National Lampoon's Gold Diggers

Fool's Gold

You go to a movie like National Lampoon's Gold Diggers just hoping for a few good laughs. And there are one or two. But there's too much pain in between to make the film sittable.

The plot: Two young petty thieves (Will Friedle and Chris Owen) need money. They meet two old broads (Renee Taylor and Louise Lasser) who appear to be wealthy but ain't. The thieves come on to the broads in hopes of marrying them and becoming rich. The broads come on to the thieves in hope of marrying and then murdering for the insurance.

Not a bad idea for a simple comedy. And producer, writer and first-time director Gary Preisler keeps his goals low. He just wants to entertain with gross-outs. But he's so inept that he can't even make farting funny. A running bit about the two couples accidentally killing the wrong people falls flat because Preisler doesn't know how to pace what should be surefire gags.

It's unsettling that two giants of comedy--Taylor and Lasser--have to share the screen with Owen, who coasts on a charmingly goofy smile, and Friedle, a Johnny Depp type whose talent seems to be limited to a left eyebrow that can lift on command.

There is, though, a lovely interlude in which the Owen character really falls in love with Lasser. The two actors soften up, and the genuine mutual affection they exude is touching.

Much of the film, though, tries to get us to laugh at how ridiculous it is for two old women with wrinkled bodies to seduce two hot young men. Watching the gifted Taylor straddle the horrified Friedle--in essence, raping him--had me averting my eyes in embarrassment. (Would we tolerate this stuff if it was a beautiful young woman being raped by an ugly old man?)

Apparently, even gross-out comedy requires some delicacy.--Anthony Del Valle