My Chauffeur

The lovely lady was one of the brightest stars of the 1980s, bringing an irresistible presence to such other favourites as "Valley Girl", "April Fool's Day", and "Waxwork". Here she shines as Casey Meadows, a kooky free spirit hired by a limousine company. Unfortunately, she's not welcomed with open arms as the place is staffed almost exclusively by miserable, stuffy chauvinists. They do everything that they can to discourage her, including giving her the problem clients, such as an outrageous rock star. However, Casey finds that her most problematic client will be Battle (Sam Jones of the 1980 "Flash Gordon" movie), whose identity is going to come as a surprise to her. "My Chauffeur" is certainly very likable stuff. It goes far on the charms of Foreman, and while it gets very silly at times, it's nice that writer / director David Beaird gives it such a screwy quality, while toning down the kind of raunchiness to be found in many other comedies of the period. (That said, it's still an utter riot to see a drunken Jones run around nearly naked!) Among the memorable sequences are the extended episode with Penn & Teller (making their feature film debut) as Teller plays a sheik and Penn a fast talking con man, and the episode where the nutty rock singer Catfight (Leland Crooke) robs a "blue lady" (Diana Bellamy) of her panties as part of an ongoing game with his background singers. And Casey and Battle bicker a lot on their way to falling in love. The movie is very much of its time, with a catchy pop soundtrack as accompaniment. The supporting cast is very solid, with Howard Hesseman, Julius Harris, Laurie Main, and John O'Leary as some of the sour old chauvinist pigs; veterans Sean McClory, as O'Brien, and E.G. Marshall, as Witherspoon, are particularly endearing and effective. The pacing drags in places, but overall this is a very hard movie not to like, creating some good vibes for a pleasant enough 98 minutes. Seven out of 10.

I love this movie....I've loved it since I first saw it at age 10...If you pride yourself on your love for off-beat movies, and have never seen this..please do..I can't promise you'll have the same love for it as I do...but I truly believe I would love it just as much if I saw it today for the first time....Deborah Foreman is perfect in this role..open enough to be such a great character. All roles are distinct, no one gets lost in the chaos. I hope you have fun..now get up go rent it..I'd loan you my copy, but I don't know you stranger!!

OK, so it's no epic piece of cinematic history, and sure it's a formulaic and derivative romantic comedy, but I still rank it as one of my all-time favorite films because it possesses a wonderful plot structure, engaging vignettes ("A blue lady with a blue dog! That's 20,000 points!"), well-drawn characters, witty dialog, a lot of heart and a lot of laughs - not to mention a finger-snapping, so-80s soundtrack from a seemingly never-to-be-heard-from-again band called The Wigs "My Chauffeur" is all-around well written and well realized. Watching this film, you can tell the people involved both in front of and behind the camera really put their imaginations and talents into crafting something special. Deborah Foreman is quirky-cute-cool as Casey Meadows, an aspiring limo driver who shakes up the stuffy status quo of Brentwood Limousine Company when she's hush-hush hired by its reclusive owner (E.G. Marshall). She faces the cold shoulders of all of the older male drivers, save for a paternal Irish gent (played marvelously by Sean McClory) who takes her under his wing. Sam Jones is marvelous as Battle Witherspoon, the dictatorial corporate suit who's all business and no pleasure - until he meets Foreman's Casey and slowly melts for her. The romance that ensues between them is surrounded by a wonderful cast of characters who populate the movie's tangental scenes, such as the one that features the film debut of Penn & Teller (as a con man and a Middle Eastern prince, respectively). Myself, I get a little choked up every time I see the scenes where Casey comes to the transportation rescue of a young man being berated by his girlfriend for not having a car, and where Battle finally realizes what a jerk he's been and commands his long-suffering, single-mom secretary to march down to human resources the following Monday and name her own raise. Touching, heartfelt, sincere stuff. Yeah, it's a fairy tale film filled with other little fairy tales, but that's what makes it so much fun. Even more fun: "My Chauffeur" has one of the most fall-down laughing drunk scenes I've ever seen. After Jones' character gets dumped by his girlfriend, he gets rip-roaring blotto in the back of Casey's limo. Chugging scotch, primal screaming and spewing venom he declares his freedom and commences to streak stark naked through a neighborhood park. In terms of sheer hilarity it rivals the scene in "The Money Pit" where Tom Hanks laughs himself into hysterics after the bathtub plunges through the bathroom and shatters on the first floor. It's just movie magic. As you can tell, I've seen this film a few times, and will undoubtedly see it a few more in my lifetime. But everytime I see it, there is some bittersweetness that manifests itself as the credits roll at the end as I ask myself "where are they now?"

Quite possibly the best film ever made! Okay, maybe i'm exaggerating but it's a really fun film filled with wacky characters and that distinct LA 80's feel.

What sets this film apart is the dynamic lead performance by Deborah Foreman (where have you gone, Debbie?) In terms of comic timing and just being so damn adorable she rivals Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby (a film which My Chauffeur most resembles)

David Baierd's direction keeps things brisk and light yet there are demented touches here and there which give the film a unique off-balanced vibe.

Check this film out if you can and expect a pleasant surprise. I'll re-watch it again and again and have a blast each and every time.

This is a light-hearted, cute movie about a girl whose father works in a snobby, stuffy chauffeur company. Things quickly change as she joins, turns the company inside out, and falls in love with one of the customers.

Okay, so it's not THE best movie, but most people should like it. I give it a B+. It's got some good jokes, one-liners and a reasonable plot.