Ebert gave the movie two and a half stars out of four, writing that it felt loosely written, leaving too much freedom to wander off in all directions in search of comic inspiration.
The response calls the review exactly right but says Ebert should have bumped it up by a star; the movie is said to have made $40 million.

Casting What-Ifs

Mickey Rourke as Danny; Michelle Pfeiffer as Lacey; Bo Derek as Lacey; Don Rickles as Al; Pink Floyd for the music

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:00:55Read transcript

Mickey Rourke was the other final candidate for Danny; they correctly decided he was not funny enough.
Michael O'Keefe is good: a great golf swing, and he can hang on screen with Chevy Chase at his funniest.
Rourke on that era's cocaine-fueled set would have been ugly; Danny is good when Smales tries to hit him with the golf club.
Michelle Pfeiffer reportedly turned down Lacey because she did not want to be naked; she could have pulled it off, though she never played a character that frisky.
Pfeiffer and Rourke as Lacey and Danny would be a different movie, an Adrian Line erotic thriller; Rourke would compete with Ty, and O'Keefe landing Lacey should feel like a stretch.
Producer Peters is said to claim he had Bo Derek for Lacey before 10 and Ramis rejected it; Lacey is assumed to be about 25 and Danny about 17 or 18.
These movies shifted American comedy from a Jewish writing tradition toward Irish Catholic voices; Danny's eight-kid family is loosely based on the Murray family, and the young caddy landing Lacey set a template.
Don Rickles was considered for Al; he is judged too mean and perhaps better as Judge Smales.
Pink Floyd was wanted for the music and declined, thankfully; Ramis's left-of-center interests like Zen Buddhism are noted, and Kenny Loggins came through instead.

Recasting Couch

Robert Wagner as Dr. Beeper; Rob Lowe as Dr. Beeper

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:11:08Read transcript

Robert Wagner is thrown out for Dr. Beeper, a pick called a heat check, with a joke about the timeline of his marriage to Natalie Wood.
Fifteen years later Dr. Beeper is Rob Lowe, "100%"; Lowe could even be Smales now, known to a new generation from Parks and Rec.
Ted Knight would never be recast; Harvey Corman (as transcribed) could have done the haughty part, Norman Fell would not be big enough, and Ted Danson would probably be Smales 15 years later, though it is a hard part to cast.

Doyle Murray's caddy memories; 11-week 1979 shoot; Carl absent from early drafts; stunt double for Lacey's dive; O'Keefe avoiding golf for 25 years; Denunzio actor dating Cindy Morgan; deleted Carl-Ty scene

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:12:20Read transcript

The film was inspired by writer and co-star Doyle Murray's memories of caddying at the Indian Hill Club, where his brothers and Ramis also caddied.
It shot for 11 weeks in 1979 with golf scenes in Florida; Carl Spackler was not in early drafts, which centered a Danny-Maggie-Denunzio love triangle.
A stunt double did Lacey's dive because Cindy Morgan could not see without her contacts.
Michael O'Keefe would not play golf for 25 years because people watched and judged him on the course.
Scott Columbia (as transcribed) and Cindy Morgan dated for two years after the movie, so Denunzio "won in real life."
A deleted scene on YouTube has Carl teaching Ty to hit with Danny caddying, deleted for a reason.

Picking Nits

Lacey walking Smales's round; caddy day at the pool; the 10-foot diving board; Bushwood's bumpy greens; Smales allowing Danny as substitute; Ty choking in the big match; a floating Baby Ruth; Smales accepting double or nothing

In the discussion (13)

Approx. transcript time · 01:19:42Read transcript

Spalding throwing up in Dr. Beeper's car is a dick move; the reply is that it looked uncontrollable.
Lacey walking Smales's entire round with him and Dr. Beeper is inexplicable; maybe she was already into Danny, but it is called a weird plot hole.
As a former caddy, a caddy day at the pool would never happen; caddies get course time instead.
The pool's diving board is basically an Olympic 10-foot board; a participant says he has never been to a country club.
Lacey wearing black high heels with a bathing suit is explained as a flex.
Smales's boat is tiny; the pushback is that as a judge it may be all he could afford, prompting boat-shaming jokes.
Bushwood looks bad: the greens are awful and bumpy.
Lacey moves from Ty to Danny in about 12 hours; this is defended as the late 70s and respected.
Smales allowing Danny to replace Al in the $40,000 match, with Lou as referee, is agreed to be a boneheaded move.
Ty, who hits blindfolded and shot a 68, gags in the big match like James Hardin in the Western finals.
Baby Ruth bars do not float; the chocolate would probably harden in water.
The big nitpick from an old column: at even on 18, the judge accepts double or nothing on Danny's putt, turning a no-loss spot into win or lose $80,000, while Al gets two-to-one odds; Judge Smales is called trash.
In 2020 a real estate tycoon building a high-rise by a golf course would not be the hero; this should have been in What's Aged the Worst.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Smales carried more clubs; Michael O'Keefe is a legend among actor-athletes

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:27:50Read transcript

Who carried more clubs, Smales or Al? Both had two putters and were over the limit; Smales, who thinks he needs every wood, despite the size of Al's bag.
Greatest sports-movie putt: Happy Gilmore or Danny winning the caddy tournament amid "Noonan" taunts on a bumpy green, called incredible; a preference for the final-hole sequence in Tin Cup is also voiced.
Did the movie create the word "Poon Tang"? Unknown, with a case that it did; an Apex Mountain joke about it is spared.
What happened to Rodney Dangerfield after Caddyshack and Back to School? Ladybugs, which was in HBO rotation with Vanessa Shaw called the Cindy Morgan of a generation, plus Rover Dangerfield.
Is it better if the gopher is in Maggie's car when Carl blows it up? Blowing up Maggie is not supported; the compromise is she returns in a sling.
Where does Michael O'Keefe rank among actor-athletes? Legend, with a great swing and a run of The Great Santini, Caddyshack, Split Image and The Slugger's Wife; he should have been in Tin Cup.
Do they still sell Baby Ruth bars? It was Nestle for a time, and many bars of that era faded; one participant is not a chocolate fan.
Why was there never a Caddyshack video game, such as Golden Tee or PGA Tour 93, with Noonan, Denunzio, Smales, Ty or Lou as playable characters?