It took me 34 years to finally watch “Captain Ron”.
The previews for the 1992 Kurt Russell comedy had been tattooed in my mind since childhood. I assumed it would be hysterical at the least, and at best, a yearly summer watch. Would I be correct?
The film opens in the cold and chaotic streets of Chicago. Martin Harvey (Martin Short) is a workaholic at a nameless Chi-Town skyscraper. He’s stuck in a rut; too busy for his family or any semblance of fun.
His wife, Katherine (Mary Kay Place) is bored. Boy crazed teen daughter Caroline (Meadow Sisto) and nerdy son Ben (Benjamin Salisbury) are standard comedic fare for the era.
Martin learns he has inherited a yacht, and the boat needs to be transported from a small Caribbean island to Miami where it can be sold. It’s the perfect opportunity to reconnect with his family, so Martin hires Captain Ron Rico (Kurt Russell), an enigmatic and sleazy sailor to pilot family, and the vessel across the waters.
The Cast
Kurt Russell is an icon and possesses the range to play any type of character. He’s great in “The Christmas Chronicle” comedies, and good here. Like The Dude, Captain Ron Rico seems an extension of Russell himself and that’s fun. Russell used his own clothes and style and easily passes as the goofy but well-meaning seaman.
This is blasphemous, but I am not a fan of Martin Short. I read that the initial conception saw the two actors in swapped roles, and I wonder how that would have played out. That said, he’s fine here as the straight man to Russell’s hijinks.
Mary Kay Place looks like an early ’90s mom. She’s fine, along with the two kids, though all three take an expected backseat to Russell and Short.
The Film
“Captain Ron” is a comedy from a bygone era. For the good and for the bad. It’s an adult style of humor that has no place in today’s movie world. The plot is absurd; the scenes are slow. It lets the characters breathe, which is nice, but the 100-minute run time gets bogged down with repetitive slapstick antics.
I will offer praise for the cinematography. Shot in and around Puerto Rico, we get some great images of beaches, the waters, and the boats. It certainly qualifies as summer movie viewing.
Sink or Swim?
“Captain Ron” had so much potential, but it let me down. I was expecting a great comedy, but the abundance of slapstick gags got really old, really quick.
The plot was somewhat convoluted, but I was willing to accept the setup. As the film dragged on, it kept getting sillier and sillier. The addition of pirates, guerilla fighters, and the constant breaking down of the boat felt like the movie would never end.
The film “Captain Ron” isn’t as good or memorable as Kurt Russell makes the character of Captain Ron. I guess its worth a watch if you enjoy the aesthetic of 1992 and the setting of the Caribbean. Overall, it’s a dud of a watch.
1 Comment
I enjoyed the stupid comedy. I was about 24 when it came out. I rewatched it again recently at age 58 and still got a chuckle out of the absolute lameness of this movie. You definitely have to suspend the reality factor with this one. But still a good movie to mindlessly entertain.