Loose Cannons

Even though director Bob Clark graduated into "money" films with the baffling success of Porky's, he's still got the mind of a somewhat backward 15-year-old. Although he's listed third in the trio of screenwriters responsible for this lame "buddy" comedy, his lines--which are invariably drawn from either the "tired sex jokes" or "just plain gross" bins of stock material--manage to singlehandedly sink any charm that the movie generates. Gene Hackman and Dan Ackroyd, star as a pair of detectives who are on the trail of a secret film which shows Hitler's murder. The twist is that Ackroyd has recently left a monastery where he was recuperating from recurring bouts of multiple personality. Stress brings on Ackroyd's fits, and as the duo get deeper into the case, chase scenes and flying lead proportionately increase so that Ackroyd's episodes also escalate. Are they funny? That depends. With the exception of Ackroyd's impersonation of the "Road Runner" (which is quite good), the choices are uninspired, drawn from standard TV ("Beam me up Scottie") and film ("Make my day") characters. The only focal point in this otherwise directionless "funny" thriller is Gene Hackman. Hackman is simply too good an actor (even in his rare comic outings) to let a moron director completely undermine his work. But lest that caveat should give you any second thoughts about the film, let me point out that Dom DeLuise is onscreen for a good twenty minutes. That's nineteen too many in my book. Loose Cannons, while a particularly apropos label to describe Bob Clark's directing style (since he couldn't hit a comic bullseye with an elephant gun at point blank range), is not much else. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)