1941
1979, A-Team Productions
After nearly flopping at the box office, Steven Spielberg's comic near-misfire gradually saw more favorable reviews, and has now achieved cult status. What went wrong? I think Spielberg tried too hard for big laughs, instead of allowing smaller ones to emerge from the story organically; the enormous ensemble cast didn't give us enough time to become familiar with any individual's quirks, and many of the set pieces were overwrought to the point of being exhausting. It's not a bad film by any means, but it's not particularly funny, and Spielberg has admitted as much.
DKS 12/19/17
GRUMPY OLD FART-O-METER® Rating:
