This film is one of those 80's comedies that were very popular and paved the way for later college/fraternity films. Tim Matheson stars as Bob, who leads a ragtag group of guys who overcome great obstacles to win the race at the end. The script is tacky and often so bad in its attempt to be funny i.e. the dog that uses body language to communicate with the guys that one of their friends is being held captive by the enemy without any clothes, even using liver as Japanese for river, the silly and slapstick comedy among the army guys that are conveniently close enough to the river to blow things up, "The Revenge Of The Nerds" style rivalry between jocks and suite and tie yuppies with the casual, average guys and Tim Matheson and the leading girl who plays his love interest repeating the same lines each time they have sex: was it good for you as it was for me? The cinematography is not spectacular, the acting is not superior, it just makes you feel good I don't think movies are not supposed to be mind engaging, just a break from reality. This just has a good feeling for every underdog that was trying to do the right thing and never got the recognition they deserved. I think there is a lot of clever/sarcastic wit and dialog like that throughout the movie... perhaps why not everyone got it... it was a lot more than T & A and relied more on comic timing than nudity. This film is filled with hilarious dialogue, great raft scenes and lots of funny moments. Chuck the dog is amazing!
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
