Moving Violations

"Moving Violations" came from the same group of producers that brought us such '80s mega-hit comedies as "Police Academy" and "Bachelor Party," though for one reason or another "M.V." didn't achieve the same level of box office success and has been mostly forgotten today. I loved it as a teenager, though. I must've seen this one at least a dozen times on HBO back in the mid-'80s and cracked up every time. I hadn't seen it in a good 20 years at least but when it suddenly turned up on Fox Movie Channel a couple of weeks ago I felt I had to check it out and see how well (or not) it had aged. Surprisingly enough, I still got a decent amount of chuckles from the film. I guess it still appeals to my inner 14 year old. For those who've never seen it, "Moving Violations" is a pretty standard "slobs vs. the snobs" story, with the "slobs" being a group of terrible drivers sentenced to traffic school and "the snobs" being the tight-assed traffic cops in charge of the class and a crooked judge who has her own designs for the impounded vehicles belonging to the students. The cast is made up of an impressive group including John Murray (youngest brother of Bill Murray, in his first and perhaps only leading role), Jennifer Tilly, Fred Willard, the late Wendy Jo Sperber, Brian Backer (of "Fast Times"), James Keach (brother of Stacy Keach and current husband of Jane Seymour) and Sally Kellerman. We even get a cameo by the legendary Clara Peller (a.k.a. the "Where's The Beef?" lady from the then-current Wendy's commercials). How can you NOT want to watch this? John Murray's "Dana" is the ringleader of the wrongfully-sentenced traffic schoolers and he mugs for all he's worth and gets all the best lines as he and his fellow misfits fight back against Keach's Cop From Hell. When these two match wits it's like watching Bugs Bunny (Murray) vs. Elmer Fudd (Keach). OK, so maybe this isn't a great film, but it is a wonderfully silly one. You gotta love a movie that features a puppet-theatre-on-wheels crashing into a funeral home (sending a casket sailing out the window and directly into its grave), a hypochondriac Wendy Jo chugging a bottle of cooking oil, plugging her orifices with Vaseline and going for a jog, and the sight of Sally Kellerman running down the street in bondage gear (meow!). Oh, and this movie has the single best line of dialogue ever in Hollywood history, when Fred Willard tells a confused Sperber, "We even have some celebrity clients... why, just last week I completely reamed out Roger Moore. He was totally satisfied, in fact he's coming back next week for a full rear-end job."

I would rather sit through "Moving Violations" again than any of the "Police Academy" sequels, and I wonder why John Murray never starred in another movie, as he was hilarious throughout this one and seemed to be heading in the same direction as his brother Bill. Perhaps this wasn't the right "vehicle" (pun not intended) for him? Either way, "Moving Violations" is an unjustly forgotten slice of goofball '80s comedy. They really don't make'em like this anymore.

I'll go on paper or on-line and say that Moving Violations is one of the most underrated comedies of all time. I don't think it is shown enough for one thing. I can name about 14 friends I have shown this to who have never heard of it, but were needing stitches from laughing afterwards.The movie focuses on a bunch of misfits who have to go to traffic school to get their licenses back. The leader of the group is Dana Cannon played by John Murray (Bill's brother) who displayed a fine comedic talent in his first film. His deadpan deliveries such as Woopsie,You kids have fun, Hey its not an ashtray,and when the tough get going the tough get going in their pants. Cannon and his friends give Halek, the teacher, hell throughout the course. Halek holds a personal grudge to Cannon because he's responsible for screwing up his promotion as a cop. There's even some love interest in the film. The puppeteer, the dieter, the horror movie-maniac, the "doc", the blind old lady all fill their parts very well. This movie has been criticized for being too much like Police Academy,but trust me its as funny. The one-liners are memorable and the gags are plenty. It took me forever to find this film to purchase, hopefully it won't take you as long to rent.

Very hilarious! It's the only film I've ever known to have my mom laughing every 2 minutes [or less] while she watched. She was laughing so much, I had to stop what I was doing and go and see what was all the hubbub about. Even though it didn't receive great reviews, it's really entertaining. I like Dana's line after the car/bigrig collision -- "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going in their pants." Thanks :).

Not sure why John Murray didn't do more films - he definitely should have, and hopefully he will do some in the future. True, his acting style is similar to his older brother Bill's, but he's individual enough that he coulda made it big. "Moving Violations" is good. Not great, but it was pretty well directed and it's got its strengths. Actually, it made it into theaters only six months after it was written and filmed - if anything, I'd say that they should have gone back and rewritten and polished up a few things. The plot does get stretched a bit thin over the course of the movie...the best parts come in the beginning and middle. The ending is pretty limp and the whole Judge Henderson/Deputy Halik sexcapade and ensuing car chase sequence just gets boring with all the boffo antics. The character of Scott the Puppeteer, played by Brian Backer (Rat of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") doesn't develop as well as it should have, and the chick who plays his love interest wasn't written well at all - BUT, Backer's star scene near the beginning with the puppet stage rolling down the hill is a total gut-buster. Despite these few problems, there are enough good gags and Murray definitely keeps the movie afloat. Jennifer Tilly is superb as Amy Hopkins the nimrod rocket scientist. James Keach, Wendie Jo Sperber (who had just done "Back to the Future"), Ned Eisenberg, and Nedra Volz all contribute a lot of positive energy, making "Moving Violations" one of those 'so bad, it's good' movies.

If you would like to wow your friends with a 1980s comedy that they probably have never heard of, then look no further than "Moving Violations". This movie has a cast of pedigreed comedians, including Fred Willard, Jennifer Tilly, and Sally Kerrerman. The lead goes to John Murray, brother of Bill Murray. His performance is far from unique, as it clearly mimics Bill Murray and John Belushi. In fact "Moving Violations" has certain scenes that seem to have been influenced by "Animal House, and "The Blues Brothers". Overlook these minor annoyances and be mesmerized by the rapid fire gags which make time fly by with maximum laughs. If you admire any of the above films or actors, this is a must see. - MERK