“Caddyshack” is one of those movies that helped define a generation. In the late 70s and early 80s, every teenage guy and guy in their 20s could quote films like “Caddyshack,” “Animal House” and “Stripes,” just like later generations could quote films like “Tommy Boy” and then “Superbad.”
It helped define the ranchy, R-Rated comedy genre and spawned a slew of immitators. Sadly, one of them was “Caddyshack II” which ranks up there with the worst sequels of all time.
“Caddyshack” helped launch the directing career of Harold Ramis, who later admitted he had no idea what he was doing when he made this film. The initial script had a real story focused on the caddies, but the cast was full of comic geniuses with Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. Ramis kept letting them improvise and the comics delivered comedy gold that Ramis stitched into the film. In some ways he created a whole new style of filmmaking, where he let the story evolve to accomadate all the great stuff he was getting from the cast.
Videos
Along with a steller cast of comedians, “Caddyshack” deilvered another crucial casting choice that was essential to the success of raunchy, R-Rated comedies: a beautiful, young actress with amazing breasts! That of course was the lovely and all-natural Cindy Morgan who was perfectly cast as the sultry and naughty Lacy Underall. Check out this video that explains how Cindy got the role and embodied the character.
Naturally, the film included the obligatory topless scenes for Lacy, and we have the iconic scene where Lacy comes to the pool in her one-piece black swimsuit.
Reviews
“Caddyshack” rarely received great reviews for the reasons mentioned about. Harold Ramis stitched together a bunch of hilarious scenes, but it didn’t flow like a tight narrative.
Our own David Medsker gave the film 4/5 stars (it should have been 5 lol), and he referenced this perception in his opening paragraph.
There are a million reasons to like “Caddyshack.” It’s pound for pound the most quotable movie of all time, and it features a scene-stealing performance from Rodney Dangerfield, not to mention the perfect breasts of Cindy Morgan. But here’s the catch: as funny as it is, “Caddyshack” is not a great movie. The story is seriously lacking in focus, plot devices appear and disappear without a word, and many of the supporting characters simply can’t act. (Ahem, Spalding) This is why the movie was so poorly received by critics upon its release in 1980, and they were not wrong. Missing the point, perhaps, but not wrong.
Famed critic Leonard Maltin gave the film 2/4 stars, and then later gave the awful “Caddyshack II” the same rating!! Needless to say, many critics completely missed the point.
Ultimate Golf Movie
It’s hard to think about a better movie about golf. “Caddyshack” was able to capture the love of the game along with some of the absurdities, not least of which was the way some golfers dress.
