Dan Ayrkoyd, looking boxy and well-scrubbed, plays a college professor in Massachusetts who is caught up in the media frenzy surrounding elderly German neighbor Jack Lemmon, who has been accused of being a notorious Nazi war criminal living under an assumed identity; when Lemmon tells Aykroyd he intends to leave the country in protest, Aykroyd plots to poison him as a form of historical justice. Writer-director Harvey Miller probably intended this dark-hued comedy to be a twisted hoot, in the "Eating Raoul" vein. He apparently gained the trust of his talented performers--and comedy vet Penny Marshall was swayed enough to co-produce--but something must have gotten lost in the translation from screenplay to film, because there are hardly any laughs in this scenario. The cast plays it poker-faced...perhaps they weren't sure just how over-the-top the presentation should be. Results are curiously lukewarm, and full of dumb jokes like one involving Lemmon's dog being attracted to Aykroyd's crotch--which Miller then repeats, as a TV director might. *1/2 from ****
