i'm about to embark on a film odyssey involving the films directed by the late great harold ramis. i couldn't be more excited as i get to watch three films i've never seen before, at least two underrated classics of comedy (i think) and 3 masterpieces of 80's comedy gold, plus i get the start of the downfall of de niro. but first it starts with caddyshack, a movie i have seen parts of on tv many times and only once the whole way through. i always found it funny but it was never on the top of my comedy charts. all that changed after last night's watch. this movie is hilarious, right from the get go. it starts and it is hilarious. bill murray, chevy chase, ted knight and rodney dangerfield are all on point and i couldn't stop laughing out loud the whole movie. it wasn't just them that were funny. the old golfers were a riot and the baby ruth scene has to be one of the funniest things ever put on celluloid. there is also a masterful stroke of genius where chase and murray meet up late one night. this is a very funny scene that happens to be the first scene the two share together on the scene. it also happens to be a scene that features the break-out star of snl and his replacement on said show. back in 1980 that must of been one hell of a scene as snl was at the height of it's popularity. for a first time gig, ramis handles his directing duties amiably. sure it's a little rough at times, the editing could be better and it could look a lot sharper but he gets gold out of his cast and he knows humour. he delivers what counts here and he does a great job. this is a movie where not every joke hits but there are so many jokes that do more than hit that its okay when one or two fail. it's also got beautiful women, nudity, violence and a pretty great soundtrack. really, comedy movies don't get much better than this. i didn't remember it being so damn funny and so damn good but i am thankful that i have seen the error in my ways. to paraphrase ted knight's character as he talks to his son. 'you'll watch this movie and you'll like it!' production design: 8 out of 10 cinematography: 7 out of 10 re-playability: 9 out of 10 originality: 9 out of 10 costumes: 8 out of 10 directing: 8 out of 10 editing: 7 out of 10 acting: 7 out of 10 music: 9 out of 10 script: 8 out of 10 80/100