Backfire!

I happened to see this movie on cable TV. I was surprised I had never heard of it, and it turned out to be quite funny. It's a parody of "Backdraft" in the tradition of "Airplane" and similar spoofs, and though it doesn't quite reach the levels of excellence of "Airplane," it does have several genuinely laugh-inducing moments. So see it if you get the chance.

I very wonder why some familiar stars have participated this lousy film. It is really a time waster!

Frankly I could not watch the film from the beginning to the end, but probably three-fourth. I think the problems of the film was mainly the director and the script writer could not develop the story from the theme--a man try to become a fireman in the world where only women can do. In spite of the story theme was odd, it could be developed in a very interesting way as long as the director can rationalise the story and made the gags in proper order. And if he could have managed the scenes presented in coherent manner.

Some scenes that should be aimed to make people laugh indeed worked controversially. For example, a group of people walked out form the limo should be a poor replicate from other film (the name I have forgotten). 'Copying' is not necessary bad but in this film, the director could not make the copying or mimicking with a new touch . I feel very sorry for the investors.

The jokes in this movie generally fall into one of the four following categories: obvious ("Your back!" - "Yes, I'm back" - "No, your BACK"), crude (a coroner biting off a piece of a corpse), repetitive (every time an expression is used, it is then demonstrated literally: for example, a man says "Don't put words into my mouth", then pulls out a piece of paper with "words" written on it), and derivative ("I have to take this to the city hall" - "What is it?" - "It's a big building where the mayor has his office, but that's not important right now"). Of course when you have so many gags one will work every once in a while, and I did laugh a couple of times. There is also some mild eye-candy from Kathy Ireland, but the appearance of three screen legends - Mitchum, Savalas and Winters - doesn't add anything to the film, in fact it detracts from it as all three seem to be in poor health (and this was indeed Savalas' last film role). (*1/2)

Compared to backdraft and ladder 49 this is by far the most realistic firefighting movie

There is one reason I watched "Backfire!"...to see Robert Mitchum in one of his last movies. Unfortunately, late in his career, Mitchum seemed willing to appear in almost anything...including a turkey like this one. Sadly, the film also marked Telly Savalas' last film and was one of Shelley Winters' last appearances as well.

The story is similar to films like "Epic Movie" and "Disaster Movie"...it has one rapid-fire joke after another. And, like these films, they jokes fall completely flat. The reason is a bit different, however. In the case of the other two films, you have famous (or infamous) actors in the picture and a plethora of mostly crude and stupid jokes. Here with "Backfire!", the writing is a bit better...but the actors seem as if they've never made a film before and their delivery (particularly the lead) is awful...as if they didn't realize they were supposed to be in a comedy! Amateurish is the best way to sum up the acting.

The story, if you care, is set in an odd world where police and fire fighters are all women...and the men are treated by these women in a very sexist manner. Inexplicably, Jeremy (Josh Mosby) still wants to become a 'firewoman'...despite the sexism AND his mother's death on the job as a fire fighter. The story is about his working through his various issues (much like the hero of "Airplane!") in order to become a hero.

Very few laughs and very poor acting make this a tough film to enjoy. I can easily understand its overall score of 3.2...and, actually, this seems a tad high considering how incredibly dull this picture is. Don't say I didn't warn you!

By the way, a couple things to look for: the microphone which is clearly visible at the 37 minute mark as well as the very inappropriate World Trade Center comment...though I cannot blame the film as it came out before the infamous bombing which destroyed them.