MCHALE’S NAVY

It is said that you can make a bad movie from a good script, but you can’t make a good movie from a bad script. MCHALE’S NAVY certainly proves the latter.

Based on the 1960’s TV show of the same name, MCHALE’S NAVY is a rowdy, incoherent, adolescent mess of a movie. The razor-thin plot centers itself around the lovable scamp, McHale (Tom Arnold in a nicely understated performance) and his band of Navy misfits on the island of San Ysidro. The group consists of the usual stereotypes, including the incompetent Parker (David Allen Grier), the womanizing Virgil (Bruce Campbell) and the slow-witted Happy (French Stewart of TV’s THIRD ROCK FROM THE SON).

The story begins with McHale in retirement, lazily enjoying his days on the island. He coaches the local little league team (which allows Arnold lots of scenes to speak sympathetically to the children), donates blood to the local hospital and generally frustrates his superiors (including Dean Stockwell) on the local navy base.

McHale’s retirement is interrupted when an international terrorist, named Vladikov (Tim Curry), decides to rule the world. Vladakov sets his sights on San Ysidro to use as his base. There is only one problem with this plan: this is McHale’s island. As you might expect, McHale and Vladikov have met in the past and are mortal enemies.

This sets up the remainder of the story as the island is threatened, and McHale is called back into active duty by a high ranking official (Ernest Borgnine, the original McHale). McHale and his men go to Cuba for supplies and have a final showdown with the villainous Vladikov.

MCHALE’S NAVY is not without its pleasures, most of which center around the cast. Tom Arnold is quite likable as he tries to soften his onscreen image. Ernest Borgnine is strong in his role and adds to the one great surprise in the movie. The potential of this movie is obvious: a good cast, a healthy budget and a story that had already been successful on TV. However, there is more wrong with this film than right. First and foremost is the lack of a coherent story. Like a lot of movies of this genre, more time is spent with big explosions than with character development and true emotion. In essence, this film is a confused mess of storylines. Most of the time is spent with the characters mugging for the camera or escaping explosions.

For a family film, this movie has a surprising amount of objectionable content. There are bullets and explosions galore, people are killed, and men leer at women in magazines. All in all, MCHALE’S NAVY is tamer than such films as SGT. BILKO and DOWN PERISCOPE, but it still lacks important redeeming qualities.