The Best of Times (1986)

 

No, I'm not doing a tribute to Robin Williams - I simply forgot that the last film I reviewed was Dead Poets Society.

Synopsis: Over-the-hill losers decide to replay that big high school football game years later because it will somehow bring the town back to life, or some similar convoluted bullshit. 

Blurb From the DVD jacket: “a hilarious film full of heart and charm, THE BEST OF TIMES makes good on the American dream. Join the team that wants to win for all the right reasons!” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) Jack Dundee (Robin Williams) is “pretty fast for a Caucasian” and lies about never having paid for sex; his best friend thinks he’s a “low life, blackmailing chickenshit squid.” 2) Throwing orange paint on people is a good way to make them angry. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You know what it's like to live with a hoarder. 

Really?: 1) Funny how everyone associated with the 1972 Bakersfield team is ready, willing and available to play a rematch in 1985, yet Jack and the others have great difficulty tracking down their own offensive line. (Come to think of it, wouldn’t the return of these players have been more interesting and meaningful if Jack and Reno had tracked down each one and talked to them a la Oceans Eleven?) 2) So, what has Kid Lester been up to all of these years, and how does he apparently have his strange, mystical powers? Shouldn’t the audience have met him a little earlier than the big game right at the end? 3) This is a big one: it’s not entirely clear if Jack intentionally brings the tiger costume into his team’s locker room; if it was a mistake, it’s a giant fuck-up and I can’t believe anyone would be that stupid. If he knowingly did it to fire up Reno, it’s still incredibly risky because it could ruin their friendship (Jack threw paint on Reno’s wife while wearing that costume, for crying out loud!) and make Jack a complete social pariah. 4) It’s strange how the residents of Taft spontaneously decide to clean up their town in anticipation of the big game; it’s also a bit odd that such a story apparently doesn’t generate any news media coverage. 5) Holy shit, if I had to listen to Land of Hope and Glory one more time, I was going to snap. 

Rating: The Best of Times is an interesting comedic misfire. Williams and Kurt Russell work well together, and I liked their buddy chemistry, but the film suffers from some credibility and pacing issues, and the script really would have benefited from a rewrite. 6.5/10 stars. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090713/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0