Whiffs (1975) User Reviews

A waste of some good actors...

[papamac630 · 3/10 · 23 January 2007]

I actually saw this movie 1st run in a theatre...and apparently it has not gotten funnier since...nor have I seen it as a rental anywhere...so that might indicate that it ain't gonna garner any post-production love...Elliott Gould is wasted as a private who is cut loose from the Army where he was a human guinea pig for testing chemical warfare agents (there is one scene that may be squeamish to some as Gould is testing an agent as a needle moves up and down in his arm)...and he decides that using his knowledge and supposed immunity to commit a bank robbery is a good idea...hiring Godfrey Cambridge as a pilot, however, is not...although Cambridge's portrayal of Dusty is the funniest part of the movie...and it all wraps up unneatly at the end...but it is a comedy, so figure it out...it is amazing to me how many poorly-made films are on the Net, costing more than they should...and Whiffs! is right there...Gould can be excused for this one since he made 'MASH'...an Army movie that IS good...if you stumble upon Whiffs!, and you have about 100 minutes to kill with no conception of any socially redeeming value, then by all means rent it, check your brain and common sense at the door, and enjoy it...but Gould, Cambridge, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, and others are misused...and that is sad...

Contaminated by a lack of good humor.

[emm · 5/10 · 14 December 1998]

I liked the kind of idea that WHIFFS had: an Army soldier on a medical discharge who plans to make history since World War I by contaminating a small town only to rob banks. Very strange, indeed! Despite its satiric message on chemical warfare (and to take on M*A*S*H for the time), it didn't contain enough comedy and it simply tries too hard at it. It suffers unrealistically as well. There is some considerably poor acting most of the time, and if you're not deaf, you may hear somebody behind camera making noises on Elliot Gould's gaseous state. The songs were nothing special to bring home Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, either. Much improved humorous detail would've helped this one greatly. A nice shot at making a nifty satire at life after the military, but it left me wanting more. Rent this one and see what you think.

Senseless anti-establishment comedy long on preaching, short on laughs.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 6 March 2023]

The celebrity press in the 1970s often used an old joke that the writer went to see a movie and was surprised that Elliott Gould wasn't in it. As talented as he is, he was definitely overexposed after "MASH", and for that reason, most of his films are forgotten today. This one came and went so quickly people are surprised that it actually got enough denomination for probably the most forgotten Academy Award nominated song in movie history. The film starts off by indicating it anti-military stance, with several narrative cards obviously stating its feelings, bashing the audience over the head with this agenda, showing Gould's character gravely affected by his over exposure to various gases, going slightly cuckoo out of the blue, the only really funny moment showing him doing a variety of jobs and failing because of how the gas in his system makes him act out.

Jennifer O'Neill is the pretty leading lady, basically wasted in a do-nothing rule, with Eddie Albert the heavy the heavy and Harry Guardino as an an old pile of gold who has an encounter with an outraged husband of one of his conquests. In fact, much of the material seems to be inserted in the film to stretch it out to feature length, and it becomes a muddling puzzlement, not really having any effect other than to make the overly liberal writers seem desperate to express their feelings on the subject being dealt with. It's obvious that Hollywood Studios wanted nothing to do with this film as it ended up having a British independent studio (Brut, the distributor of most of Glenda Jackson's 1970's films), even though it's obviously an American film. After a while, the film just begins to take itself way too seriously and It fails to provide some laughter to a dull story, indicating why word of mouth and reviews didn't give this much audience appeal.

It is dry excellent humor.

[mscott81 · 8/10 · 31 July 2002]

It is a satire and is not contaminated as one previous comment suggests. Senses of humor vary and this comedy is slightly dark with a universal message. The opening scene is unique and original. A scene regarding one of the controlled biologist agents "test" with Harry Guardino and Elliot Gould is very funny occurring while they try to carry on a conversion. It should be re-released in DVD format.

Thanks,

Mike

Original and hysterical history.

[mscott81 · 8/10 · 18 December 2002]

I disagree with mister Atwood, the movie was blackly funny and I am sure close to someone's home. One of the few things Clinton did well (or at least in his Presidency) was uncover government secrets and reveal them. This was just ahead of its time.

Harry G and Elliot scene where they trying to carry on a conversation while being tested is very funny as well as other scenes.