Sunburn (1979)

"It's so bad, it's good." Farrah Fawcett has never looked better. And, maybe you have to like Charles Grodin's humor. He's like Albert Brooks, Jim Carey, or even Woody Allen, you either "get them" or you don't. I saw this as a comedy not an action flick. If you see it as a serious drama or action film you'll find all kinds of flaws including horrible acting by the insurance company's board of directors. But this seemed necessary in order to have Grodin "assigned" to investigate the death of the insured. Grodin is the "clueless" investigator. He is the anti-hero, he stumbles his way through everything with Farrah Fawcett there to rescue him. I guess I wouldn't mind stumbling around a bit if Farrah Fawcett were there to rescue me. Art Carney adds a wonderful "serious" performance as the local contact. It's harmless and funny, even endearing at times. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though it was "bad".

A rich old man has a suspicious fatal car accident in Acapulco, and his widow wants his insurance company to pony up $5 million. What can they do? "Get me Jake Decker!" barks company bigwig Keenan Wynn. OK, they get hotshot investigator Decker to check it out, but he's played by Charles Grodin, whose self-consciously dry brand of comedy needs a script tailored to his style (like MIDNIGHT RUN, REAL LIFE, or 11 HARROWHOUSE, which he co-wrote, which explains a lot...but I digress... :-), which the routine insurance fraud plot of SUNBURN doesn't provide. What can the filmmakers do? Get Farrah Fawcett(-Majors, as she was then billed) at her most charming and dazzling, Art Carney in fine form, and a good supporting cast including Joan Collins (hilarious as a sex-crazy glamorpuss), Alejandro Rey, Seymour Cassel, John Hillerman, and brief bits by Eleanor Parker and the aforementioned Wynn. Put them in Acapulco's most beautiful locations, sprinkle in a few background tunes by 10 CC, and voila! You've made a blah crime caper into a lively, unassuming bit of fun for a lazy afternoon (or a snowy one, like the kind we've been having this week). Best sight gag: Farrah's insanely huge load of luggage (reminded me of trips with my mom). Cute seemingly off-the-cuff bit: Grodin mistaking the portrait of Collins' father for one of Lee Van Cleef. Farrah and Carney also get into a pretty good car chase that ends up in a bullring. If you stumble across this on cable and you have nothing better to do, this SUNBURN isn't painful at all!

It's been years since I've seen Sunburn from start to finish, but I still get a glimpse of parts of it from time to time. I taped it on TV in October 1985...then decided to tape the baseball playoffs (I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan.) & wound up taking over about 40% of it.It's still fun to watch that part of it, though. It confirms my belief that America (or the world) has never had a more gorgeous sex symbol than the scrumptious Ms. Fawcett (or Mrs. Majors, as I think she still was in 1979)! My TV & VCR were both brand new in late 1985 & the quality of the tape was surprisingly good...and has remained so over the years. Just watching Farah (and wishing I were Grodin!) is a fun way to pass some time. The plot was OK & the rest of the cast decent enough...but I have to admit that FFM's sexappeal & charisma make it a special one for me...even if it DOES jump from Farrah lying on a bed to a ground ball suddenly being hit to a second baseman! lol

This is one of my all time favorites. For pure entertainment value. I usually go for much more thought provoking films, but this one was fun. I saw it originally on cable many years ago. I still hear the 10cc song "I don't want to lose you. Dadda dadda da dah" and think of putting lotion on Farrah's back side while she lies with that bed sheet seductively covering her!(Which was much more enticing than actually seeing a nude scene.) With the dry comedy of Grodin, and his way of making you believe it could be you and the always likeable Art Carney I just wish I could've been there in Mexico with them. I almost became a Insurance Investigator! I wish I could find this on video. Stranded on an island, this would be one of my 5 films to keep.