Caddyshack II (1988)    Warner Bros./Comedy    RT: 98 minutes    Rated PG (language, sexual references and innuendo)    Director: Allan Arkush    Screenplay: Harold Ramis and Peter Torokvei    Music: Ira Newborn    Cinematography: Harry Stradling Jr.    Release date: July 22, 1988 (US)    Cast: Jackie Mason, Robert Stack, Dyan Cannon, Dina Merrill, Jonathan Silverman, Jessica Lundy, Chynna Phillips, Brian McNamara, Marsha Warfield, Paul Bartel, Randy Quaid, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Anthony Mockus Sr., Pepe Serna, Frank Welker (voice).    Box Office: $11.8M (US)

Rating: ***

 I have a funny story about going to see Caddyshack II, the sequel to the 1980 comedy that many regard as a classic. I saw it opening day at a 5pm show. I was the only one in the theater until a family of four showed up just moments before it started. The father, I kid you not, was the tallest man in the world. Take a wild guess where he decided to sit. Yep, he sat right in front of me. Since the man walked with the aid of a cane, I took the high road and moved to a different seat.

 I had a bad feeling about Caddyshack II starting with its PG rating. The original was rated R, but I guess the producers took a cue from the Police Academy series and toned things down, shifting the emphasis from the crude and vulgar to slapstick and silliness. Also, most of the original cast didn’t return for the second trip to Bushwood Country Club. The only one that reprises his role is Chevy Chase who may as well have phoned it in for all the effort he makes.

 I initially hated Caddyshack II. I thought it was stupid, unfunny, annoying and a complete waste of time. That was then. I changed my mind about it when I rewatched it about ten years later. It’s still stupid, but it’s so silly and good-natured that I just dropped my inhibitions and let myself enjoy it.

 This time, the Rodney Dangerfield-type character, self-made millionaire Jack Hartounian, is played by comedian Jackie Mason. He’s being pressured to join Bushwood by his daughter Kate (Lundy, Vampire’s Kiss) who wants to fit in with a snooty crowd. The problem is Jack clearly doesn’t fit in with the snobby Bushwood crowd. He had an earlier run-in with the wife (Merrill, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father) of club president Chandler Young (Stack, Airplane!). She doesn’t want Jack, a real estate developer, building low-income housing in her neighborhood.

 Chandler makes it clear Jack isn’t wanted at Bushwood and does everything he can to ruin his business. Jack retaliates by buying the club from majority stockholder Ty Webb (Chase) and turning it into a Coney Island-like theme park. Kate is so embarrassed by her father’s actions that she stops speaking to him. Jack and Chandler agree to settle their differences with a winner-takes-all game of golf. Not one to play fair, Chandler hires oddball mercenary Captain Tom Everett (Aykroyd, The Blues Brothers) to deal conclusively with Jack.

 That’s not all that’s going on at Bushwood. Kate wants to fit in with her friend Miffy (singer Phillips) and her brother Todd (McNamara, Short Circuit), part of the legal team suing Jack over his housing project. But she also likes this caddy named Harry (Silverman, Weekend at Bernie’s). He’s nice guy, Todd is an arrogant jerk. Who should she choose? Jack starts a romance with Elizabeth (Cannon, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice), a club member also looked down on by the others. Oh yeah, that pesky gopher (voiced by Welker) comes back to wreak more havoc at Bushwood.

 I laughed way more than I should have at Caddyshack II. I should explain I’m in the minority when it comes to the original movie. I liked it, but didn’t love it. It’s funny, but inconsistently so. Don’t take that to mean that I prefer the sequel. The first movie is clearly the better of the two, but I don’t think Caddyshack II is all that bad either. It’s just different. It has this zany, cartoonish spirit whereas the first movie was more like Animal House on the green.

 I like Jackie Mason. He’s a funny guy. He’s definitely the next best thing to Dangerfield who was supposed to appear, but backed out after a dispute with the studio. Stack does fine in the Ted Knight role. Then there’s Aykroyd delivering the single most embarrassing performance of his career (and yes, I’ve seen Nothing but Trouble). What’s with the weird voice? Randy Quaid (National Lampoon’s Vacation) is a riot as Jack’s insane lawyer Peter Blunt. Here’s a guy whose negotiation tactics involve threats of extreme violence. Cannon looks very good for a woman of 50.

 Directed by Allan Arkush (Get Crazy), Caddyshack II is very much like a live-action cartoon with its colorful look and characters, not to mention all the silly slapstick. I like the scene with the poison-tipped arrow in Aykroyd’s butt. His exploding golf balls are also pretty neat. Not all of it works- the soundtrack is forgettable, Chase looks like he doesn’t give a damn- but enough does to make it worth a look on a dull weeknight.