Dumb Luck

Steve (Scott Baio) is a divorced accountant with a young tweenage son named Kevin. Kevin is smart as a whip and loves playing cards for money. One day, the two head off to a shopping mall, waiting to meet a blind date for Steve, having been set up by Steve's sister. However, a bizarre set of circumstances leads them to meet a woman named Kelly (Tracy Nelson), who decides to pose as the supposed date. Kelly does this because her partner in an undercover investigation dropped some evidence into Kevin's shopping bag as he was fleeing the mall. Whew! Steve does buy Kelly lunch and appears smitten. What will happen when the truth surfaces? This is a nice little film. Baio is very attractive and congenial as the single father and Nelson is as pretty as a picture in her role as the love interest. The supporting cast, including Eileen Brennan, Richard Moll, and Hal Linden, is quite nice. There is also a lovable dog in the movie, adding to the film's enjoyment. If you stumble across this film, on late night television or at the dollar store (that's where I nabbed this small gem), give it a whirl. Without any pretentiousness, this minor film will have the whole family watching and smiling as they munch on the proverbial popcorn.

The basic plot of this movie is sorta used. But it is made a bit interesting because everyone in it is an old TV star. Here is a rough outline. Chachi is a divorced accountant raising his son who is Little Frankie from Beetleborgs Metallix. He is the real hero because he knows how to use a computer and is a card shark. He takes money from Chachi's friend, Willis Drummond in a poker game. Chachi's mother is Capt. Lewis from Private Benjamin. She's in a retirement home where she cons all the other residents with Bingo and Pinochle. He is supposed to have a blind date but Sister Stephanie from Father Dowling pretends to be the date. A mystery ensues. Seems Barney Miller is running for governor and is not such a good guy. Bull Shannon is one of his henchman and has Charles in Charge confused about who is good and who is bad. Bull's partner is a Japanese guy who inexplicably was never in a TV series. They find out that Sister Stephanie is not who she says. Could have been better. It spoils the mystery when you know that certain people are bad. So why try and convince the watcher that someone else is bad. That's the whole idea behind a mystery. Too easy to figure out.

For some mysterious reason I cannot put into words this movie is charming. Maybe it's Tracy Nelson being caught in one lie after another, or it's Scott Baio acting like a normal person, or Richard Moll acting like Richard Moll, or the supporting actors or it's the plot, which may have been engraved by Noah during his tedious journey as a means of passing time, but it is charming. After watching it I asked myself, slack-jawed and glassy-eyed, "Why did you watch that thing," and answered myself, right away, with, "I don't know, I think I'll watch it again and find out."

W. T. Benda, Austin, Texas