Foul Play

One of my all-time favorite movies finally got released to DVD on November 16th: Foul Play! Sigh. I love it so. I remember seeing it in the theater over and over and over again. At one point, I even had the paperback book (wish I still had it, dammit!). It even had photos from the movie inside! I love it when they do that. I also own the 45 of the movie's theme song: Ready To Take A Chance Again, sung by Barry Manilow AND the LP soundtrack. Far out!

For those who haven't seen the movie, it stars Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith and Dudley Moore. Here's a brief synopsis, courtesy of the IMDB: "Gloria, a shy San Francisco librarian and bumbling cop, Tony Carlson, fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church." Sigh. A "San Francisco librarian." Neat!

Man! In retrospect, this sounds a little goofy and childish (hey, I was 7 or 8 at the time), but this movie made me SOOO want to be a librarian. Not because I thought I would have high adventures or fall in love with a police officer, but because the library looked SO cool and Goldie's character, Gloria looked so bookish and cool (even as a child, I guess I had a skewed sense of "beauty"). It was the first of many movies that I would see where I found my "true calling," in regards to careers:

The Fog: I SO wanted to work in a lighthouse and have my own radio station (sans the undead pirates).
Desk Set: I wanted to work in the research department of a TV network.
And the list goes on.

The movie is so much fun on so many levels: characters, situations, sets, soundtrack. I'll go down the list and tell you who/what I think made it so good.

Music/Soundtrack:

The opening song by Barry Manilow, Ready To Take A Chance Again, is so great. I still love to sing along with it whenever I hear it. Charles Fox did all the original music for the film. Some of his credits include: Barbarella, The Bugaloos theme song, The Drowning Pool, Wonder Woman theme song, The Love Boat theme song, Little Darlings, Zapped! and so many more. Toss in Manilow's Copacabana and The Bee Gee's Stayin' Alive, and you've got a pretty great soundtrack/score.

Characters:
• Stella (played by Marilyn Sokol), Gloria's no-nonsense, self-defense expert/co-worker, is a hilarious. She steals every scene she's in.
• Mr. Hennessey, played by Burgess Meredith has a great scene where he uses his Karate skills head to head with one of the main villains.
• The Albino is SUCH a creepy, original touch. He never ceases to creep me out.
• J.J. MacKuen (played by Billy Barty) is hilariously pushy as the Bible sales man.
And there are SO many more great, original characters.

Situations:
• Gloria's moviegoing experience preceded today's Scream 2. Creepy, funny and effective.
• Gloria's altercation with the character known as Scarface is suspenseful and creepy.
• Gloria's first contact with love machine Stanley Tibbets, played by Dudley Moore is laugh out loud funny.
• Gloria's visit to Billy Barty's character in the aftermath of their first encounter is another hilarious moment in the film.
Again, so many more great scenes. I just loved them all.

Sets:
Man! I could talk about this part for hours. I still want to live in Gloria's apartment, 70's or not. It was so great. Every time I see the movie, I have to pause and soak everything in: furniture, knickknacks, wall hangings, rooms. It's all really beautiful (to me). I also dig the fact that Chevy Chase's character lives in a boathouse. Boathouses have always fascinated me: Houseboat, Drop Dead Fred, Murder By Numbers, You've Got Mail, etc. Fun!

So, by all means, do yourself a favor and see the movie. It's so much fun. You won't be disappointed.