I was in the movies recently (seeing Harry Potter) and I noticed a couple of movies coming up. One of them I had to double check and see other trailers. That movie was Who’s Your Caddy? The title makes you think golf, and perhaps a comedy. I’m sure that was what whoever wrote and directed this was intending. Sadly, they seemed to have missed the mark.
The fact is that Who’s Your Caddy? is apparently a cheap remake of Caddyshack. The fact that it’s a remake doesn’t mean that it’s bad. The storyline, as featured by the trailers says it is. All the elements are there, rich guy wants to play golf because he loves the game. Another rich guy that has an obnoxious attitude and is anal-retentive refuses to let him join. The first guy strives to join the exclusive membership and a golf match is setup to determine which of the 2 stay. That’s Caddyshack. The changes are that the protagonist is black, the humor has devolved to include large helpings of body humor, and there are gratuitous scenes of women gyrating. Oh, and a love story that sounds weak, and a hidden talent at playing golf. Help me.
Could they remake Caddyshack with African Americans and have it be a good movie? Sure they can, if they spent some money on the writing. They didn’t. Could it still be worth watching with a less than great script? Sure, if they had good directing. Seems like they missed on that too.
I have no problem that the film is based on a rapper that has done very well for himself. He has money, cool. He has an entourage that seems to be less than bright, not so cool. The one guy is so dumb that when someone asks to get Johnny Cochrane involved (which in itself was stupid) and they are told he is dead (Newsflash!) the black guy thinks that one of them killed him. Please. In another part we see that there is a music video, and the women of course are music video girls, and have to be in tops that are skimpy and clothes that are too tight. What could be the motivation for having Mr. Faizon Love fart like a foghorn? You must be kidding right? Oh, don’t forget the required ghettoized golf cart.
It’s a collection of juvenile jokes. That could still be good but they could have made it so much more. Yet I have to imagine that the executives involved in greenlighting this movie figured a couple of things. First, they have a rapper/entertainer in the movie (Big Boi of Outkast). That will attract the hip hop and rap music fans. It’s a pro-black, large African American cast which will ensure that a good percentage of Blacks will see it no matter what. Third the cost of the film is really low so there is no real risk.
It’s basically the same formula used in Soul Plane. Cheap film (about $5 million) featuring African Americans, with a low quality script, makes about $35 million in the movies even after the massive number of bootleg DVDs made on it. Then it gets to an official DVD and On Demand on cable. Maybe another $5 million there. The execs could care less how ghettofabulous or silly the African American culture is portrayed. They got their money and they are satisfied.
This movie looks to be beneath everyone involved from the look of it. I’d like to think I’m wrong, but considering trailers tend to be the best 30 seconds or so of a movie the outlook is bleak.
This is what I think, what do you think?
1 comment:
I guess the answer to my question has been answered. The opening of Who's Your Caddy over the weekend has generated a resounding 2.9 million dollars. Stunning.
Actually I'm glad so few have seen it. Not because I dislike anyone in the film, nor do I think that films featuring a Black-led cast are anything but good. I'm glad because this helps to push the envelope higher.
Quality films are not exclusive for Mr. Samuel Jackson, Mr. Denzel Washington, and Mr. Wesley Snipe among a handful of others. But if films like this one continue to be made with low quality scripts, or in other cases with low end production values and (hip hop/rapper laden) piss poor acting, made for a couple of million dollars and returning 10x the cost, then we will never see better films.
If this films failure to capture us, it's target demographic, I would hope Hollywood execs figure out it's because they provided a half ass piece of entertainment. Maybe the next one will be a lot more worthy. And then we can happily spend our money on it.
We shall see.
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