Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 16, 1993 TAG: 9404130010
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For that reason, there may be some who are ready to line up for a ticket right away while others are just as determined not to see it - ever, under any circumstances, wild horses couldn't drag ... etc. Those are the same people who are probably wondering why the movie exists in the first place.
That's an easy one. The last time director Penelope Spheeris recycled TV comedy onto the big screen, she made the smash hit ``Wayne's World.'' That kind of box office lightning isn't likely to strike twice. Beyond a few jokes that have nothing to do with the story, this movie just isn't funny.
Surprisingly, the cast is much better than the material they've been given. Even Jim Varney seems thoroughly comfortable as Jed Clampett, the Arkansas rube who strikes it rich. Erika Eleniak is equally smooth as the innocent and sexy Elly May. Though Cloris Leachman doesn't have as much to do as Granny, her physical resemblance to Irene Ryan, who played the part in the series, is striking. As Jethro (and his twin sister Jethrine) Diedrich Bader is appropriately kind-hearted and hungry.
Dabney Coleman turns the character of banker Drysdale into the standard sycophantic comic villain he's played often before. Lily Tomlin is mostly wasted as Jane Hathaway. There's nothing wrong with her performance. There just isn't enough of her.
Rob Schneider and Lea Thompson, as swindlers out to steal Jed's fortune, provide the conflict necessary for the film's alleged plot. But that's so thin it barely deserves to be mentioned. Credited to four writers, the script is disjointed and sloppy. That's not necessarily a problem for this kind of comedy, but Penelope Spheeris shows no real talent for slapstick or physical humor either.
THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
** A 20th Century Fox release playing at the Valley View Mall 6 and Salem Valley 8. 90 min. Rated PG for mild comic violence.
by CNB