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It's generally the case that putting together a great international cast does not a great movie make. This is borne out by this dire 'comedy' that, on paper, looks like a winner but on screen is tired, dull and yields zero laughs. The comedy element relies on lots of people falling over, especially John Candy, and a script that contains no jokes whatsoever. It's embarrassing to see the likes of Peter Cook walking through the film almost comatose. One would think the producers were trying to cash in on the 'Pink Panther' movies, with many similarities in the style and story, heavy reliance on slapstick humour, and the two bungling detectives. They don't even come close. Perhaps the only interest is to see the bizarre pairing of Mickey Rooney and Dick Emery as the films' gangster villains.

This amiably scattershot British-Canadian Co-production sadly remains one of future comedy icon, John Candy's lesser known features. The chaotically pratfall-laden, proto-Police Academy, bungled kidnapping farce 'Find The Lady' is brought to witheringly noisome life by a remarkably ecclectic cast of entertainingly larger-than-life Thespians: Peter Cook, Mickey Rooney, Lawrence Dane, Alexandra Bastedo, Dick Emery, and a very young, effortlessly likeable, John Candy is a dunderheaded delight as the catastrophically inept, perpetually blundering cop, Kopek!

John Trent's overblown screwball comedy is an energetic, frequently misfiring, palpably unsophisticated 70s celluloid curiosity, and some may well find themselves immune to this gaudy lady's crudely comedic charms, but, to be fair, I sporadically enjoyed all the unrelentingly stupid slapstick shenanigans displayed so giddily herein! Peter Cook is miscast, the splendid, Dick Emery is sadly underused, Alexandra Bastedo is a distractingly beautiful kidnapee, and, frankly, it's all very, VERY silly indeed, but the hyperbolic, slapstick-on-acid finale in the fun house is arguably worth the price of admittance alone! As much as I hate to admit it, Mickey Rooney was a hoot as the anachronistic hood 'Trigger', and charismatic Canadian actor, Richard Monette, glistered no less gaudily than his sequinned bustier as serially quipping drag artiste, Bruce la Rousse.

with john candy, mickey rooney and peter cook you wouldn't blame me for hoping something interesting would happen. it didn't. what a mutt!

insipid jokes, terrible music, lousy lighting as well as the cheap and nasty location shoots, all give early indications of where canadian film making was headed. this is the film culture that flowered with "porky's".

don't watch this film. i beg you.

the gong sound everytime the chinese guy enters the room may be the most tasteless bit of the picture, but i don't know. anyone see anything less tasteful in there?

This isn't the worst comedy of all-time, but that is about the best thing that I can say about this pathetic film. I didn't laugh once, or even smile once during this bomb. There was usually something going on on-screen, so I didn't get TOO bored, but most of the jokes here were simply awful. The final sequence is nothing more than a long series of people falling through doors and stumbling all over the place. Needless to say, it was a fitting way to end a movie that was impossible for me to like.

I'll preface my comments by saying that my wife and I are big fans of John Candy. And although Find the Lady is no Uncle Buck or Planes Trains and Automobiles, it is a treat to recognize many of his classic mannerisms. John plays a young bumbling "Gumshoe" investigating a kidnapping case with a more seasoned partner.

Mickey Rooney is another treat in this movie. I guess perhaps he needed the work to keep up with his alimony obligations? He didn't phone it in here, he puts a lot into his character. And his running comments about working with mobster Bugsy Siegel put a smile of my face.

While it's not the most memorable movie for Mr. Candy it is fun to see him in an earlier role before he became a star.