Under the Rainbow (1981)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Wonderful Movie

Touches You

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Though this film has a rather low score here at the internet movie database, I thought this film was a funny light comedy. Nothing great mind you, but to me it worked. Basically, a story of crime and intrigue and the little people who would go on to star in the famous movie "The Wizard of Oz". I enjoyed Chevy Chase in this role as I usually do. I always find him very funny, mainly during the 80's, he kind of disappeared in the 90's. Carrie Fisher is also in this one, one of her few movies outside the "Star Wars" universe. I enjoyed the whole dog subplot and a few of the other jokes like the mistaken identities and such. Billy Barty is in this one too and I usually enjoy seeing him in a movie too. Though not in that Roger Corman film where he played an imp. The film is not perfect though, I did not enjoy the way the film ended as I usually hate the ending presented here as to me it is a cop out. Sure they can try to paint it as a tribute, but I say it is because you do not really have an idea on how to end your movie. Still, while it is nothing really grand, I did enjoy this light comedy.

As for a Chevy Chase vehicle (and I remember this being my first encounter of his work in films and still a favourite), it's not much of one, but I still don't get the negativity towards this extravagantly wacky period comedy enterprise. I love Chevy Chase (and most of his films), but here he goes about things in kind of a laid back manner with everything else soon rising head over heels with its madcap humor and zany visuals. Truly there's so much going on (plenty of episodic sub-plots for the fodder), making it very unforeseeable with the style of 'Under the Rainbow' being very old-fashioned, but amusingly daring and erratically insane in its lack of respect for correctness. It looks cheap (but from my understanding it wasn't), but has a grand feel to it.The story sets up the events of 1938, when a major studio with plans to make a fantasy film called 'Wizard Of Oz', assembles 150 midgets to play munchkins and book them into the Culver Hotel… only to find that there reservations were lost and leaves their talent coordinator Annie Clark (a completely delightful Carrie Fisher) with a headache. Also at the hotel is an American secret Agent Bruce Thorpe (smoothly played by Chase) looking after two international guests the Duke (a terrific Joseph Maher) and Duchess (a perfectly airy Eve Arden) with an assassin (A fidgety Robert Donner) close behind. No it's over yet, because a very miniature German spy (who gets mistaken as one of the cast members) arrives at the hotel looking for a Japanese spy to hand over some very important documents, but his luck the hotel is filled with Japanese tourists. Now watch how everything raucously mingles together. Nothing is safe from the onslaught.There's something that's engaging about this gimmicky idea, which it caps it off rather nicely when it comes to the closing. Quite a clever touch. The cartoon-like screenplay is potent and elastic, although feels a little on the rushed side. Some of the gags do get tiredly reused, but its concentration on the eccentrically bumbling details of accidents, mischief and distractions getting out of hands and then coming together amongst a party atmosphere holds some charm. Everything falls into place… for some it might be like watching a car smash… but I liked this recklessly spontaneous fiasco.Steve Rash's busy handling is direction-less, but cheerfully staged with moments of a gliding camera working the action considerably well. The score is a bellow of dramatic sounds. The cast really do give it their all and I enjoyed watching them. Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher made for a likable pairing. A flighty Cork Hubbert is fine. Bill Barty is quite fun as the dwarf German spy and Mako as the icy Japanese spy. Adam Arkin as the fill-in hotel manager is rather fitting too. Also appearing were Richard Stahl, Phil Fondacaro and Debbie Lee Carrington.

Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Pat McCormack, Billy Barty, Eve Arden, Joseph Maher, Adam Arkin, Cork Hubbard, Robert Donner – how could it not be good. The temporary manager (Arkin) of the Culver Hotel, across from MGM in 1939, changes its name to Hotel Rainbow to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the soon-to-be shot Wizard of Oz. It works as the studio's talent agent (Fisher) books rooms for all of their wouldbe munchkins. So, we start with hundreds of partying little people who make a Shriners convention look like a religious retreat. Throw in an FBI agent (Chase) protecting a traveling Duke (Maher) and Duchess (Arden) from a crazed assassin (Donner), and then a couple of dozen photo- snapping Japanese tourists whose bus breaks down in front of the hotel. Finally, sift in a Japanese agent (Mako) and a dwarf Nazi spy (Barty) who are looking for each other in a hotel full of Japanese and dwarfs. The plot is decent without getting in the way of the comedy, the acting is great, and the dialogue is often superb (What floor do you want? Ballroom. Oh' I'm sorry, I didn't know I was crowding you.) All in all, it's a great way to spend an afternoon.

But it was supposed to be a spoof. I could not stop laughing as the movie was so much of a farce I found it to keep me laughing all the time. I would not recommend it for theater view but if you have never seen the movie I would say its worth watching as a rental as the cost of it is so little now. You could rent something much more costly and worse like Dead Calm. I found that all the dumb things that happened such as trying to keep the suicidal dog in the picture just more then my sides could take at times. When that dog jumped out of the window for the ball I lost it. How could you not think something as this movie which I assume was to be as "B" a movie as anyone could possibly make not be funny? I found it much better then the Vacation movies by far. I would say that this review has a spoiler but this movie cant be spoiled as there is no real plot.