanese and dwarfs. The plot is decent without getting in the way of the comedy, the acting is great, and the dialogue is often superb (What floor do you want? Ballroom. Oh' I'm sorry, I didn't know I was crowding you.) All in all, it's a great way to spend an afternoon.

But it was supposed to be a spoof. I could not stop laughing as the movie was so much of a farce I found it to keep me laughing all the time. I would not recommend it for theater view but if you have never seen the movie I would say its worth watching as a rental as the cost of it is so little now. You could rent something much more costly and worse like Dead Calm. I found that all the dumb things that happened such as trying to keep the suicidal dog in the picture just more then my sides could take at times. When that dog jumped out of the window for the ball I lost it. How could you not think something as this movie which I assume was to be as "B" a movie as anyone could possibly make not be funny? I found it much better then the Vacation movies by far. I would say that this review has a spoiler but this movie cant be spoiled as there is no real plot.

That's right...this movie is as campy and goofy as you can get and one almost wonders why the stars that were in it (at the time) decided that THIS was a film that they wanted to be in...but...to watch it again...it's almost like a precursor to a Seinfeld episode whereas the many plots all come together at the end to make a very funny and often overlooked film...come on...if Rocky Horror is regarded as a classic, why can't this film?...it has a plethora of midgets, Japanese tourists and spies...Chevy Chase in his prime...and is a takeoff of the Wizard of Oz?...how much more odd can you get...a definite rental that grows on you!

This is a great movie that satirizes Hollywood stereotypes in a fun filled slapstick romp. Sadly, many people miss the point of satire, and will only see the stereotypes. They will not enjoy the movie, but then why do people with no sense of humor even pick up a comedy??

The main character is led through an unbelievable sequence of events while staying at a hotel awaiting a tryout for "The Wizard of Oz". The hotel is filled with hopefuls for the Munchkin parts, and has been chosen as a supposedly quiet meeting place for a Japanese and German spy to exchange info.

The German is a midget, and the addition of a Japanese tour bus stopping at the hotel makes the meeting of these two spies quite a mess.

toss in lots of slapstick, satire, and chase fun, and you have a comedy romp that the whole family can belly laugh to.