Caddyshack II
Encyclopedia
Caddyshack II is the 1988 sequel
to the 1980 golf
comedy film
Caddyshack
. The film stars Jackie Mason
, Dan Aykroyd
, Robert Stack
, Dyan Cannon
, Chevy Chase
, Jonathan Silverman
, and Jessica Lundy
.
) is the daughter of a wealthy and widowed real estate developer of Armenian
and Jewish descent. Eager to improve her lot in life, she makes friends with Miffy Young (Chynna Phillips
) a snooty WASP
girl, who encourages her and her father to join their country club.
Kate and her father, Jack (Jackie Mason
), apply for membership at Bushwood, the club from the first movie. Jack is a self-made millionaire, yet remains salt-of-the-earth despite his wealth. His unpolished personality foils him on many occasions.
When the current members meet Jack, who builds low-income housing in more upscale neighborhoods, his application to join is rejected. The rejection is borne out of his boorish personality and an earlier confrontation with Bushwood President (and Miffy's father) Chandler Young's (Robert Stack
) wife. Cynthia Young (Dina Merrill
) had tried unsuccessfully to persuade Jack to build his housing complex away from her neighborhood, but her less-than-subtle snobbery leads Jack to chase Cynthia with a bulldozer. It's actions like these that build a divide between Jack and Kate.
Ty Webb (Chevy Chase
) returns, this time as the club's majority owner, and while he likes Jack, he prefers to stay out of the way of the club's day-to-day operations.
The elitist members of Bushwood reject Jack's membership application and pull strings to suspend his housing operation. In retaliation, Jack buys the majority stock to Bushwood from Ty and turns it into an amusement park. Chandler, incensed at the thought of a mere "nouveau-riche" individual getting the better of him, hires Captain Tom Everett (Dan Aykroyd
) (who code-names Chandler “Mrs. Esterhaus”) a shell-shocked mercenary operating out of a lunch wagon, to "discourage" Jack from building any more structures on Bushwood property. The bumbling Everett decides to use explosive golf balls to accomplish his task.
Meanwhile, Chandler uses his lawyers and connections to shut down Jack's housing construction site. Webb suggests that the dispute should be resolved like gentlemen, by facing each other in a golf match. If Chandler wins, Jack loses his construction site and the country club, and if Jack wins, he keeps the Bushwood and the housing project. Despite Jack's poor performance early in the match, with luck he ties the match before the final hole. However, during the hole, Jack is faced with a 50 foot putt, while Chandler faces a simple 2 foot putt. Using advice given to him by Webb before the match, Jack manages to use spiritual chanting and the adage "be the ball" to sink the nearly impossible putt. Chandler needs to sink the easy 2 foot putt to tie the match. Meanwhile, Everett, who foolishly shoots himself in the buttocks with a poison dart, fails the task of eliminating Jack as a gopher steals his explosive ball. The mischievous gopher replaces Chandler's ball with the explosive ball, and as his family encouragingly crowds around him as he taps in his final swing, the ball bursts and Jack wins the match.
Though Kate is embarrassed by her father's actions, she is still loyal to him, as evidenced when she commiserates to Miffy, who suggests that she change her last name from Hartounian to Hart. Bewildered at the thought of turning her back on her family name, Kate turns her back on Miffy and makes up with her father.
$11,798,302 compared to the original’s $39 million gross
at the box office
.
Harold Ramis
, who co-wrote the original Caddyshack with Brian Doyle-Murray
and Douglas Kenney
, described Caddyshack II, which he co-wrote with Peter Torokvei, as "terrible." In an interview with The A.V. Club
in 1999, Ramis said that, "with Caddyshack II, the studio begged me. They said, "Hey, we've got a great idea: 'The Shack is Back!'" And I said "No, I don't think so." But they said that Rodney [Dangerfield] really wanted to do it, and we could build it around Rodney. Rodney said, "Come on, do it." Then the classic argument came up which says that if you don't do it, someone will, and it will be really bad. So I worked on a script with my partner Peter Torokvei, consulting with Rodney all the time. Then Rodney got into a fight with the studio and backed out. We had some success with Back to School, which I produced and wrote, and we were working with the same director, Alan Metter
. When Rodney pulled out, I pulled out, and then they fired Alan and got someone else [Allan Arkush]. I got a call from [co-producer] Jon Peters saying, "Come with us to New York; we're going to see Jackie Mason!" I said, "Ooh, don't do this. Why don't we let it die?" And he said, "No, it'll be great." But I didn't go, and they got other writers to finish it. I tried to take my name off that one, but they said if I took my name off, it would come out in the trades and I would hurt the film."
Dangerfield, after insisting on a number of script rewrites, said that he backed out of the film because he felt it would not be successful.
Chevy Chase was the only cast member from the original movie to reprise his role (and would publicly announce later that he regretted doing so). Although playing new characters in the sequel, Jackie Mason, Robert Stack, Dan Aykroyd and Jonathan Silverman play roles which are analogous to those played by Rodney Dangerfield
, Ted Knight
, Bill Murray
, and Michael O'Keefe
in the first movie. Cast reception was generally negative. At one point, Chase murmured to the film’s director Allan Arkush during post-production, "Call me when you’ve dubbed the laugh-track," before walking away in disgust. Warner Bros would go on to sue Dangerfield for refusing to appear in the film, although Dangerfield was little-affected by this.
The film received four Golden Raspberry Award nominations; it won two. It was nominated for Worst Picture and Worst Actor (Jackie Mason
), and won for Worst Supporting Actor (Dan Aykroyd
) and Worst Original Song ("Jack Fresh"). Rotten Tomatoes
gives the film a score of 8% based on 12 reviews.
The theme song for Caddyshack II is "Nobody’s Fool", performed by Kenny Loggins
, whose hit song "I’m Alright" was featured in the first film. Another song off of the soundtrack, "Go For Yours", became an R&B hit for Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
.
was used in Caddyshack II. This time, instead of tittering, the gopher was able to speak. His voice was provided by Frank Welker
. Because of Bill Murray's involvement in the creation of the gopher for the first film, Murray sued producers of the film during post-production. Murray and the producers settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the 1980 golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
Caddyshack
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
. The film stars Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
, Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon is an American film and television actress, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer.-Early life:...
, Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
, Jonathan Silverman
Jonathan Silverman
-Personal life:Silverman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Devora and Hillel Emanuel Silverman, a rabbi. He is the grandson of famous Conservative Rabbi Morris Silverman. David Schwimmer was his best friend in high school. He is married to actress Jennifer Finnigan who he briefly co...
, and Jessica Lundy
Jessica Lundy
Jessica R. Lundy is an American actress. Although she has appeared in several movies, she is noted more for her television roles, especially as Joel Fleishman's fiancee/ex-fiancee Elaine Shulman on the series Northern Exposure...
.
Plot
Kate Hartounian (Jessica LundyJessica Lundy
Jessica R. Lundy is an American actress. Although she has appeared in several movies, she is noted more for her television roles, especially as Joel Fleishman's fiancee/ex-fiancee Elaine Shulman on the series Northern Exposure...
) is the daughter of a wealthy and widowed real estate developer of Armenian
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
and Jewish descent. Eager to improve her lot in life, she makes friends with Miffy Young (Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips is an American singer and actress, known for being a member of Wilson Phillips. She is also known for being the daughter of The Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and the half-sister of Mackenzie Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Phillips , Tamerlane...
) a snooty WASP
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
girl, who encourages her and her father to join their country club.
Kate and her father, Jack (Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
), apply for membership at Bushwood, the club from the first movie. Jack is a self-made millionaire, yet remains salt-of-the-earth despite his wealth. His unpolished personality foils him on many occasions.
When the current members meet Jack, who builds low-income housing in more upscale neighborhoods, his application to join is rejected. The rejection is borne out of his boorish personality and an earlier confrontation with Bushwood President (and Miffy's father) Chandler Young's (Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
) wife. Cynthia Young (Dina Merrill
Dina Merrill
-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...
) had tried unsuccessfully to persuade Jack to build his housing complex away from her neighborhood, but her less-than-subtle snobbery leads Jack to chase Cynthia with a bulldozer. It's actions like these that build a divide between Jack and Kate.
Ty Webb (Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
) returns, this time as the club's majority owner, and while he likes Jack, he prefers to stay out of the way of the club's day-to-day operations.
The elitist members of Bushwood reject Jack's membership application and pull strings to suspend his housing operation. In retaliation, Jack buys the majority stock to Bushwood from Ty and turns it into an amusement park. Chandler, incensed at the thought of a mere "nouveau-riche" individual getting the better of him, hires Captain Tom Everett (Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
) (who code-names Chandler “Mrs. Esterhaus”) a shell-shocked mercenary operating out of a lunch wagon, to "discourage" Jack from building any more structures on Bushwood property. The bumbling Everett decides to use explosive golf balls to accomplish his task.
Meanwhile, Chandler uses his lawyers and connections to shut down Jack's housing construction site. Webb suggests that the dispute should be resolved like gentlemen, by facing each other in a golf match. If Chandler wins, Jack loses his construction site and the country club, and if Jack wins, he keeps the Bushwood and the housing project. Despite Jack's poor performance early in the match, with luck he ties the match before the final hole. However, during the hole, Jack is faced with a 50 foot putt, while Chandler faces a simple 2 foot putt. Using advice given to him by Webb before the match, Jack manages to use spiritual chanting and the adage "be the ball" to sink the nearly impossible putt. Chandler needs to sink the easy 2 foot putt to tie the match. Meanwhile, Everett, who foolishly shoots himself in the buttocks with a poison dart, fails the task of eliminating Jack as a gopher steals his explosive ball. The mischievous gopher replaces Chandler's ball with the explosive ball, and as his family encouragingly crowds around him as he taps in his final swing, the ball bursts and Jack wins the match.
Though Kate is embarrassed by her father's actions, she is still loyal to him, as evidenced when she commiserates to Miffy, who suggests that she change her last name from Hartounian to Hart. Bewildered at the thought of turning her back on her family name, Kate turns her back on Miffy and makes up with her father.
Cast
- Jackie MasonJackie MasonJackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
as Jack Hartounian - Robert StackRobert StackRobert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
as Chandler Young - Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
as Peter Blunt - Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
as Captain Tom Everett - Chevy ChaseChevy ChaseCornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
as Ty Webb - Jessica LundyJessica LundyJessica R. Lundy is an American actress. Although she has appeared in several movies, she is noted more for her television roles, especially as Joel Fleishman's fiancee/ex-fiancee Elaine Shulman on the series Northern Exposure...
as Kate Hartounian - Dyan CannonDyan CannonDyan Cannon is an American film and television actress, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer.-Early life:...
as Elizabeth Pearce - Jonathan SilvermanJonathan Silverman-Personal life:Silverman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Devora and Hillel Emanuel Silverman, a rabbi. He is the grandson of famous Conservative Rabbi Morris Silverman. David Schwimmer was his best friend in high school. He is married to actress Jennifer Finnigan who he briefly co...
as Harry - Dina MerrillDina Merrill-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...
as Cynthia Young - Marsha WarfieldMarsha WarfieldMarsha Warfield is an American actress and comedienne best known for her 1986–1992 role of Roz on the popular NBC sitcom Night Court. Roz, a tough, no-nonsense bailiff in Judge Stone's court, acted primarily as a straightwoman to the other bailiff character, Bull . She also starred in the sitcom...
as Royette Tyler - Brian McNamaraBrian McNamaraBrian McNamara is an American actor, known for his portrayal of Dean Karny in the TV Movie Billionaire Boys Club for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a supporting role.-Biography:...
as Todd Young - Chynna PhillipsChynna PhillipsChynna Phillips is an American singer and actress, known for being a member of Wilson Phillips. She is also known for being the daughter of The Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and the half-sister of Mackenzie Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Phillips , Tamerlane...
as Mary Frances "Miffy" Young - Paul BartelPaul BartelPaul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
as Mr. Jamison - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
(voice) as the Gopher
Reception
The film grossed USDUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$11,798,302 compared to the original’s $39 million gross
Gross (economics)
In economics, gross means before deductions. The antonym is net, meaning after deductions.-Usage:In this sense, it may appear an adjective, following the noun it modifies, e.g., "earned two million dollars, gross"...
at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
.
Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
, who co-wrote the original Caddyshack with Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
and Douglas Kenney
Douglas Kenney
Douglas C. Kenney was an American writer and actor who co-founded National Lampoon magazine in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material.-Childhood:...
, described Caddyshack II, which he co-wrote with Peter Torokvei, as "terrible." In an interview with The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
in 1999, Ramis said that, "with Caddyshack II, the studio begged me. They said, "Hey, we've got a great idea: 'The Shack is Back!'" And I said "No, I don't think so." But they said that Rodney [Dangerfield] really wanted to do it, and we could build it around Rodney. Rodney said, "Come on, do it." Then the classic argument came up which says that if you don't do it, someone will, and it will be really bad. So I worked on a script with my partner Peter Torokvei, consulting with Rodney all the time. Then Rodney got into a fight with the studio and backed out. We had some success with Back to School, which I produced and wrote, and we were working with the same director, Alan Metter
Alan Metter
Alan Metter is an American film director whose most notable credits include Back to School starring Rodney Dangerfield, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun with Sarah Jessica Parker...
. When Rodney pulled out, I pulled out, and then they fired Alan and got someone else [Allan Arkush]. I got a call from [co-producer] Jon Peters saying, "Come with us to New York; we're going to see Jackie Mason!" I said, "Ooh, don't do this. Why don't we let it die?" And he said, "No, it'll be great." But I didn't go, and they got other writers to finish it. I tried to take my name off that one, but they said if I took my name off, it would come out in the trades and I would hurt the film."
Dangerfield, after insisting on a number of script rewrites, said that he backed out of the film because he felt it would not be successful.
Chevy Chase was the only cast member from the original movie to reprise his role (and would publicly announce later that he regretted doing so). Although playing new characters in the sequel, Jackie Mason, Robert Stack, Dan Aykroyd and Jonathan Silverman play roles which are analogous to those played by Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
, Ted Knight
Ted Knight
Ted Knight was an American actor best known for playing the comedic role of Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.- Early years :...
, Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
, and Michael O'Keefe
Michael O'Keefe
Michael Raymond O'Keefe is an American film and television actor.- Early life :O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as...
in the first movie. Cast reception was generally negative. At one point, Chase murmured to the film’s director Allan Arkush during post-production, "Call me when you’ve dubbed the laugh-track," before walking away in disgust. Warner Bros would go on to sue Dangerfield for refusing to appear in the film, although Dangerfield was little-affected by this.
The film received four Golden Raspberry Award nominations; it won two. It was nominated for Worst Picture and Worst Actor (Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
), and won for Worst Supporting Actor (Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
) and Worst Original Song ("Jack Fresh"). Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a score of 8% based on 12 reviews.
The theme song for Caddyshack II is "Nobody’s Fool", performed by Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
, whose hit song "I’m Alright" was featured in the first film. Another song off of the soundtrack, "Go For Yours", became an R&B hit for Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
Lisa Lisa and her band Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes...
.
The Gopher
As in the first film, an animatronic gopherGopher
- Animal kingdom :* Gopher , including:** Pocket gophers , about 40 species distributed from North America to Colombia** Several ground squirrels of North America, particularly those formerly classified as Spermophilus* Gopher tortoise , distributed in North America- Other uses :* Minnesota, the...
was used in Caddyshack II. This time, instead of tittering, the gopher was able to speak. His voice was provided by Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
. Because of Bill Murray's involvement in the creation of the gopher for the first film, Murray sued producers of the film during post-production. Murray and the producers settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.