The accountant, Jonathan Mardukas, doesn't want to go back, so Jack Walsh has to use all of his wiles, and a seemingly superhumanly knocky-out punch, to achieve the objective.

"What the heck is a Boil Band?"

"De Niro plays it for laughs in full color!!! A joy from the first f-word to the last!"

"A superior road movie. My only objection was that they seemed to be able to knock people out with a single punch too easily. I've seen professional wrestling, it just don't work like that mister!"

"Excellent music. I danced in the cinema when I saw this back in 1988. Oh, those were the days!"

"De Niro has a wonderfully crinkly face when he smiles. I was watching this movie just to see if his eyes disappeared. A remarkable achievement."

"Both hilariously light and funny and utterly chronically depressingly sad. A disaster. I want my money back."

Our two heroes bond. Walsh lets Mardukas go.

Oh, tiz a joy to see old crinkly-smiley-faced Robert De Niro, with cheruby, innocent-looking, Charles Grodin, at the height of their powers, acting their socks off on the big screen! It's like a veritable thespian ping pong match and the only winner is the grateful viewer!

Acting of this caliber is a joy to behold, it's just a bit of a shame that some of the violence is a little professional wrestlingy in places. Indeed, Grodin's character is so easily knocked unconscious in this movie, the viewer is left to wonder if there isn't something wrong with his brain. Perhaps his brain is too loose in his head? Does he get knocked out if he switches the shower up to full throttle? It's annoyances like these that can't help but detract from what is otherwise a nicely acted and scripted movie that rolls pleasingly along.

A great fun, rough-and-tumble road movie with a heart.

August 16, 2006