Loucadeia Federal

I enjoy comedies. This was not a comedy. It is just silly. Over-the-top comedies like Airplane have clever, well thought out humor none of which is present in this movie.

Full of errors but not humor. For the first few seconds I thought that maybe this was going to be a movie worth watching. A few minutes later I realized that it was absolute junk. The script is completely lacking. The situations are just plain stupid. The only way that I would have been able to enjoy such a movie would be if I was drunk. Very drunk.

If you enjoy really mediocre slapstick then this might be the movie for you. Otehrwise avoid it. You will be hugely disappointed.

Some examples of the type of comedy in this movie: a camera has a sign on it saying 'Secret Surveillance Camera'. A gun with a silencer says 'Silencer' but, as it turns out, the silencer doesn't work. FBI agents wear Groucho glasses as disguises.

Howard Polk is an FBI agent assigned to undercover work in a prison more luxurious than most resorts, where only the richest criminals go, to be pampered like few people would be even on the outside. Girls in bikinis are everywhere, and the guards are dressed like Chippendale dancers. Classical musicians provide ambience (one clarinetist makes a brief detour into jazz). Polk's boss claims that a prisoner named Angelica is embezzling from the prison (in fact, the FBI boss has planted a warden whose job is to frame Angelica--who claims to have already been framed), and the boss wants Polk to find evidence of misconduct so the place can be shut down and the inmates can be sent to regular prisons. Also, a large, demented red-haired woman seems to want Angelica dead but doesn't have much luck.

Anyway, that's what passes for a plot. Some comic highlights: before and after scenes (funny for different reasons) when the clumsy and dense Angelica has sex with a man. A bizarre car chase that's too ridiculous to be anything but funny. The announcement (resembling a game show) of Angelica's sentence. A man in stripes wanting to leave his regular prison for this palatial one. An ethics class at the prison where everyone is dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy.

Whether or not Judy Landers can act, in this movie she seems quite talented, and her character is very likeable. I was disappointed in Sherman Hemsley. Normally even he can bring quality to a production such as this, but I didn't care for his very sinful Reverend.

Some of the jokes worked, and others didn't (for me, anyway). And some jokes were just plain sick. But there was plenty here for me to enjoy.

But not much. First off, this film is many things. It IS badly-acted, and Burt Young looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. It IS not funny. It IS not a satire or a Bergman-esque like examination of the treatment of white-collar criminals. You want to see a good satire? Go rent Dr. Strangelove or Network or even Starship Troopers. Club Fed is just a crappy comedy with a posse of washed-up TV stars and character actors, all of whom have a look on their face that says "Please don't let anyone see this movie" It's amazing that a film like this can even get financed when something like Memento can barely find a distributor.

Well, first of all, the premise is a bit much. But it is a broad comedy and it takes you for a a wild ride. Rich people in prison! Okay, I guess we can match the names with the characters. Whether you like to chuckle or laugh, you'll do both with this film. Burt Young is the warden of a prison for the wealthy. JosephCampanella is an FBI director who plants an agent in CLUB FED. Alan Garfield is a crooked investment broker. Karen Black is a rich hotel owner. Sherman Hemsley is a crooked preacher and Judy Landers is an innocent girlfriend who takes the rap for her dead mafia boyfriend. We watched it late at night and had a great time.

Fans of the Police Academy series of broad comedies will find plenty to enjoy here; Lance Kinsey, who appeared in most of the Police Academy films, is the lead here. Others will not. Lots of silly, obvious jokes. Some are painful, but, I must admit, some of the gags had me laughing. But only some.

This is the kind of movie that throws everything at the wall and sees what sticks up there. If a joke isn't funny, relax, another gag will be along in half a second. The writing is uneven, and again, sometimes the script is funny, and at other times is just plain pathetic. All the lead actors are screen veterans, and in spite of the low budget, seem to be throwing their all into it. Hard to believe Allen Garfield devolved from an Academy Award nomination to this, but hey, sometimes you have to take whatever work you can get.

Overall, undemanding comedy fans may find this worthwhile to watch on TV. Okay, that sounded a bit harsh. But probably warranted.