1941

Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Stack, Nancy Allen, Treat Williams, John Candy, Mickey Rourke
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Comedy, War
1979

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Californians begin to panic following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Review:

Tim: Steven Spielberg's 1979 comedy is generally regarded as one of the biggest failures of his career. While the movie's box office performance isn't as bad as you might expect (it lost some, but not a ton of money), the biggest issue is with the quality of the film. Spielberg had just directed Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and expectations were enormous. This film didn't achieve their level of box office performance and even more damning, it wasn't a very good film at all. So while the movie might not be the financial disaster some believe, it's certainly a large blemish on Spielberg's resume.

I wonder what led to this critical misfire. I don't see Spielberg as egotistical, but I have to wonder if he felt a bit invincible after turning in two classics back-to-back. He made quite a few questionable decisions with 1941. First off, it's interesting to set a comedy during a very scary, frightening time in American history. There was some risk there. Secondly, Spielberg crafts a film that feels fairly epic. I wonder if this movie would have been better served by being told in a more intimate way. The cast is huge and even with nearly 2 hours of run time, it's impossible not to feel shortchanged. We don't get to spend as much time with the cast as we'd like. This movie would have been significantly better with a smaller cast and a smaller story. That would allow us to spend more time with each of them. As it is, we jump from character to character and never develop any kind of emotional connection with them. It's a movie that is crammed with characters and subplots until it's overflowing and there isn't any room to breathe. The whole movie feels like Spielberg never said no to any idea- just throw it all into the mix. Not surprisingly, the kitchen sink approach doesn't usually result in a good movie.

Spielberg has some good cast members, but again, they don't get an opportunity to shine. The two biggest stars are Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Sadly, they don't get any time together. Both give very good performances, but long stretches of the movie take place without either of them on screen. I enjoyed their presence here, but I desperately wanted more time with them both. I'd have liked this movie significantly more had some of the lesser subplots been cut and more time devoted to these two. Tim Matheson has a pretty funny story with Nancy Allen, who plays a woman who becomes aroused only while flying. It was ridiculous but played for a few decent laughs. Both were good working together. I loved seeing Toshiro Mifune here, but he doesn't have much to do. John Candy was also horribly underutilized in this film. I could go on with the rest of the cast, but I can sum it up by saying it's filled with good actors who don't get enough screen time.

In some ways, I have to give Spielberg credit for trying to pull off such an epic, absurd, crazy movie. 1941 is certainly not playing it safe or traveling down familiar roads. However, as sometimes happens, when someone tries something new, the first effort doesn't work out so well. This movie offers an overwhelming number of characters and stories and never sticks with one long enough. It has some funny moments, but as a whole, isn't especially funny. This is a movie that just doesn't work and can only be called a misfire. Even great directors make mistakes and this is one of Spielberg's biggest ones.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind