POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
Kurt Russell's final Disney film (not including his vocal work in "Fox and the Hound") was also the last of the studio's formula college comedies, and the last film appearance of the late, great Joe Flynn, who died before the film's release.
Once again Russell plays amiable science major Dexter Reilly, and once again Reilly stumbles on an incredible scientific breakthrough, this time a potion that induces superstrength. And once again Medfield College's Dean Higgins (Flynn) sees the discovery as a way out of the college's financial problems while villainous A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero) gets out of jail just in time to try to steal it. Add Eve Arden and Phil Silvers (very funny as the villain) as rival cereal makers eager to use the potion to increase their cereal sales and you have a top cast doing it's best to enliven a so-so comedy.
I must say I thought the previous film in the series "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" to be an absolute riot, so this film is a bit of a letdown. After a wonderful first half-hour, Russell and Flynn all but disappear from the film and Arno and henchman Cookie (Disney regular Richard Bakalyan) take over when they are hired by Silvers to steal the formula, which Higgins has sold to Arden. This leads to a series of disastrous theft attempts and a midsection that moves like molasses, and includes an offensive scene involving the racial stereotyping of a Chinese acupuncturalist.
Fortunately, the film recovers for a wonderful, and absolutely hilarious, finale involving a weight-lifting competition and an engaging chase scene involving Dean Higgins' supercharged vintage car, which has been "fed" the formula. That the beginning and end of the film are the best parts of the film, and that they both feature Russell and Flynn, is no coincidence, since they work so good together whenever they aren't on screen the film comes to a complete stop.
So, basically, you have a funny beginning, a hilarious ending, and funny performances by Flynn and Silvers, two authentic comedy legends. I also love the film's bouncy and catchy theme music, by the underrated Robert F. Brunner, who scored many of Disney's comedies of the time. So count this one as a mediocre, inoffensive Disney effort. You can do far worse. ** (out of *****)
Kurt Russell's final Disney film (not including his vocal work in "Fox and the Hound") was also the last of the studio's formula college comedies, and the last film appearance of the late, great Joe Flynn, who died before the film's release.
Once again Russell plays amiable science major Dexter Reilly, and once again Reilly stumbles on an incredible scientific breakthrough, this time a potion that induces superstrength. And once again Medfield College's Dean Higgins (Flynn) sees the discovery as a way out of the college's financial problems while villainous A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero) gets out of jail just in time to try to steal it. Add Eve Arden and Phil Silvers (very funny as the villain) as rival cereal makers eager to use the potion to increase their cereal sales and you have a top cast doing it's best to enliven a so-so comedy.
I must say I thought the previous film in the series "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" to be an absolute riot, so this film is a bit of a letdown. After a wonderful first half-hour, Russell and Flynn all but disappear from the film and Arno and henchman Cookie (Disney regular Richard Bakalyan) take over when they are hired by Silvers to steal the formula, which Higgins has sold to Arden. This leads to a series of disastrous theft attempts and a midsection that moves like molasses, and includes an offensive scene involving the racial stereotyping of a Chinese acupuncturalist.
Fortunately, the film recovers for a wonderful, and absolutely hilarious, finale involving a weight-lifting competition and an engaging chase scene involving Dean Higgins' supercharged vintage car, which has been "fed" the formula. That the beginning and end of the film are the best parts of the film, and that they both feature Russell and Flynn, is no coincidence, since they work so good together whenever they aren't on screen the film comes to a complete stop.
So, basically, you have a funny beginning, a hilarious ending, and funny performances by Flynn and Silvers, two authentic comedy legends. I also love the film's bouncy and catchy theme music, by the underrated Robert F. Brunner, who scored many of Disney's comedies of the time. So count this one as a mediocre, inoffensive Disney effort. You can do far worse. ** (out of *****)