Les Zéros de conduite

Too much fun! Even though this film would seem way too cheesy and juvenile on the surface, there are just too many laughs for it not to be an entertaining experience. From the makers of Police Academy and Bachelor Party, Moving Violations has enough one-liners and sight gags to more than make up for its lack of plot. Though some of the gags make Dumb and Dumber seem like an episode of Frazier, I guarantee you'll be laughing at it in spite of yourself.

The story concerns a group of perennial bad drivers who are sentenced to a strict traffic school in which they have to pass the course or forfeit their cars to the county. The class is run by two bad-ass motorcycle cops played by James Keach and Lisa Hart Carroll. They have their characters down so well, they'll even frighten you. Keach has a scheme going with the judge that sentenced the bad drivers to the course. Their plan is to make the class impossible and somehow split the profits from the impounded vehicles themselves. To detail this plot any further would be a dis-service to not only this review, but the film itself.

John Murray plays the ringleader of the traffic school bunch. He is certainly no Bill Murray, but he's very charismatic and funny. Most of the other students are made up of typically wacky characters you might expect to find in a movie like this. Most of them are thankfully more funny than annoying. The cast is made up of many familiar faces; some of which went on to better things, and some of them just disappeared. Look closely and you'll spot Don Cheadle working at a fast food drive up window for about five seconds! Since there is so little plot, the film must count on sight gags involving cars being destroyed, old people with diminished facilities, bondage, puppet stages rolling down hills and into funeral homes, you name it. Toward the end, there is as one might expect, a climatic chase scene involving parade floats, a group of marathon runners, and about a thousand cops chasing after our heroes while they're on their way to police headquarters to expose the scheme to sell their cars. By this point, you'll be either rolling with laughter or you will have shut the movie off long before then.

Maybe it's not quite a classic, but I'd say it's a cut above Police Academy and somewhere just below Airplane or Top Secret. The odds are you'll find more than a few things to laugh at.

7 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

If you would like to wow your friends with a 1980s comedy that they probably have never heard of, then look no further than "Moving Violations". This movie has a cast of pedigreed comedians, including Fred Willard, Jennifer Tilly, and Sally Kerrerman. The lead goes to John Murray, brother of Bill Murray. His performance is far from unique, as it clearly mimics Bill Murray and John Belushi. In fact "Moving Violations" has certain scenes that seem to have been influenced by "Animal House, and "The Blues Brothers". Overlook these minor annoyances and be mesmerized by the rapid fire gags which make time fly by with maximum laughs. If you admire any of the above films or actors, this is a must see. - MERK

Very hilarious! It's the only film I've ever known to have my mom laughing every 2 minutes [or less] while she watched. She was laughing so much, I had to stop what I was doing and go and see what was all the hubbub about. Even though it didn't receive great reviews, it's really entertaining. I like Dana's line after the car/bigrig collision -- "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going in their pants." Thanks :).

Not sure why John Murray didn't do more films - he definitely should have, and hopefully he will do some in the future. True, his acting style is similar to his older brother Bill's, but he's individual enough that he coulda made it big. "Moving Violations" is good. Not great, but it was pretty well directed and it's got its strengths. Actually, it made it into theaters only six months after it was written and filmed - if anything, I'd say that they should have gone back and rewritten and polished up a few things. The plot does get stretched a bit thin over the course of the movie...the best parts come in the beginning and middle. The ending is pretty limp and the whole Judge Henderson/Deputy Halik sexcapade and ensuing car chase sequence just gets boring with all the boffo antics. The character of Scott the Puppeteer, played by Brian Backer (Rat of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") doesn't develop as well as it should have, and the chick who plays his love interest wasn't written well at all - BUT, Backer's star scene near the beginning with the puppet stage rolling down the hill is a total gut-buster. Despite these few problems, there are enough good gags and Murray definitely keeps the movie afloat. Jennifer Tilly is superb as Amy Hopkins the nimrod rocket scientist. James Keach, Wendie Jo Sperber (who had just done "Back to the Future"), Ned Eisenberg, and Nedra Volz all contribute a lot of positive energy, making "Moving Violations" one of those 'so bad, it's good' movies.

I loved this silliness which didn't try to pass itself off as anything but a totally goofy spoof. I particularly enjoyed Keach's stiff backed, rule happy[exempting himself, of course]cop intent on breaking a group of citizens' while taking advantage of them. If you like super silly farces having no roots in reality this is the ticket.