Finding Humor in Foul Play

I was queuing up some movies in my Xbox via their Netflix application when this movie poster of Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn caught my eye. As I read the synopsis, one of the things I noticed was the year it was released: 1978. My first thought was "Whoa, they're THAT old?!" 1978 also happens to be the year I was born so I figured it was a sign for me to watch it. I didn't regret my decision.

The scene opens up to an outdoor party along the coast of Northern California. Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn catch each others eye from across the room. There was instant attraction. Chevy then tries to pull a suave hello but ends up clumsily rearranging the bar counter next to him. It was slapstick without looking forced so I found myself laughing. No lines were exchanged at this point but I knew that it was going to be a good film.

I also think that what made this movie good is its simple solid plot. It was back when all you needed was a good story- no stunts, no fancy cgi's and no skimpily clad starlets that can't act. Moreover, once the story progresses there were a lot of witty lines and some pretty hilarious characters thrown into the mix. One of them being Stella who plays Goldie Hawn's (Gloria) feisty friend. A memorable quote would be:[giving Gloria a rape alarm, a can of MACE and a knuckleduster] Stella: "Take these. Without them, you are a walking light-bulb... waiting to be screwed". Waahaha!

Special mention also goes to Dudley Moore for providing comic relief and oh! Barry Manilow for providing the soundtrack Ready to Take a Chance(so that's where the song came from!). In fact you can watch a sample clip from the film here:



I am putting this on my favorite list of films under the mystery/comedy/romance genre. It has some Hitchcockesque elements to it specifically with how they scored the music (Manilow aside). Some parts do drag out a bit but it builds up enough suspense to become enjoyable to watch. In fact, it won an Oscar and was nominated for a couple of awards. Go see it!