THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 1, 1995 TAG: 9508010026
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
PERHAPS, AFTER all, the time has finally come that we can put Vietnam behind us.
If the Walt Disney company, an outfit usually devoted to lighthearted whimsy, now thinks it can make a commercial comedy about the war, Hollywood must be getting a reading that this most controversial, and divisive, of all modern wars can now produce a laugh. Maybe it is more than just a coincidence, too, that ``Operation Dumbo Drop'' is being released shortly after the United States re-established diplomatic ties with Hanoi.
Hollywood avoided the Vietnam war altogether until long afterward - afraid to get into the fray. During the war itself, only John Wayne's pro-war ``Green Berets'' got on screen and was a big hit despite being shoddily made. Since then, a host of psyche-torn studies of guilt and violence have been churned out (from ``Platoon'' to ``The Deerhunter''). Even ``Good Morning, Vietnam,'' while couched in the delightfully absurdist comedy of Robin Williams, had its serious political overtones.
It took us a much shorter time to have a sense of humor about World War II (a host of ``armed service'' comedies with things like ``Mister Roberts'' and ``Father Goose'') or even Korea (Robert Altman's sardonic ``MASH''). It's something of a surprise that it is the Disney studio that finally attempts a knockabout comedy about Vietnam.
The surprise with ``Operation Dumbo Drop'' is that it is much better as an action-adventure than it is as a comedy. In fact, as comedy it's pretty lame, limited to elephant-poop jokes and some feeble attempts at slapstick. It's much better when it settles down to tell its story, which is a good one.
There is some good acting (from Ray Liotta and Danny Glover), beautifully photographed scenery of Thailand and, ultimately, a rather serious-minded evaluation of the moral debate on the war. If only it had been given an overall dose of levity, there are signs it could have been an outstanding movie. As it is, it is still thoroughly entertaining but sells out too often to efforts to try to appeal to kiddie audiences.
Kids will like the elephant, but adults are likely to enjoy the movie more.
It is 1968 in a small Vietnamese village when the precious local elephant is slaughtered by the North Vietnamese forces intent upon punishing the villagers for helping the Americans. Mercifully, the killing takes place off camera.
Glover, working for Disney again after ``Angels in the Outfield,'' creates a believable image of a caring, fatherly figure who is devoted to the local peasants. Liotta is a West Point graduate who wants to do things by the book, and just wants to see action. It is Glover who persuades Liotta, and three other Green Berets, to undertake replacing the villagers' elephant.
This involves transporting an 8,000 pound elephant across 200 miles of jungle terrain. It is done by truck, boat and, finally, the air drop that is given away by the title. It's an exciting trip.
The yarn is based on a true incident, which would perhaps have been widely publicized had it not been reported on the same day Martin Luther King was assassinated.
There is no feeling, though, of true-life experience here. The film stretches credibility to the thinnest layer as it interrupts its story for slapstick and stages battle scenes in which no one is hurt. (This is the first almost-bloodless Vietnam movie.) Daring escapades, including a free-fall rescue of the elephant, would be the envy of Indiana Jones.
The mixture is a bit silly, but always entertaining. Director Simon Wincer is a master at giving a bit of intelligence to such lightweight yarns as this. His ``Pharlap,'' about the legendary racehorse, is one of the greatest, and most underrated, of all animal films. His ``Free Willy,'' on the other hand, was one of the biggest commercial hits. One hopes he will someday get to make an important film that doesn't have to bow to commerical cliches.
There is one important scene that shows that the makers know better. In it, Liotta accuses Glover of putting his men in danger just to do a good deed that will clear his conscience about the war. It is a beautifully acted moment by both actors.
The elephant, of course, gets most of the attention. Her name is Bo-Tat, not Dumbo. The title, which is a nod to the classic 1941 animated film about the lovable flying elephant, is merely a hint that there is a sell-out here.
``Operation Dumbo Drop,'' in spite of its sidetrips into slapstick, is enjoyable both as an adventure and a travelogue. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Operation Dumbo Drop'' Cast: Danny Glover, Ray Liotta, Denis
Leary, Tai, Doug E. Doug, Corin Nemec
Screenplay: Gene Quintano and Jim Kouf
MPAA rating: PG (better as an action-adventure film than a
children's outing - although the kiddies will like the elephant;
some war tension)
Mal's rating: two and 1/2 stars
Locations: Chesapeake Square in Chesapeake, Janaf, Main Gate in
Norfolk, Lynnhaven 8, Pembroke, Surf-N-Sand in Virginia Beach
by CNB