Under the Rainbow

I saw this when it first came out about 40 years ago, but remembered very little about it, other than it is set during the casting of the little people for The Wizard of Oz, and is very funny.

This is a screwball slapstick comedy caper, with multiple subplots, with secret agents and assassins running around, getting confused, and getting stomped by a cast of a hundred little people. It takes a little while to get going, to set up all these plot strands, but once it is underway, it is sheer mayhem. The romance subplot doesn't really work, as both Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher seem a bit subdued in their roles, given the broad over-acting of everyone else. But the ending is pure genius.

Rating: 3.5

[ unmissable | great stuff | worth watching | mind candy | waste of time | unfinishable ]

reviewed 6 March 2021