I'm for the Hippopotamus/Io Sto con gli Ippopotami (1979) - Spencer & Hill make a low-brow killing in Africa

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The beloved star duo are back for new shenanigans on this poster for Italo Zingarelli's I'm for the Hippopotamus

Two competing cousins find themselves in Africa, liberating animals and handing out punches.

 

I'm for the Hippopotamus is written by Barbara Alberti (Ernesto (1979)), Vincenzo Mannino (Cobra Mission (1986)), Amedeo Pagani (Colpita da Improvviso Benessere (1976)) and co-writer/director Italo Zingarelli (Una Prostituta al Servizio del Pubblico ed in Regola con le Leggi dello Stato (1971)). The title is a literal translation of the original Italian one.

Terence Hill (Botte di Natale (1994)) and Bud Spencer (Un Piede in Paradiso (1991)) goof around in many lame gags in this African comedy adventure that is often unreal. But it works well as warm and wacky, forgettable entertainment for fans of the star duo.

 

  

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 3 mil. $

Box office: Projected 25.1 mil. $

= Uncertain but projected a mega-hit (projected return of 8.36 times its cost)

[I'm for the Hippopotamus was released 1 December (Spain) and runs 104 minutes. Shooting took place in South Africa. Although the cost is unknown, it seems certain that the film was a major hit, based on the box office information available: It sold 2.251 mil. tickets in France, 4.91 mil. in West Germany, 720k in Italy, (ironically Spencer and Hill were bigger outside of their native country), and 286k tickets in Denmark. That is 8.167 mil. tickets in these 4 markets alone, with 12 more markets left unaccounted for, although two of them (Turkey and Hungary) did not get the release until far into to 1980s. It was not released in North America but it was released in Australia. With a conservative final projection of 10 mil. sold tickets at a 2.51 $ average prize, the film would have grossed 25.1 mil. $, an enormous sum. Zingarelli only returned as a producer of two more films more than ten years later. Spencer returned in Piedone d'Egitto (1980); Hill in Super Fuzz/Poliziotto Superpiù (1980). 9.4k+ IMDb users have given I'm for the Hippopotamus a 6.6/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of I'm for the Hippopotamus?

The Hustle (2019) or, Dirty Rotten Karens

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Two endeared stars look assertive in front of a gold-sprayed sports car on this hijinks-promising poster for Chris Addison's The Hustle

An Australian woman backpacker who is also a con artist meets her superior in a posh British con artist woman in Southern France. - Or is it the other way around?

 

The Hustle is written by Jac Schaeffer (Timer (2009)) and directed by debuting Chris Addison (Veep (2013-16)) . It is a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), which was a remake of Bedtime Story (1964).

'The world is full of greedy idiots who deserve nothing but to be robbed blind' is pretty much the essence of the universe that's drawn up here. The Hustle is not an inferior film to the overrated predecessor starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin. The comedic speedometer is set at somewhere between 'totally ridiculous' and 'very coarse', and it isn't without a certain charm, especially because Rebel Wilson (How to Be Single (2016)) has comedic talent and acts as a blind person through much of The Hustle, which also has some good insults.

But the bright spots are regrettably labored with a wealth of unfunny costume scenes and low-brow idiocy.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 21 mil. $

Box office: 97.4 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.63 times its cost)

[The Hustle was released 8 May (Philippines) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place from September 2017 - ? in London, UK and in Majorca, Spain. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit Avengers: Endgame and fellow new release Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, to a 13 mil. $ first weekend, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 35.4 mil. $ (36.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 6.1 mil. $ (6.3 %) and Russia with 6 mil. $ (6.2 %). Addison has not returned with a feature since; instead he has directed for the show Breeders (2020-23) and is announced to return with feature Hallelujah!. Anne Hathaway (Get Smart (2008)) returned in Modern Love (2019, TV-series) and theatrically in Dark Waters (2019); Wilson in Jojo Rabbit (2019). The Hustle is rotten at 13 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Hustle? 

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) - James returns with welcome low-brow shenanigans

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Star Kevin James seemingly runs atop the roof of a major Las Vegas hotel on this chuckle-worthy poster for Andy Fickman's Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Blart is regaining his footing after a very quick divorce, when he gets invited to a mall cop conference in Las Vegas, - and of course he elects to bring his daughter along.

 

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is written by co-writer/co-producer/star Kevin James (Zookeeper (2011)) and Nick Bakay (Mom (2013-21)) and directed by Andy Fickman (She's the Man (2006)). It is the sequel to Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) by Steve Carr.

- Turns out there are some mean types in Vegas, who are after some art in the major hotel Wynn Las Vegas, - and it is all naturally enormously silly. At times the connections between events here are almost completely lost, but at the same time Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is an irresistible low-brow comedy, and James' physical brand of comedy is particularly fun here. Gary Valentine (Jack and Jill (2011)) also amuses as a veteran mall cop, and Neal McDonough (Apex (2021)) deserves praise for an altogether ludicrous villain's performance here that's hysterical. Raini Rodriguez (Rekindling Christmas (2020)) as Blart's daughter is also cute. 

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is intellectually low-ceilinged to be sure but damned charming and funnier than you think!

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: Reportedly 38 mil. $ (different accounts)

Box office: 107.5 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.82 times its cost)

[Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was released 9 April (Germany) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place from April - June 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Florida. The film was the first to attain Nevada's film tax rebate, reportedly netting it 4.3 mil. $ returned. James reportedly accepted a pay cut to reduce the budget size. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Furious 7, to a 23.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 3 weekends (#2-#4-#5), grossing 71 mil. $ (66 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 6.1 mil. $ (5.7 %) and Mexico with 5.6 mil. $ (5.2 %). The film additionally made an estimated 12.4 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. Talks of another sequel haven't yet come to fruition. Fickman returned with 7 TV credits prior to his theatrical return Playing with Fire (2019). James returned in Liv and Maddie (2015, TV-series) and theatrically in Pixels (2015). Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is rotten at 6 % with a 3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2?

Old School (2003) - Some fun in low-brow frat house comedy

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Three middle-aged male stars enjoy themselves at a college party on this poster for Todd Phillips' Old School

Frank 'the Tank' Ricard is in his thirties and depressed, when his good buddy Mitch 'the Godfather' Martin suddenly becomes single, and the two decide to start a college fraternity with their old pal Bernard 'Beanie' Campbell.

 

Old School is written by Scot Armstrong (Road Trip (2000)) and great New-Yorker filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Todd Phillips (Road Trip (2000)), with Court Crandall (A Lobster Tale (2006)) contributing story elements.

Luke Wilson (Idiocracy (2006)) as Mitch has a fun scene with Juliette Lewis (Hick (2011)), and Will Ferrell (Land of the Lost (2009)) as Frank has a few of them, too, in a film that's based around a silly idea. But Old School is hampered down by a lot of unfunny stuff in between the good parts, and a bunch of cameos that just don't work.

Related posts:

Todd Phillips: The Hangover Part II (2011) - Phillips & Co. follow up their sensational comedy hit with a disappointing sequel  
Due Date (2010) or, Riding with Tremblay
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]   

The Hangover (2009) - Phillips & Co. hit the mother lode with hilarious crowdpleaser 

 

 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 24 mil. $

Box office: 87.1 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.62 times its cost)

[Old School premiered 13 February (USA) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place from January - March 2002 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Daredevil, to a 17.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#3), grossing 75.5 mil. $ (86.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 3.6 mil. $ (4.1 %) and Germany with 1.8 mil. $ (2 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Phillips returned with Starsky & Hutch (2004). Ferrell returned in The Guardian (2003, TV-series) and theatrically in Elf (2003); Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers (2005)) in I Love Your Work (2003); and Wilson in Alex & Emma (2003). Old School is fresh at 60 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Old School?

The Great Outdoors (1988) - Deutch's low-brow comedy does the job

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A fun, magazine-styled poster for Howard Deutch's The Great Outdoors

A lovely family has headed off to vacation in a forest log cabin in Wisconsin, when their very different sister-in-law and her family turn up. - Will they be able to stand each other?

The Great Outdoors is written by John Hughes (Flubber (1997)) and directed by Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink (1986)).

Stars John Candy (Stripes (1981)) and Dan Aykroyd (Unconditional Love (2002)) do what they can, while debuting Annette Bening (Being Julia (2004)) cackles her way through the film in the background. But there isn't much meat in this Hughes vegetable: There is a romance side story about two youths that's DOA. And then, well, what can one say about a film that's got eating a gigantic steak and killing an odd indoor bat as two of its significant plot points?

The Great Outdoors has good-looking bear scenes (with Bart the Bear (The Bear (1988))) and works as cozy entertainment, but it has lost lots of goodwill before its improbable ending binds a peculiar bow on the shenanigans. The Great Outdoors is no-one's best work.

 

Watch a clip from the film here

 

Cost: 24 mil. $

Box office: 43.4 mil. $ 

= Big flop (returned 1.80 times its cost)

[The Great Outdoors was released 17 June (USA) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in Chicago, Illinois and in California from October - December 1987. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Red Heat and holdover hit Big, to a 6.1 mil. $ in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#3) and grossed 41.5 mil. $ (95.6 % of the total gross). The film seems to have had been given a very limited international release, which also is reflected in its numbers. Deutch returned with Tales from the Crypt (1989-90)) and theatrically in Article 99 (1992). Candy returned with a voice performance in Hot to Trot (1988) and physically in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989); Aykroyd in Caddyshack II (1988). The Great Outdoors is rotten at 40 % with a 4.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Great Outdoors?

The Giant Gila Monster (1959) - Sullivan shines in Kellogg's low-tech Texas drive-in classic

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Stong colors, a giant reptile monster and rock & roll hits are promised on this poster for Ray Kellogg's The Giant Gila Monster

  
A giant lizard monster wrecks havoc in rural Texas, but local hot rod racing teenage mechanic Chase Winstead is intent on defeating the destructive killer!

The Giant Gila Monster is written by Jay Simms (The Rifleman (1960-63)), based on a story by co-writer/director Ray Kellogg (The Killer Shrews (1959)).
The film objectively speaking could be claimed to deserve a zero ♥ rating, but subjectively speaking this is an absolutely absurd and highly appealing piece of curiosa: Its interesting 'special effects' are based around a Mexican beaded lizard (a reptile that is only related to the actual Gila monster lizard the title refers to), as it attacks a model train in a key action scene. Constantly drunk, quite entertaining rednecks roam in the chummy sheriff Jeff's district. But star Don Sullivan (Seven Guns to Mesa (1958)) as Chase takes the cake! Qualifying as perhaps the cheesiest performance ever put to film, Sullivan is off-puttingly cutesy, gallant and helpful, but his singing is unforgettable: He sings three songs that he composed himself, which may make you laugh, cry or simultaneously laugh and cry. In The Mushroom Song he sings 'And the Lord said, Laugh, children, laugh ...' Hear the divine piece of nonsense here.

Watch an original trailer for the movie here

Cost: 138k $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Giant Gila Monster premiered 25 June (Dallas, Texas) and runs 74 minutes. Produced by drive-in theater owner Gordon McLendon, the film was shot in Dallas, Texas around January 1959 back-to-back with The Killer Shrews (1958), also directed by Kellogg and starring Sullivan. The films were hailed as the first films produced and shot in Dallas and as the first films made to premiere as double features. The theatrical gross is unknown but could have been impressive, since the film received national and international distribution, reaching at least Argentina, Mexico and the UK. Kellogg returned with My Dog, Buddy (1960). Sullivan returned in The Rebel Set (1959); Lisa Simone (Missile to the Moon (1958)) in Wagon Train (1959, TV-series), The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1960, TV-series) and theatrically in her last credit, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962) as uncredited 'French Party Girl'. 3,285 IMDb users have given The Giant Gila Monster a 3.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Giant Gila Monster?

Every Which Way but Loose (1978) or, Honky Tonk Monkey Business!

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One of the more curious 1970s phenomenons, James Fargo's Every Which Way but Loose

QUICK REVIEW:

Philo Beddoe is a truck driver, who is good at fist-fighting and lives with his orangutan Clive. He falls in love with a country singer, (Sondra Locke (Death Game (1977))), whom he pursues with bikers and the police at his heels!

Every Which Way but Loose is something of a crazy hillbilly comedy. It has something in the neighborhood of 400 fights in its, including Clint Eastwood (A Fistful of Dollars (1964)) beating a man with a fish. Our hero also hitches Clive up with a lady orangutan.
In a way this film is deeply speculative, cashing in on our fondness of our Simian friends, - but on the other hand, - why the hell not?!? It is also original and charming as few other films. Ruth Gordon (Jimmy the Kid (1982)) is a hoot in one of the film's many funny supporting parts as Ma, who takes her driver's license again and again. Clive is, by the way, played by orangutan Manis, who probably had the time of his life on the movie, after which he returned to life as a show monkey in Las Vegas.
The ending of the film is as untraditional as the rest of it: SPOILER Eastwood loses his grand fight and also doesn't get the girl.
Every Which Way but Loose is written by Jeremy Joe Kronsberg (Going Ape! (1981)) and directed by James Fargo (The Enforcer (1976)).

Related review:

Any Which Way You Can (1980) or, More Monkey Business!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Estimated 5.2 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 106 mil. $
= Blockbuster
[Every Which Way but Loose was released December 20 and runs 114 minutes. Eastwood went against numerous advice from his production and agent teams in doing the film, which was shot from April 1978 in California, Colorado and New Mexico. The film was panned by critics but became Eastwood's biggest hit at the time and the second highest-grossing film of the year. It is reportedly still among the 200 highest grossing films of all time (adjusted for inflation.) The film opened to a 10.2 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it grossed 85 mil. $ (80.2 % of the total gross). It got a sequel in Any Which Way You Can (1980). 28,071 users have rated Every Which Way but Loose 3.1/5 on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Every Which Way but Loose?

The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) - Lowbrow racing fun in the rowdy South

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+ Best Car Movie of the Year

The blue-skied poster for Jay Chandrasekhar's The Dukes of Hazzard

QUICK REVIEW:

Three cousins and their uncle run a moonshine business in Hazzard County, Georgia, but they are challenged by the local County Commissioner and other obstacles.

This review might be a little overly positively inclined towards Dukes due to the fact that I was pretty hung over when I saw it. Otherwise I would most likely have been a bit harder on it.
- Because real, actual laughs are few and far between in this supposed (action) comedy, based on the CBS TV-series of the same name that ran from 1979-85. It is poorly written, by John O'Brien (Starsky & Hutch (2004)), with Jonathan L. Davis contributing story, and it works the same drill throughout.
But it is also a cozy, charming time with some cool car chases, which last almost the entire film, - and Burt Reynolds (Boogie Nights (1997)). Jessica Simpson (Blonde Ambition (2007)) makes her feature acting debut here and successfully 'acts' her way to many male audience members as the Southern sex kitten Daisy Duke.
The film is directed by Chicagoan Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers (2001)).

 

Related post:

 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 111 mil. $
=  Minor flop
[Dukes premiered at #1 in the US and ended up scoring 80.2 mil. $ (72 % of the total gross) there, despite mostly bad reviews. - So its problem mainly was that it wasn't very successful outside America.]

What do you think of The Dukes of Hazzard?
And Chandrasekhar's other films?

Captain Apache/Deathwork/The Guns of April Morning/Hunt the Man Down (1971) - Cheesy entertainment with Cleef as an Indian hero

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A blazingly colorful poster for Alexander Singer's Captain Apache

QUICK REVIEW:

Captain Apache is a damn fine Spanish-British, romantic low-budget western with a funky score (by Dolores Claman (Mr. Scrooge (1964), TV movie), heavy 70's-style and so many western elements and corny lines in it that a western fan (and especially a lover of Euro-westerns) simply has to love it.

Lee Van Cleef (God's Gun (1976)) is the titular Indian captain, who is hated by every evil white man, can lay every lady down, and who hunts for the truth behind the mysterious codeword, 'April Morning'.

The film was possibly thought up as an Indian counterpart to the burgeoning blaxploitation sub-genre. Apache also has one odd, gratuitous scene in which Cleef disrobes before a chief as if his bulgy muscles were supposed to carry forward some inherent meaning. Cleef also performs the film's opening and credit songs, for the first and only time in his career.
Apache is directed by New Yorker director Alexander Singer (The Fugitive (1965-66)), who mostly directed TV.
Here's an example of the film's many straight-faced, funny dialogs:

New Indian chief: "We're gonna move the Indians to Yellow Snake Creek."
Captain Apache: "Yellow Snake Creek...? - But it's full of snakes!"

Watch the cheesy trailer for the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 25.6 mil. ESP (Spain only)
= Uncertainty
[About half a million people paid to see the film in Spain, and 75,000 in Sweden. But with no other numbers, it's impossible to say whether or not Captain Apache was a hit or not.]

What do you think of Captain Apache?
Know of any other movies that could count as 'Indiansploitation'?

Crime Busters/I Due Superpiedi Quasi Piatti/Trinity: In Trouble Again/Two Supercops (1977) or, Fun-Guys on the Force!

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The wacky poster for E. B. Clucher's Crime Busters

QUICK REVIEW:

Two unemployed fist-fighters dally around a harbor and involuntarily become cops, who happen to unravel a drug smuggling business, but who are really just looking to steal a lot of money.

Crime Busters is a cop farce and an insanely bad movie. Its Italian director 'E. B. Clucher', which is a pseudonym for Enzo Barboni (They Call Me Trinity (1970)), was previously a cameraman, but for Crime Busters he also singlehandedly wrote the script, which seems like it could have come from a 9 year-old... The 'fight' scenes are equally uproarious.
Still, the film is a pleasant time for all of us who like its stars, Terence Hill (My Name Is Nobody (1973)) and Bud Spencer (Banana Joe (1982)), who are extremely charming together in Crime Busters.
Take a look at some of this exceedingly low-brow film's other, funny posters:

E. B. Clucher's Crime Busters conquer Spanish-speaking countries! ...

the DVD-market! ...

... and Japan!

Watch the awesome trailer for this silly film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Reportedly in excess of 6 billion Italian lira
= Big hit (at least)
[Crime Busters was one of three 1977 movies to receive the German Golden Screen award, the other two being The Towering Inferno and The Godfather, for selling 6 mil. tickets within 18 months. We cannot know exactly how great of a moneymaker Crime Busters was, but it was certainly a hit.]

What do you think of Crime Busters?
What's your favorite Hill/Spencer-film together and/or apart?

Cobra (1986) - Stallone and Nielsen glitter in lowbrow action fare

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Sylvester Stallone is both 'the cure against crime' and the 'strong arm of the law' in the tag-lines for George P. Cosmatos' Cobra

QUICK REVIEW:

Lieutenant Cobretti has a knack for figuring out the really ugly criminals and fight them, - with lead! Now, his assignment is to protect a long-limbed supermodel, while he is also fighting an army of psychopaths!
Sylvester Stallone (Cop Land (1997)) and Brigitte Nielsen (Red Sonja (1985)) were married at the time of shooting Cobra, and there is true romance going on between them here, which makes their scenes together all the more enjoyable.  
Cobra also offers solid action and one-liners galore. There's a terrific car chase and plenty of exciting shoot-outs and well-made fights. As to an explanation of what the psychopaths really want, or why they have organized themselves in a small, deranged army...! But ... Stallone wrote the film himself, and what it may lack in depth or societal insight, it makes up for in  action and hard-to-resist 1980's quality: One scene feels more like a music video, the pop and bobbed hairdos, - all is very 80s.
Curiously, it was axed by critics at its release, who were very upset by its violence and had a very hard time seeing the enjoyable aspects of the film. Its original edit was 130 minutes, but it was then shortened more and more to its present 87 minute playtime. Partly to dodge an X-rating, (the initial version was apparently quite gruesome), and partly to receive more show-times in cinemas. The cut that exists now is still pretty violent and has several scenes of women getting chased or attacked by maniacs. The long cut with all the more gruesome stuff is, grievously, lost. Among Cobra's contemporary fans are Danish master director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive (2011)).
Cobra was officially directed by Florentine director George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)), although some from the production have claimed that Stallone was Cobra's real director. It is even rumored that Cosmatos was used only as a ghost director and also served as such on Tombstone (1993), which star Kurt Russell is said to have really directed. Disregarding whether or not this is myth or fact, Cobra and Stallone definitely come out on top, compared to the flawed, boring and overly long Tombstone.

Watch the 80's-glistening, original trailer here

Cost: 25 mil. $
Box office: 160 mil. $
= Big hit

What do you think of Cobra?