The Longshot

Awesome comic cast is pretty much wasted in this only sometimes funny story of a bunch of losers trying to make it big on the horse racing circuit. Best is Jonathan Winters. If you're a fan of any of the cast members (Winters, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, etc.) you may like this, others beware!

"The Longshot" is the story of four losers who get what they think is the break of a lifetime. A tip on a horse that can't lose. So they scrape every penny they can together to make a bet on the title's longshot.

That's about all there is to this film. It is said that Conway wrote the script in 24 hours. It shows. It plays more like a group of skits from "The Carol Burnett Show" then a movie with such a thin plot line. But for fans of Tim Conway (especially) it has its amusing moments. Stella Stevens offers a little support in a throw away role but looks sexy enough to be memorable. If you have time to waste and need a few chuckles then you could do worse.

Prior reviews which stated the film as a series of skits strung together indicates a lack of appreciation for comedic films in the genre of farce. Without generating a spoiler, reference the film summary for the plot line. The cascade of thoughtful plots builds into the 'chase' by the mobsters who are owed. Genius.

Considering that this film did not follow the typical formula for the mid-1980's by casting the "brat packers" or saturating the musical score with music from the "chill generation," it has a stunning brilliance. It has enough toilet humor to fascinate the "American Pie"-crowd. And, the hapless characters are surely inspiration for such shows as 2.5 Men & Big Bang.

It's a classic comedy.

Harvey korman and tim conway. They were so funny on carol burnett. But this was eight years after that. In a film written by conway himself! Has funny man jack weston. Anne meara is the nagging wife. Even frank bonner, a couple years after "wkrp". Jonathan winters. Even edie mcclurg (ferris beuhler). The gang spends all their time betting. On everything. So when they find a sure thing, they borrow the cash from a gangsta. But if they can't pay it back, they will lose their knee caps. Or thumbs. Or something. It's silly fun! It's a good one. Produced by the talented mike nichols. Directed by paul bartel, best known for "eating raoul". Also did "lust in the dust" and cannonball! Check it out... some pretty funny jokes here and there. On free tubi streaming.

The prior comments for "The Longshot" are not true. It's not a series of skits strung together. It's a full-fledged comedy film that deserves to be appreciated more than it is. These skilled character actors and actresses bring the plot to life, and it's a plot filled with the pathetic losers who live just on the fringes of prosperity and can never seem to get ahead. To these guys, $100 is big, big money. It's a film about losers and how they never stop trying to become winners, and that's the key to it's appeal.

The film focuses on the characters played by Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Jack Weston and Ted Wass, and boy, are these guys ever grade A losers. They've spent their lives at the local horse track, trying to get that big win, but they never do. They decide to take the advice of a trackhand who says he can make a horse win and bet enough to make a bundle. Because none of them have a dime they try to borrow the money from the track rich lady who has a stable of winning racehorses, and they decide Conway's character should seduce the money out of her because they can tell she's hot for him. This turns out to be the disaster you'd expect, so they are reduced to going to the local syndicate boss to borrow the money. When they find out the trackhand is not on the up and up and they've already place the bet with the borrowed mob money, they panic.

All of these people are amazing; they are losers extraordinare, losers for the ages - the epitome of loserness. Ted Wass, in particular, is so good it's uncanny. He is a man who is so devoid of intellect he can't even figure out what 1/4 of $20 is, but he's such a sweet, sincere, loyal friend that he promises to stand in the way of the gangsters when they come for the rest of his friends. He lives in a 6 foot wide mini-trailer with his fish; he sets up a picture of himself by the fishbowl when he leaves, so the fish isn't lonely. Everything he owns is 11 years old, including the fish. Anne Meara is a trip as Conway's wife, who knows he can't do anything right yet sticks with him with no idea that he will ever get his or her head above water. Joseph Ruskin ably handles the mob boss role and George DiCenzo is great as the mob boss' righthand man. Conway is the shoe salesman who is the nominal leader of the group; his car is a heap, and the driver's side window is broken so he uses cardboard. He doesn't have any more brains than the rest, but he has more confidence and he never stops talking. In this group, that makes him a leader.

In short, this is a quiet comedy film that doesn't go for the belly laughs but gets them anyway. I've seen it a hundred times and it never gets old. Beware, though, of the cut cable version that has been running, and make sure you watch the version put out on VHS or DVD. These different versions may account for the bad reviews, because the version I've seen on A&E is not the theatrical release but a butchered, watered down cut that is very different.