Film:
Caddyshack (1980)
Rated: R
Directed by:
Harold Ramis
Written by:
Bryan Doyle-Murray &
Harold Ramis Starring:
Chevy Chase as Ty Webb
Ted Knight as Judge Smails
Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik
Bill Murray as Carl Speckler
Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan
Cindy Morgan as Lacy Underall
Sarah Holcolmb as Maggie
Scott Colomby as Tony D'Annunzio
The Gopher as HimselfBy Pete Hayes
Rodney and his Wang...no offense
Pre-screening memories: My dad was a huge Rodney Dangerfield fan. I remember listening to his records as a little youngster and also enjoying the humor, which balanced observational humor with just the right amount of silliness, which pretty much sums up my sense of humor today.
But while Dangerfield was perhaps the bait, I loved (and continue to love) Caddyshack for the fact that it was a veritable spectrum of comedic styles, each playing to their own strengths. Bill Murray plays the loveable slob he perfected in his days on Saturday Night Live. Chevy Chase was the quip-spouting motormouth he had later honed in the movies. And Ted Knight was the easily agitated time bomb that wrestled (to no avail) to keep a calm exterior.
Bill Murray, who's got that going for him
And, of course, there were the countless one-liners that emerged which were (and still are) repeated every time I strap on the spike and slide out my driver on the course. It is impossible to visit a golf course today without at least one or two scenes or sayings entering my head. I love sports movies, but rarely has one been so completely dominant in my head every time I play the game.
Cindy and Chevy, in a completely improvised scene
New memories: Through the years, I think I have tended to favor one comedian or another from time to time, depending on what stage of life I was in (earlier it was Rodney, later it was Chevy, and perhaps in another few decades it will be Ted), but I lost respect for the others. And I would be remiss if I did not mention our guest for this podcast, Ms. Lacey Underall herself. Seldom has an entrance into a film been so memorable. Through the years, I may gravitate toward certain comedic stylings, my appreciation for her has remained steadfast. Her addition to the proceedings can not be underestimated, as she provided the perfect balance of sensuality to the silliness.
Caddyshack is rightfully deserved of its inclusion in lists of top comedies of all time, and I can watch dozens of comedies each year, but I am sure it will always remain one of mine.
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Our featured guest: Cindy Morgan
Photo courtesy Cindy Morgan
Lacy may not have had all the zingers in Caddyshack, but make no mistake, even though Caddyshack was filled with top-tier comedians, all eyes were on her the moment she sauntered across the green of ???? Country Club.
It was quite an entrance for the former radio girl from Chicago, but she managed to make her mark at this boys club, including standing her ground with one Chevy Chase. It was a daunting task, but one in which helped cement her into iconic status. On film, she went on to create another legendary character, that of Yori in the cult classic Tron.
Currently, Cindy is putting the finishing touches of a coffe table book of her time spent on the set of Caddyshack, which should be released in 2010. Here, she shares some of those memories, including her famous dive into the pool, her mad golfing skills and her tangle with producers which led to her being left off or downgraded on almost all the promotional material of the film.
Thanks, Cindy, for letting us shoulder your bags for a little while here at Natsukashi.
Though he originally came to Los Angeles in his teens to further his passion for music, Nash’s chiseled good looks soon landed him roles in television and, soon after, film.His big break was 1985’s underrated comedy 
Pre-screening memories: Like many teens, I went through a ‘horror’ phase at around age 13 (that it hasn’t ended yet isn’t the point). It was a common enough occurrence, the kind of thing where you start looking for things to define your rapidly-approaching adulthoood, and set yourself apart from the childish things you imagine you no longer have a use for.
Horror movies are an incredibly socially acceptible way of going about this. Choosing to be scared is something that seems a lot more dangerous than it actually is to a young teen, but has the benefit of being somehting that a child would never do.
That’s not to say that the movie is a complete disaster – there’s a really interesting theme in the film about finding your true face – one character has to pull of his skin to discover what he really looks like, and Cronenberg has to put on a mask to reveal himself. And there’s so much random craziness that it’s hard not to recommend a viewing of the film – the parade of monsters that appear in Midian are impressive, featuring more unique creatures than anything this side of Labryinth. Also on the down side, though, is the film’s score, which is wildly inappropriate for the content of the movie, and borrows far too heavily from Danny Elfman’s other major film of that year, Batman.
Our featured guest: Simon Bamford
Pre-screening memories: The passion for Demolition Man was born out of a sense of Dredd to a young Scott. Judge Dredd, actually. The futuristic film (that was actually released after Demolition Man), co-starred a certain object of Scott’s affection — Rob Schneider. Kidding, it was Diane Lane, who Scott 
The interest in that film led him to check out this misunderstood slide of cinematic cheese when he was but a young lad and he was soon taken by its addictive qualities.
But it started as quite a different film and we were fortunate enough to be joined by co-star Glenn Shadix, who not only informs us about the metamorphosis, but give us plenty of backstage stories to help us all fully appreciate the film.
Glenn returned to Natsukashi fresh from his visit from the 
We here at Natsukashi love sharing our memories, but sometimes it’s good to go out and create some new ones.
Pre-screeening memories: It’s not often we get to say that a movie is utterly and completely unique, is it? There was simply nothing out there at all similar to Cluewhen it was first released, and that fact (along with my love of the boardgame and Christopher ‘Reverend Jim’ Lloyd) made it something I absolutely had to track down and see. Today, in the age of special features an alternate ending isn’t shocking or unusual, in fact, coming from a Hollywood production, we now almost think of it as odd if a film’s climax doesn’t go through two or three different iterations. But in 1985, the whole concept of multiple endings was unheard-of, and impossibly enthralling – going to see a movie a second time and having the ending change? Impossible! Does science even allow for that?
Which makes it a little funny that it wasn’t until years after seeing the film that I ever actually got to see those multiple endings. Residing solidly in the lower of the middle classes, I didn’t get out to movies much, and the concept of going to see the same movie twice was on the hilarious side. Strangely I have no real memory of the lack of two extra endings ruining the film for me at all. In many ways it was a perfect film to see at a really young age, full of capering and slapstick, and wordplay just clever enough that while I didn’t understand the naughtier bits, I could tell that something risque was definitely going on, which engaged my curiosity. Even the one solution I saw, in which (SPOILER ALERT) Miss Scarlet was the killer and Wadsworth worked for the FBI was perfectly satisfying, leaving me happy enough with the result that I didn’t really question what the other endings might have been.
New memories: If there’s one thing I learned from my second viewing, however, it’s that I shouldn’t have been as complacent as a child. I should have demanded to be taken to another viewing and see the other endings, because it’s only once I’d seen all three that I could really appreciate what a masterpiece of comic construction this film is. The movie has to accomplish something almost miraculous – it has to not only work both as a comedy, keeping people laughing all the way through, and as a mystery, keeping them guessing, but it has to drop hints and leave enough clue that three separate endings all work perfectly without a plot hole in sight. The fact that it succeeds at all of these things is an amazing compliment to the writer/director Jonathan Lynn, who keeps the movie speeding along so that the audience never has a chance to do anything marvel at how entertained they are.
I could talk about one of the greatest comedic ensemble casts I’ve ever seen, or the Tim Curry performance that anchored the film and turned me into a lifelong fan of the actor, or how satisfying it was to finally see the film in its intended form, with all the endings intact – but I think my favorite thing about the film was that it entertained me exactly as much as an adult as it had on my first viewing all those years ago. And not just because I finally got all the jokes, but because it’s one of those rare movies with as much to offer adults as it does children, a comedy that anyone can enjoy, which doesn’t stop being funny on repeated viewings. I’m a little ashamed to have taken as long to get back to clue as I did, but it’s a mistake I won’t make again.
Our featured guest: Writer/ Director 
Jared returns to Natsukashi to discuss a film for which he has much to say. The Lonely Lady was nominated for 11 Razzies, of which it won six. 
I do remember Popcorn’s setting, though. The film takes place in an old theatre which a group of film students have rigged to create an immersive B-movie watching experience; they shock the audience with electrified seats, they release stink bombs, they have a huge paper-maché ant that descends from the ceiling. I guess this part really stuck with me because it sounds like a lot of fun. Other things that stuck with me are the killer’s weird looking face and a dress that doubles as an iron maiden. That sounds less fun.
Our featured guest: 
* The opening in which lead (played by a young Zeljko Ivanek, whose name I committed to memory even way back then), walks directly into a public swimming beach in an attempt to drown himself. The sheer terror of his near drowning had one of those lasting ‘Jaws‘- like impacts on my land-lubbing psyche.
* The other scene involved a rat exiting the mouth of one of the characters. I do not recall the circumstances that would precipitate a large rodent to dwell in one’s esophogus, but on a freak-out scale, it was off the charts.
* I recall a female psychologist trying to help poor Zeljko, and in my mind’s eye I can only remember Kelly McGillis, but that is most likely due to my decidedly un-Amish-like crush I held for her at that time, thanks to the double threat of Top Gun and Witness.
