Sludgy family entertainment
produced at the nadir of Walt Disney Productions’ live-action cycle, this
convoluted comedy concerns a priest recruiting a group of housewives and
neighborhood women to topple the crime organization that’s plaguing a
once-wholesome town. Showcasing such wheezy comic elements as chase scenes,
cross-dressing, and slapstick, the movie is made moderately palatable by the
usual glossy production values associated with Disney flicks and by leading man
Edward Herrmann’s affable performance. Nonetheless, it’s hard to imagine kids
being able to wrap their heads around bits like the scene in which a
church-going woman masquerades as a streetwalker, just like it’s hard to
imagine adults mustering the patience to endure myriad silly physical-comedy
vignettes. Moreover, once the laborious story elements fall into place, the
remainder of the picture is painfully predictable. The North Avenue Irregulars isn’t as insultingly stupid as the
worst Disney live-action offerings, but neither is it as charming or energetic
as the best such films—it’s just a random title in the middle of the heap.
Herrmann stars as Reverend Michael Hill, the new pastor at a Presbyterian
church. After clashing with the church’s secretary, Anne (Susan Clark),
Reverend Hill discovers that an aging parishioner foolishly entrusted all the
money in the church’s restoration fund to her ne’er-do-well husband, who lost
the cash at an illegal gambling parlor. Seeking redress, Reverend Hill
discovers that the town’s criminals have purchased police protection, so the
only way to fix his church’s problem is to help federal authorities entrap the
criminals. None of the men in town is willing to help, so Reverend Hill turns
to the ladies in his congregation, beginning with his nemesis-turned-love
interest Anne. (Never mind the absurdity of a priest asking members of his
flock to engage in dangerous undercover work.) Eventually, Reverend Hill
assembles a motley crew portrayed by actresses including Virginia Capers,
Barbara Harris, Cloris Leachman, and Karen Valentine. After several
yawn-inducing comedy setpieces, notably a brawl inside the aforementioned
illegal gambling parlor, Reverend Hill’s crusade climaxes with, of all things,
a demolition derby during which the ladies use their station wagons against the
criminals’ sedans. Oh, and there’s also a long scene built around the unfunny
joke of Reverend Hill driving around town on a motorcycle while he isn’t
wearing pants.
The North Avenue
Irregulars has lots of events, and most of them are colorful. Moreover,
Herrmann plays his role straight, giving the weak enterprise a small measure of
dignity. However, the presence of second-rate supporting players including Ruth
Buzzi and Alan Hale Jr. is a good indicator of how low viewers’ expectations
should be set before plunging into The
North Avenue Irregulars.
The North Avenue Irregulars: FUNKY
3 comments:
This is really random but I used to watch this movie as a kid and I've been trying for months to remember the name. My wife and I were browsing Netflix tonight so I decided to do a Google search for 1970s movies with a Presbyterian minister and your blog came up. We are watching it now....hopefully it is as "good" as I remember it being. It is REALLY strange that I decided to search for this movie on the same day you posted this.
This was released in Britain as "Hill's Angels" (thus invoking "Charlie's Angels" and the Hell's Angels. Or Benny Hill).
Post a Comment