Movie Review: Beer (1985)
Synopsis: Three down-on-their luck men, Merle, Elliott and Frankie, have a drink at a bar and wind up stopping an armed robbery attempt. Their heroism is witnessed by advertising executive B. D. Tucker, who hires them on the spot to be the centerpiece of her advertising campaign for Norbecker Beer.
Her plan is successful, increasing beer sales and making the men overnight celebrities. However, the fame and Tucker's exploitation soon begin to take their toll.
Who's in it? The movie stars Loretta Swit, Rip Torn, David Alan Grier, William Russ, Saul Stein and Kenneth Mars.
Review: My daughter's community theater musical opens this week, which means late rehearsal nights. As a result, by the time I picked her up from the theater last night, I just didn't have time to scout out a movie for this morning. I ended up picking the first one that popped up in my library because of that and that movie was Beer.
I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid but not a whole lot of detail about it (including if it was on TV or we saw it at the drive-in theater). Based on the description, I had lowered expectations, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
On the surface, the film is what I would expect from a 1980s comedy - sexual innuendos mixed with casual racism and homophobia (though I was surprised by the lack of gratuitous nudity). However, while some of the material is dated, the premise actually withstands the test of time.
Tucker (Swit) is an especially intriguing character because I'm still not sure if she was the movie's protagonist or the villain. Her beer marketing campaign was genius, making heroes out of ordinary guys, playing on the male ego and getting free publicity by making the commercials offensive enough to cause protests from feminist groups. At the same time though, she was also cold and calculating with every attempt at empathy seeming forced. I liked her and hated her at the same time, which helped this movie, especially when she was sharing scenes with the very talented Rip Torn and/or Kenneth Mars.
The various struggles of the three men she was exploiting were also interesting. Elliott (Grier) was a married man whose marriage was being put on the rocks every time he was shown with an attractive woman on TV. Merle (Russ) was a roamer who was getting homesick for Texas while Frankie (Stein) was a ladies' man who was suffering from impotence because of the stress and guilt of his role. It made me wonder what choices they would ultimately make, especially when the world believed they were dead and Tucker was trying to exploit it.
Of course, the thing that really struck a chord with me is just how accurate this movie is when it comes to the concept of advertising. As I said, there is a lot about this film that still makes it relevant 41 years later, even if some of the comedy material doesn't hit quite the same.
Final Opinion: It's a film that I enjoyed watching, both because of the talented cast and because of the believable premise. I'm glad I finally saw it again.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other 1980s comedies:
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