Caddyshack The Rewatchables
Caddyshack poster
Caddyshack

What’s Aged the Worst?

Judge Smales's rough week; bare heads on the course; Caddyshack lines at golf tournaments; Denunzio's swing and outfit; the gopher; Maggie; the Baby Ruth Jaws parody; Lou unfazed by explosions; the John Peters story

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:42Read transcript
  • Judge Smales's week is listed (transcribed as "what stage is the worst"): his course blew up, his boat sank, he nearly killed an old lady, learned about his niece and that Ty's dad never liked him, lost an illegal $80,000 match and was chased by Moose and Rocco.
  • Nobody wears hats; deerstalker-style hats outnumber baseball caps.
  • Golf broadcasters forcing Caddyshack lines into tournaments has aged terribly.
  • Denunzio's corkscrew golf swing (a Rob Deere comparison, and a Chris Ryan joke) and blouse-like outfit are worse; only Danny swings well, and the outfit looks headed to a Chippendales shift.
  • The gopher is not funny: liking it was once a disqualifier, it was an attempted fifth comedy style like the Muppets or Gremlins, and the sequel doubled down; the reply jokes that Caddyshack 2 never happened.
  • Maggie is one of the worst sports-movie characters, with an unexplained Irish accent though actress Sarah Holcomb was American; she is from Animal House and reportedly left acting with mental health problems; the quickly resolved pregnancy subplot was unneeded.
  • The Baby Ruth bar as a Jaws parody was a great idea in 1980 but is less effective 40 years later.
  • Lou the Caddymaster stares at Danny's last putt while bombs go off; suggested explanations are Vietnam service or how badly he wanted Smales crushed.
  • As told on the show, producer John Peters, a former hairdresser said to have inspired Warren Beatty's Shampoo and married Barbara Streisian (as transcribed), arranged a Playboy shoot of Cindy Morgan, threatened her career when she declined, and Ramis cancelled the shoot.
  • It is said she did not work after that, then noted that she starred in Tron and worked in TV through the 80s and 90s but could have had a much bigger career; it is framed as an early version of a Me Too era story.