From The Shelf: 1941

We continue with our journey through the joys of numbers with Steven Spielberg's first and only comedy. And that is the problem with 1941. This film about what would happen if a Japanese submarine appeared off the coast of Los Angeles just isn't funny. When I say not funny I mean I literally can't remember a single joke or humorous situation in the entire movie.
            It really is a feat that this is stale from end to end because writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale would go on to direct and write Back to the Future. 1941 struggles to find a voice, it doesn't know if it wants to be a biting satire or ridiculous farce. As a result it's just all over the place. Maybe that was the point but it doesn't appear that way. It tries too hard to say look at all the stuff happening on screen but none of it really has any point.
            What this film ultimately is, is a stopgap for both its writers and director. It's like one day they were sitting around bored and one of them said hey we have money why don't we make a movie. This film is an interesting experiment and worth at least a rental if you want to see one of America's best directors at his most ridiculous.

Release year: 1979

Director: Steven Spielberg

written by: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and John Milius

Starring:
Dan Aykroyd
John Belushi
Ned Beatty
Christopher Lee
John Candy


Available on Blu-ray and DVD

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