CARPOOL
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 3.0 Alternative Scale: *1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 8/23/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:30 MPAA Classification: PG (Mild language, crude humor) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Tom Arnold, David Paymer, Rachel Leigh Cook, Micah Gardener, Mikey Kovar, Colleen Rennison, Jordan Warkov, Kim Coates, Rhea Perlman, Rod Steiger Director: Arthur Hiller Producer: Arnon Milchan and Michael Nathanson Screenplay: Don Rhymer Cinematography: David Walsh Music: John Debney U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
What starts out as a short trip into family entertainment ends up as an interminable, dead-end journey that's likely to have both kids and adults asking the question, "When are we going to get there?" This is the longest-seeming chase movie since Charlie Sheen fled the police in 1993's THE CHASE, but it's not nearly as amusing. Ninety minutes stuck in a minivan with Tom Arnold, David Paymer, and five annoying kids is not my idea of a fun time at the movies. And, if for some reason you decide to see CARPOOL, it probably won't be yours, either.
Things might have been okay if this film had gone someplace, anyplace, but it stalls early, then coasts through an hour of minimally- amusing material before screeching to an amazingly improbable stop. The humor is too feeble to overcome the repetitive lethargy of the formulaic storyline. Sure, it's fun to see a few cars careening around inside a mall, but do we really need to endure fifteen minutes of such filler?
CARPOOL introduces us to Daniel Miller (David Paymer), one of the most anal retentive ad men in the world. He's so obsessed with being punctual that he sets his watch ahead ten minutes. How he managed to marry a beautiful wife and take enough time off to have two kids are mysteries the script doesn't address. On the morning of his big presentation at work, his wife is ill, so, despite all his worries about being late, he has to drive the carpool. One-by-one, he picks up his five passengers, but, because nobody had breakfast, Daniel has to stop at the local supermarket to buy some donuts. While he's waiting in the checkout line, he becomes involved in a stick up. Soon, he's being held hostage by Franklin Laszlo (Tom Arnold), an innocent customer who is mistakenly identified as the robber. With Daniel and his five young charges in tow, Franklin makes his getaway.
As things develop, it turns out that the kids like Franklin, the "nice bad man", better than Daniel, the workaholic good guy. So, during the course of their flight from a couple of incompetent cops (Kim Coates and Rhea Perlman), Franklin and Daniel bond, and the repressed father learns to let loose and have fun. By the end, he's actually trying to help Franklin avoid the police and a jail sentence. If you're interested in seeing just how far some movies will flaunt logic and believability in order to attain the happiest possible ending, CARPOOL would make a good case study.
Tom Arnold brings a likable, off-the-wall enthusiasm to his role, blunting the more abrasive edges of his usual screen personality to present someone whom children will find appealing. In fact, Arnold's performance is the only enjoyable aspect of this production. David Paymer is adequate as the stiff-as-a-board Daniel -- this is the kind of role he's played more than once. Rhea Perlman and Kim Coates, who are supposed to be contemporary keystone cops, are more irritating than funny. And all of the child performers could use a few years of acting school.
A handful of CARPOOL's jokes work, but, basically, this is just the latest in a long line of dumb motion pictures thrown out in an attempt to sucker in families. It's an offensive movie -- not as a result of salacious or violent content, but because it takes for granted a fundamental lack of audience intelligence. Neither children nor their parents are quite as stupid as the film makers think they are, and, despite the promise of the accompanying Loony Toons cartoon, "Superior Duck", it's likely that CARPOOL is headed for a deserved box-office wreck.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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