GamerTab That was an excellent one.

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Lawbolisted Powerful

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

dglink With several nods to Alfred Hitchcock, Colin Higgins's romantic-comedy-thriller, "Foul Play" is a clever entertainment from the late 1970's. The film was both written and directed by Higgins, who also helmed the amiable musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and the comedy, "9 to 5," in his tragically brief career. After an opening party scene, stars Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase work well together as Higgins's screwball-comedy plot unfolds and takes unexpectedly bizarre turns.Along the California coast highway, Goldie picks up a stranger, who appears to be having car trouble, and she drives him to San Francisco; unbeknownst to her, he slips a roll of film into a cigarette pack and, because he is trying to cut back on smoking, asks her to hold the pack until they meet again that evening for a movie. Arriving late in the theater, the mystery man drips blood into Goldie's popcorn, whispers "beware of the dwarf," and dies in his seat. Goldie's act of kindness and subsequent naivete immerse her in a string of events that involve an albino, a scarface, and the aforementioned dwarf, who are plotting with the city's archbishop, his housekeeper, the chauffeur... But who is keeping score, and what they are plotting is only the "McGuffin," because the fun is in the journey.Chevy Chase as the police detective investigating Hawn's outlandish claims is amusing, and Goldie herself is an especially endearing heroine. The duo are supported by Burgess Meredith as Hawn's friend and landlord, who is quite good, as are Brian Dennehy, Rachel Roberts and Marilyn Sokol. However, Dudley Moore in his American film debut manages to steal his few scenes, which admittedly have little to do with the plot. As Stanley, a Hugh Hefner wannabe with a Vegas-style bachelor pad, Moore does a wonderful John Travolta disco strip tease to "Stayin' Alive." Higgins has evidently seen more than his share of Hitchcock movies and incorporated several of the master's touches such as slow suspenseful build-ups, disappearing corpses, and a climactic scene during "The Mikado." Higgins's romantic-comedy-thriller succeeds fairly well on all three counts, although the attempts at slapstick fail to click, and the requisite chase is predictable and unfunny. Nevertheless, "Foul Play" is generally fun and an entertaining two-hour diversion with two comedic stars, who are pleasant company indeed.

Spikeopath Foul Play is written and directed by Colin Higgins. It stars Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Rachel Roberts, Dudley Moore and Brian Dennehy. Music is by Charles Fox and cinematography by David M. Walsh.San Francisco librarian Gloria Mundy (Hawn) inadvertently gets embroiled with mobsters who are out to assassinate The Pope. Hooking up with cheeky copper Tony Carlson (Chase), she hopes to stay alive long enough to find out why people are trying to kill her!Comedy thrillers are tough to get right, you gotta make people laugh and also grip them with drama, thankfully Colin Higgins gets it right in this delightful late 1970s production. He kind of plays safe by literally throwing many of the conventions of the genres into the mix, with weird villains, an odd couple (hello romance), pratfalls, near misses, McGuffin, bonkers situations (both dicey and funny) and etc etc. Boosted by a damn fine cast (Hawn and Chase are fun, charming and sexy together, while the supports excel), some superb Frisco scenery and a toe tapping 70s soundtrack, it rounds out as a breezy effort across the board. Where else you going to see Burgess Meredith and Rachel Roberts in a martial arts smack down? 7/10

Predrag Back when Chevy Chase was credibly a romantic lead, and Goldie Hawn a rising starlet, this was one of the best movies of the time. Hawn plays a librarian who runs afoul of a criminal plot to assassinate someone. She contacts the police when her date is murdered (but the body disappears), and again when she injures an intruder who is shot by *another* intruder (who both disappear when she faints...), and when she is apparently tracked down by the mysterious Dwarf. Sympathetic detective Chase decides to hear her out, with able assistance from his partner, a young Brian Dennehy, and together they start to unravel what's really going on. Dudley Moore has a hilarious bit-part as an oversexed Brit who misinterprets Hawn's plea for help as a request for a liaison, with amusing results. The casting is great, with the late William Frankfather as an eerie and unsettling albino hit-man, and the late Billy Barty as a... well, you'll know when you see him. Burgess Meredith is wonderful as Hawn's fatherly landlord, who lends a hand in solving the mystery.Much of the comedy in this film is based upon mistaken identification and being caught in innocent but seemingly guilty circumstances. It is well done. Much can also be said for Dudley Moore who has a minor role that keeps reappearing throughout the film. He's just a guy that want to get his ashes hauled and circumstances keep throwing him together with Goldie as she tries to evade bad guys. He is hilarious in this role. And finally, in what I consider one of the funniest scenes ever shot in any movie, are the elderly Chinese tourist couple, who have just arrived in San Francisco, armed with their suitcases and two small American flags. Again as Chevy Chase's character seized the limo they are in and charges through San Francisco to get to the Opera House to prevent "the Hit" this couple lets us sit back in uncontrolled hysterical laughter as you can only imagine what the two visitors must be thinking.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

John Downes This is a strong candidate for the worst film I ever saw. Do I really have to add another 10 lines saying just how and why?(Presses Preview button) It seems I do. It's a poor state of affairs when the best thing you can say about a film is that the title song is the best thing about it. And especially when it's by Barry Manilow. That gives you an idea how bad this piece of crap is.Try again.No, still not enough. All right... how about that one of the bad guys is an albino. Now if I was an albino hit-man, I would definitely NOT go around in a white suit. Kind of conspicuous isn't it? Maybe I would do something to disguise my appearance a little. A little make-up, dark contact lenses, dark clothes, that kind of thing?And if I was directing a comedy, I'd want a script that contains a few funny scenes, or some witty lines. But all we get is Goldie Hawn doing her laughter schtick, though what she's got to laugh about I don't know. She's a gorgeous-looking girl but it's just not enough. Sorry Goldie.When the funniest thing in the script is a couple of elderly people playing scrabble and one of them comes up with "Muthafucker".... well that should have rung a bell somewhere among the production team. How the hell did this abomination reach the screen? It sure baffles me.