Blu-Ray Review: Skidoo

By Brad Henderson

Throughout the course of movie history we’ve seen films that should have been good but failed miserably. I’m not talking about films we thought were going to be good and they flopped. I’m talking about the ones where everything was set up with the right actors, script, director, producer, and any other suit in Hollywood. All these elements that can almost guarantee success are in place, but the movie turns out to be a disaster. Last night I watched Skidoo. I went in blind to this film other than knowing it had one hell of a cast and a legendary director. Otto Preminger was the man behind it so I thought this couldn’t go wrong, right?

It’s odd to think that so many good things in a film can turn into something so bad, but it happens. Through my years of watching cinema I have stumbled onto films like this. On paper, everything looks destined to become a great hit. However, once production starts the eggs start to drop and break one by one until we have a film that is just a complete and utter mess.

I find it interesting why these films fail. Films like 8 Million Ways To Die, for example: Hal Ashby as the director and Oliver Stone writing the script. You have Jeff Bridges and Andy Garcia as your leads with a barrage of good actors in between, but the film is a failure. I enjoy the film at some level, but a lot of that stems from it being so discombobulated. There are stories about how the actors had to improv because Ashby didn’t like the script.

Other films like The Golden Compass, Hulk, Daredevil, Superman 2 & 3, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and The Godfather: Part III all have suffered from this and it floors me. There are many films that have met this fate but those are just a few.

One of the bigger films to do this was Skidoo with Preminger behind the camera and a slew of amazing actors in a “gangster” comedy that is so freaking ridiculous I didn’t know what to say. It feels like everyone did cocaine during pre-production, production, post-production, wrap parties, and then some. Now, there are many things I like about the film but they are mostly due to the complete ridiculousness of the story and antics that are being performed. Actually explaining the plot of the film makes me seem like I’m on drugs.

Tough Tony Banks (Jackie Gleason) is a big time mobster who is pulled out of retirement by God (Groucho Marx), the kingpin of the mob, for one last hit against Blue Chips (Mickey Rooney). This film may seem like a straight gangster flick, but you slowly realize this is a comedy that you don’t laugh at.

Olive Films decided to release a couple of Preminger films and I’m thankful they are doing so. If it wasn’t for Olive Films releasing this failure I may have never seen it. This is why I love companies like Olive Films, Vinegar Syndrome, and Kino Lorber because they appreciate cinema and give life to films that aren’t well known, cult films, or even something that doesn’t even have a large fanbase.

The transfer on this flick looks outstanding and colorful. The soundtrack is decent and the volume levels are top notch. If you are familiar with Olive Films you know they kind of run short on special features. This is a bare bones disc but it’s totally worth your time and money. I’m glad I gave this film a chance because this is something that needs to be seen to be believed. All in all it’s a disaster but at least it’s a beautiful one.

Skidoo was released by Olive Films on December 23.