On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the untimely March 4, 1994 death of the great John Candy, here’s a look back at his first-ever Hollywood starring vehicle. Initially titled DRUMS OVER MALTA, GOING BERSERK featured Candy and his colleagues (on Canada’s SCTV sketch comedy program) Joe Flaherty and Eugene Levy. It began as a modestly scaled Canadian-centric spoof of NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959), but then Universal got ahold of it, changing the title and assigning a director (future episodic TV impresario David Steinberg) who rewrote the script quite heavily to make it jibe with the gross-out comedy model popular at the time.
According to John Candy biographer Martin Knelman, GOING BERSERK wound up as “one of the most disillusioning experiences of Candy’s career.” Released on September 30, 1983 (a month after the theatrical bow of STRANGE BREW, another movie headlined by SCTV alums), the critical and audience reception was just as you’d expect.
The whole mess opens with Candy as John Bourgignon, an overweight goof being ferried through a jungle by a band of natives. How’d he get to this point? Extended flashbacks show that it all began with John working as a limo driver for various eccentric folk, including Sal DiPasquale (Levy), a low-life director whose one major film credit was KUNG FU U, a goofy chop-socky flick starring John that was apparently “very big in France.” DiPasquale is seeking to film the upcoming wedding of John and Nancy Reese (Alley Mills), who happens to be the daughter of Congressman Ed Reese (Pat Hingle).
The latter is being targeted by the religious cult leader Sun Yi Day (Richard Libertini), who together with his seductive assistant Angela (future DESIGNING WOMEN headliner Dixie Carter) hypnotically induces—or at least tries to—John to assassinate Reese. The trigger is a five of spades card: when John sees it he “either turns into a killer or a schmuck.” The latter ends up coming to pass, as upon seeing the card John launches into an incoherent rant about his penis.
This leaves John with a “brain virus” that results in him embarrassing his friends and fiancée in a fancy restaurant, where he once again makes gratuitous penile references. Sun Yi tries again to get John to kill Reese, this time at John and Nancy’s wedding, which (Spoiler Alert!) doesn’t work out. Furthermore, John gets a lot of money from his father-in-law, which finances the jungle trip that began the film.
The proceedings by and large aren’t funny. The rushed and impatient editing (of a type that was extremely common in the eighties) makes a hash of timing and punchlines, and alternates wide shots and close-ups in a clumsy and oft-incongruous manner, further dilutes the comedy. The script plays more like a succession of disconnected skits than a streamlined narrative, and contains a ton of lazy penis jokes—and even lazier fat jokes directed at the film’s corpulent star.
Yet there are some authentically funny moments. An extended gag involving a corpse (future Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson) being dragged around that anticipates WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S (1989) elicits a few unforced laughs, and Candy’s comedic talents are occasionally allowed to shine through. That at least places GOING BERSERK ahead of later John Candy disasters like SUMMER RENTAL (1985) and ARMED AND DANGEROUS (1986), although it can’t hope to approach PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987), WHO’S HARRY CRUMB? or even UNCLE BUCK (both 1989) in the retinue of worthwhile Candy vehicles.
Vital Statistics
GOING BERSERK
Universal Pictures
Director: David Steinberg
Producer: Claude Heroux
Screenplay: Dana Olsen
Cinematography: Bobby Byrne
Editing: Donn Cambern
Cast: John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Alley Mills, Pat Hingle, Ann Bronston, Eve Brent Ashe, Elizabeth Kerr, Richard Libertini, Dixie Carter, Paul Dooley, Ronald E. House, Kurtwood Smith, Ernie Hudson, Gloria Gifford, Frantz Turner, Murphy Dunne, Dan Barrows, Julius Harris, Bill Saluga, Kathy Bendett