Moving Violations | | Cast : | John Murray (II), Jennifer Tilly | | Director : | Neal Israel | | Studio : | Anchor Bay Entertain | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | April 19, 1985 | | DVD Released Date : | July 12, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 12, 2005 | | Summary | "How about a little strip search and we'll call it even." | Content
 | In "Moving Violations", after committing various traffic violations, a motley group of drivers are suddenly on the wrong side of the law and on the bad side of a couple of highway patrol officers. The film begins with several scenes showing exactly why these drivers end up attending traffic school. Landscaper Dana Cannon (John Murray), for example, is no respecter of persons--especially if there's a uniform involved. His wild careening all over the road in a dilapidated old vehicle loaded with plants lands him several tickets, and offering his communist party card instead of his license doesn't help. Puppeteer Scott Greeber (Brian Backer) is the victim of a run-away puppet theatre. Rocket scientist Amy Hopkins (Jennifer Tilly) is also condemned to traffic school along with hypochondriac Joan Pudillo (Wendie Jo Sperber).
Dana Cannon quickly gets on the wrong side of uptight Deputy Halik (James Keach) and his partner/girlfriend Deputy Virginia Morris (Lisa Hart Carroll). But Cannon doesn't stop there; he also annoys luscious Judge Nedra Henderson (Sally Kellerman).
One of the biggest criticisms of this film is that John Murray, who plays main character Dana Cannon, acts too much like his famous brother, Bill Murray. Who cares? Murray delivers a great deadpan comic performance, and it's unfortunate he never really launched a film career worthy of his talents. "Moving Violations" is another of those great 80s comedies, and it contains one of the best chase scenes ever made in comedy film. Special note goes to James Keach who was brave enough to run around Los Angeles in bondage gear. The Anchor Bay DVD is excellent quality and the picture is a considerable improvement when compared to my old, but much-loved, VHS tape--displacedhuman |
| Rating | | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | An underappreciated gem. | Content
| This classic puts the new "Dukes of Hazzard" movie to shame, and is on a par with the Marx Brothers, and other comedy greats. Its too bad that this movie isn't very well known, but finally gets the DVD treatment. The wit, the slapstick, the humor all flows naturally. John Murray is so amazing that you don't care that he's in his brother's shadow (although he would have been great if he could have been Steve Zissou's brother) yes, this one is much more worthy of my elite radar. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 25, 2005 | | Summary | "If I were you, I'd get used to public transportation." | Content
| John Murray...probably the least known of all the Murray brothers (all four of which appeared in the 1988 film Scrooged)...of course everyone knows Bill (Caddyshack, Stripes, What About Bob?), and many are probably familiar with brother Brian Doyle-Murray (Caddyshack, Christmas Vacation, "Get a Life"), and then there's Joel (One Crazy Summer, "Dharma & Greg"), but what about John? He's least active in terms of a lengthy film career, and in the one film he actually starred in, he got crowded out of the spotlight by a an 80 year old woman named Nedra Volz...oh, I thought he was funny alright, but Ms. Volz tended to steal the show. Co-written and directed by Neal Israel (Police Academy, Bachelor Party, Real Genius), the film stars the aforementioned John Murray (Scrooged) and James Keach (Cannonball, The Long Riders). Also appearing in this ensemble cast is Jennifer Tilly (Bride of Chucky, Monsters, Inc.), Brian Backer (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Ned Eisenberg (Million Dollar Baby), Wendie Jo Sperber (Bachelor Party, Back to the Future), Fred Willard (A Mighty Wind), Sally Kellerman (Back to School), Robert Conrad ("The Wild Wild West"), Nedra Volz (Lust in the Dust), and flash in the pan Clara Peller, best know as the old woman constantly looking for the beef in a series of Wendy's commercials from the 80s...one can't help but wonder is she ever found that much sought after beef...actually, she did, appearing in a spaghetti sauce commercial claiming to have found it, which ultimately caused her gig as the Wendy's `Where's the beef?' spokesperson to be cut short...apparently they didn't like someone piggybacking off their wildly successful ad campaign.
As the film begins we see various individuals, including wise cracking Dana Cannon (Murray), stopped for traffic violations. After going to court, presided over by Judge Nedra Henderson (Kellerman), the group is ordered to attend traffic school and pass the course, or their driving privileges will be permanently revoked, and their impounded vehicles sold with the proceeds going to the county. Turns out the traffic school is being taught by the incredibly uptight Deputy Halik (Keach), who was in line for a promotion, but has since been demoted, blaming his current state of affairs squarely on Dana (you'll have to see the film for all the details), and now seeks revenge (Dana's livelihood depends on making deliveries in his truck). Anyway, turns out the judge has a plan to make some money, one which she needs the aid of Deputy Halik in that if the students fail, the judge and himself will scam half the proceeds of the money made from the sale of their impounded vehicles, so Halik, in turn makes the test impossible, and all end up failing. The students catch wind of the scheme, set out to even the score, the result being an incredibly silly and stupid fun, but one that's also a lot of fun.
If you enjoyed the original Police Academy film (not so much the progressively worse sequels), then you probably enjoy this film. The set up is about the same in that of a group of loser types struggling against a evil archetype who holds their future in his/her hands, deliberately driving them towards failure, that is until the loser group pulls it together, overcoming adversity, and saving the day...or something like that...Murray is pretty funny doing his best impersonation of his brother Bill's smarmy, wisecracking character probably most apparent in his 1981 film Stripes...seriously, the two are so similar the only difference is brother Bill came along with the act first, so it seems like he's just trying to ape someone else's success with a preconceived characterization. As far as Ms. Tilly (playing the ditzy rocket scientist), I'm glad she had as few lines as she did, as I generally find her shrilly voice to be fairly annoying, reminding me much of that of a squeaky toy. The best scenes, in my opinion, involve Nedra Volz as sort of a Mr. Magoo-ish character, hampered by poor eyesight...there's one scene where the group uses her as a lookout, and upon their return, they ask her if she's seen anybody, to which she replies `I don't know.' (It's much funnier on the screen). Another funny scene is when they're commiserating as a group (followed by an 'it's not over till it's over!' speech delivered by Murray's character, reminiscent of the one John Belushi's character gave in the 1978 film Animal House, only not as good) after they've learned they all failed their driving tests, and a drunken Mrs. Houk begins throwing out suggestions as to what they should do with Deputy Halik, specifically relating to his private parts (nothing like an inebriated old woman yelling for the emasculation of her enemy). The funniest scene, in my opinion, occurs when Mrs. Houk has to retrieve some evidence from Judge Henderson's home (because she was the only one who would fit through the open window), and she has to sneak into the bedroom where the Judge and Deputy Halik are involved in a copulatory moment on the bed. Mrs. Houk trips, ending up on the bed with them, and the couple don't even notice her presence as she's rolling around on top of them...again, this is a scene that must be seen to fully appreciate the humor. I thought Keach did very well playing the semi-psychotic heavy (with twitching eye and all). Overall the story is very silly, and the comedy doesn't always work, but enough of it does to the point where it was able to carry the rest of the film well.
Anchor Bay Entertainment provides a clean and clear widescreen (1.85:1) picture, along with a choice in terms of audio in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital Surround 2.0. Special features include an original theatrical trailer, audio commentary with director Neal Israel, and an insert booklet called `The Official Moving Violations Driver's Handbook', which has a good deal of photos from the film, along with a lot of comical material. Also included are previews for other Anchor Bay releases like License to Drive (1988), Freaked (1993), and Modern Problems (1981).
Cookieman108
By the way, this film also marks the very first big screen appearance of Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) manning the drive up window at Juicy Burgers...
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| Rating | | | Date | July 15, 2005 | | Summary | Deserves 20 stars!!! | Content
| This film is the ULTIMATE 80's comedy classic!
20 years later and it is still funny! Nedra Volz definitely steals the show here...from driving on the airport runway, to sitting on a urinal (why is my back all wet?) to getting involved in an unplanned menage a trois, you have to love it! Other stand outs include the big chase scene involving the parade float and animals! Especially when the duck goes flying and in a fantastic Donald Duck voice goes "Oh s...!" And who can forget The Blood Drips Red On The Highway! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | John Murray was the Funniest Man Alive at time of filming! | Content
| This classic hilarity has non stop puns and try to not laugh moments. So happy to spend a measily $10 on one of the most all time underappreciated comedys. Especially in the era of the 80's movies, this one should be found in everyone's collection.
John Murray is just as funny as Bill if he would only see more screen time. Can't wait to see this one on DVD on my big screen! |
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