Tax Season (1989) User Reviews

Wacky 1988 PG-13 Tax Comedy with the great James Hong

[wecantbestopped · 5/10 · 17 August 2008]

This movie is another little bit of flotsam from the culture void which emerged in the Reagan 80's. The movie has a rather unlikely basis: a wacky goofball comedy set in a tax office. Oh yeah, nothing spells hilarity like going to H & R Block. I'm giggling already. So a handsome young middle American white man names Alan (Fritz Bonner) decides to drop everything in Cleveland and purchase a tax business, sight-unseen, in downtown Hollywood. What he fails to realize, unfortunately, is that the previous owner had to leave because he had a nervous breakdown from trying to deal with his unmanageable staff, which includes a Cuban horse- racing fanatic who still uses the Cuban tax code when dealing with his American customers, his bookie, the obligatory useless secretary, and the coup de grace, a call girl who turns tricks in her office at the tax place. What would a movie with this unlikely cast of screwballs be without two things, though: the love interest and the villain? The former is played by Ms. Debi Fares, an alumnus of three of the lesser Killer Tomato sequels and the unwatchable Happy Hour (1987). The latter, however, is the only reason to check this movie out, as the villain, Mr. Tagasaki (aka the Cocaine Cookie Cowboy) is played by the great James Hong, a veteran TV and movie character actor whose long list of credits spans from more than 50 years ago right through to Kung Fu Panda. He steals the show here, and is given the chance to revel in the role of the nefarious drug lord disguised as an upstanding citizen, who accidentally gives the wrong set of books to Alan, the straight and narrow new owner of the tax business. This sets in motion the main dramatic conflict of the film. I won't say anymore, other than if you've seen one wacky 80's comedy, you know how it's gonna end. If you can track down a copy of this, it's worth checking out for Hong's performance alone.

Going through an audit is more exciting...

[Movie Hound Video · 1/10 · 28 December 1999]

This ranks right up there along side the infamous "STOP OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT". Totally horrid movie about a man who buys a tax service business and has a run in with a drug dealer. The only good thing is that some of the women are pretty. Please don't torture yourself on this one.

Tongue in Cheek Comedy/Farce

[jkgliberty · 5/10 · 11 March 2015]

It wasn't great and it wasn't awful. I was Susan, the female lead and romantic interest of the character of Alan. I've sent a correction to IMDb.The shoot was fun. We all had a great time making it. I enjoyed working with James Hong. He took this film as seriously as other great works he's been in. Hopefully anyone who views it enjoys it for what it is. Hello to the cast and crew! Many people don't get the chance to have an experience like this. I'll always be grateful for it. The rooftop scene was shot at 3 A.M. and it was freezing cold. Ah, memories. I really enjoyed driving that beautiful black car down Hollywood Blvd.

Light comedy about taxes

[lor_ · 14 May 2023]

My review was written in May 1990 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

This old-fashioned topical comedy has a familiar target: income taxes. Some laughs and okay twists make it an adequate video offering.

Fritz Bronner is personable as the nebbish from Cleveland who buys Arte Johnson's fifth-rate L. A. tax office and relocates to the City of Angels with his nagging mother.

Typical comic twist is a mixup: when tycoon James Hong brings in his company books, Bronner inadvertently winds up with Hong's real books, documenting a vast cocaine empire.

Before degenerating into silly chases, pic is on-target with its satiric jabs at both lotus land and accounting. Bronner and leading lady Jana Grant are refreshing ingenues while Hong and his henchman, former wrestler Prof. Toru Tanaka, get the laughs.