Captain Ron (1992)

This movie begins with a man named "Martin Harvey" (Martin Short) and his wife "Katherine Harvey" (Mary Kay Place) inheriting a sail boat once owned by Clark Gable. The only problem is that they have to sail it from a small island in the Caribbean called Pomme de Terre to a port in Miami to have it surveyed in order to sell. However, once they get there they find that the boat is in great disrepair and unable to sail it themselves they hire a local sailor named "Captain Ron" (Kurt Russell) to help them out. What they don't realize is that Captain Ron is a complete idiot and is liable to get them all killed before they ever get to Miami. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that a friend recommended this movie to me many years ago and upon eventually watching it I found it to be as good as he said it was. I especially liked the acting of Kurt Russell who was absolutely hilarious. In any case, those who are looking for a good light-hearted comedy might want to check this one out and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Captain Ron deserves its low rating because it's a pretty rubbish film.I happened to watch it only because a couple of people had mentioned it as a guilty pleasure on the Once Bitten boards.The only thing I liked was Mary Kay Place's acting as she came across as very natural and comfortable in her own skin, making her easy to watch.Martin Short inherits a run down boat and takes a trip - I can't remember the destination. He hires Ron to captain the boat and various disasters ensure as Ron continually gets lost and the boat falls apart.Captain Ron is an antagonistic character that the father (Short) begins to despise but the rest of the family slowly come to love. It is very much What About Bob on a boat but far less convincing and much less entertaining.I fell asleep after about an hour and feel no need to finish the film.

To decide how good a film is there are 2 primary issues -- the storyline/script and the acting.The storyline/script here is pretty decent for a comedy. Obsessive husband/father inherits yacht...goes to retrieve it out of county...has to hire a skipper to sail her back to the States. Revolutionaries, pirates, gales are among the crises the wacky American family survives. But they almost don't survive the skipper -- Captain Ron -- Kurt Russell.What sets this agreeable comedy apart is Kurt Russell's acting as Captain Ron. It's a bravura performance...perhaps his best.In terms of the other actors, the only really significant parts are those of the family. Martin Short is very good as the obsessive father/husband. I enjoyed Mary Kay Place as his wife. The rest of the supporting actors do their jobs, and Benjamin Salisbury and Meadow Sisto do well as the children.This is just a good, fun movie, with one great performance topping it off. Recommended!

This was a disappointment. It is amazing that it was compared favorably by some reviewers here and on other sites with Master and Commander - there is absolutely no comparison. I had hoped it would at least be to sailing what Caddy Shack is to golfing; didn't happen. Weak plot, pathetic script, "me-centered" teens expecting the world to revolve around them while struggling to become reprobate, improbable (impossible) plot shifts. The 2 stars are for sailing in beautiful waters. It is hard to understand that when so many positive elements were there - budget (obviously), talented actors, nice looking boat, great locale, that Hollywood cannot pull together a script and plot. I almost purchased it, glad I only rented on it Amazon Prime and saved $4.