I can barely recall seeing this film when it was first
released. I remembered that it was funny but couldn’t recall the details. In
the end that was a good thing as I had a solid belly laugh or two while
watching it this time around. It also reminded me of what a hilarious comedic
actor Joe Pesci was at the time and how I’m sure fans would love to see more of
him now.
The movie tells the story of Tommy (Pesci), a mid-level
mobster/bagman whose been given an assignment: take the heads of 8 recently
wiped out mobsters from the east coast to San Diego and top dog Big Sepp as
proof they’ve been killed. Tommy is he sort of guy who has few manners if any
and is used to getting his way. His time on the airplane both in getting the
heads on and the problems he encounters there off the first few laughs.
On the plane he sits next to Charlie (Andy Comeau), a
pre-med student on his way to spend the weekend with his girlfriend Laurie
(Kristy Swanson) and her parents Dick and Annette (George Hamilton and Dyan
Cannon) in Mexico. Tommy treats Charlie with the same disdain he does everyone.
Eventually circumstances result in his carryon bag being pushed back to luggage
which is what starts his problems.
At the airport in San Diego Tommy grabs the wrong bag. It’s
identical to the one Charlie put in luggage earlier in the film. Finding the
book Charlie was writing in the other bag Tommy must now figure out where to
find him. A call to his dorm room results in a less than helpful roommate
(David Spade) hanging up on him causing Tommy to catch a flight to the college
to extract information.
In the meantime Charlie has arrived in Mexico to be greeted
by Laurie and her parents. There he gets the news from Laurie that she intends
to break up with him. As he tells her this is her bowing to the will of her
parents who are not fond of Charlie since he apparently hasn’t determined his
plans for the future.
Once in his room Charlie discovers the heads in the bag he’s
brought with him and freaks out. This begins the comedic moments where
different people discover the heads, a dog tries to abscond with a head and
various things happen to cause heads to go missing. As this plays out, Tommy
arrives to interrogate Charlie’s two roommates for some humorous moments as
well.
Eventually the two characters and their accompanying groups
merge once more as well as the original killers now wondering why Tommy has yet
to deliver the heads. It all ends in hilarity in some of the darkest comedy
ever put on screen.
The worst part of the film: Comeau. My guess is that this
was one of the earliest things he’d done and it shows. He’s not terrible per se
but his is the weakest performance in the film. The character comes off like an
early John Cusak sort but he doesn’t quite have the acting chops yet to pull it
off.
The best part of the film: a dream sequence where Pesci has
lined up all 8 heads on a desk in his motel room and they come alive and start
singing “Mr. Sandman”. It’s one of those moments you find yourself going back
to again and again to watch, laughing each and every time.
Twilight Time is releasing this film and has done an
excellent job on the transfer, but then what else would we expect of them?
Extras as is often the case are limited with just the original theatrical
trailer and an isolated score track. Once again the pressing of this film is
limited to just 3,000 copies so if it’s one that you remember and enjoyed in
the past make sure you pick up a copy before they’re gone. And if you’re a friend
of someone who picks it up, have them bring it over, pop some corn, open the
beverage of your choice and be prepared to laugh and have fun.
Click here to order.
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