Movie Review: Moving Violations

Moving Violations 

SLM Production Group, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, USA, 1985. 

Traffic cop Deputy Halik (James Keach) gets a promotion. He and Deputy Virginia Morris (Lisa Hart Carroll) send several drivers back to traffic school. Happy-go-lucky lorry driver Dana Cannon (John Murray, brother of Bill), hypochondriac bowler Joan Pudillo (Wendie Jo Sperber), gorehound Wink Barnes (Ned Eisenberg), puppeteer Scott Greeber (Brian Backer), half-blind granny Loretta Houk (Nedra Volz), cute rocket scientist Amy Hopkins (Jennifer Tilly), daddy's boy Jeff Roth (Willard E. Pugh), single parent Spencer Popadophalos (Ben Mittleman),  and several others. 

Dana

Halik & Morris

Judge Henderson

Judge Nedra Henderson (Sally Kellerman) and Halik play it dirty as they plan to confiscate and sell the students' cars. Only way to save their cars is to try to pass the driving test. Easier said than done as the game is rigged against them. At least they can do some pranks while trying to expose the corrupt cops.

Scott Greeber

Mrs. Houk

Amy Hopkins

Written by the makers of "Police Academy" the humour is quite similar. So if you liked PA films you will like this also, if not don't bother. John Murray is not quite Steve Guttenberg, but will do. Similarly he acts as the glue keeping the goofy group together while challenging the authorities. Halik & Morris are basically Harris & Proctor. Surely most of the humour is quite low brow but considering most of the present day comedies... it feels still funny. It is good old 1980s slapstick, amusing gags and some 1980s nostalgia.

Stephanie (Nadine Van der Velde)

Ouch

Don Cheadle as drive-in employee

Don Cheadle appears in small role. Also David Hyde Pearce is listed in the credits but I couldn't spot him. Also the credits list a character named Raoul Bienveneda (Victor Campos) and there seems to be some side plot regarding him but it is completely missing from the DVD (mine was Italian edition published by Koch Media). Maybe someone wiser than me can tell if there are different cuts of this film?

Doc Williams (Fred Willard) and Joan

Rating: Good

Starring: John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, James Keach, Brian Backer, Ned Eisenberg, Clara Peller, Wendie Jo Sperber, Nedra Volz, Fred Willard, Lisa Hart Carroll, Nadine Van der Velde, Ben Mittleman, Victor Campos, Willard E. Pugh, Sally Kellerman, Joe Alfasa, Elizabeth Arlen, Billy Beck, Chuck Bergansky, Anne Betancourt, Mitch Brown, Don Cheadle, Darlene Chehardy, William Forward, Kymberly Herrin, Vince Howard, Jim Hudson, Alvin Ing, Neal Israel, Bob Israel, Freeman King, John Lykes, Danny Mauna, Mark Mauna, Michael McManus, R.A. Mihailoff, Jamie Masada, Tom McFadden, Greg Norberg, Jimmy Ortega, Dedee Pfeiffer, Karen Philipp, David Hyde Pierce, Casey Sander, Robert Saurman, Jess Sofer, Jophery C. Brown, Brent Chalem, Robert Conrad, Michael DeBartolo, Helen Kelly, Randall Rutledge, Tom Tangen, Chris Tashima 

Director: Neal Israel