The Barefoot Executive (1971)

That's funny... 'cause they're monkeys!", 26 September 2008

The Year I  was born, The Disney Company released 'The Barefoot Executive'. The BE does a fairly good job managing the TV station. For starters it has employed a young Kurt Russell. What a delight to witness the early career of so great an actor who has given us great movie treasure's such a 'Big Trouble in Little China' and 'Executive Decision'. He may have gotten older and fatter but is still a class act.

Along for the viewing experience is John Ritter who makes his acting debut. Interestingly when I was young I was not allowed to watch 'Three's Company'. Harry Morgan from M.A.S.H. is on hand to deliver yucks as the grumpy TV president, alongside with McHale's Navy's Joe Flynn. The film has some other talented actors and also stars a Chimp named Raffles. :

"That's funny... 'cause they're monkeys!" Homer Simpson

The movie centers on Raffles uncanny ability to pick out what TV shows the public will like and which they will not. Raffles informs Kurt Russell's character Steven Post of this inside information which he uses to raise himself to the top of the TV executive world. "Forget about such schlock as 'Cavemen', 'Emeril' the sitcom, and the latest reincarnation of 'The Bachelor' and concentrate on 'Heroes', 'Lost', and 'The Office'. Steven Post even has ideas of his own. One of his show ideas is a TV program entitled "Abe Lincoln's Doctor's Dog.' This was an actual episode on 'Screen Director's Playhouse in 1955.

Most fake TV shows in movies tend to be so badly produced it seems very unrealistic and unlikely that anyone in the real world would ever want to watch them. It is possible however that someone would actually green light such horrid programming. For this very reason it was probably a wise idea to keep the story focused on the people who were in charge of the programming and not the programming itself, although the few clips one sees of the TV shows talked about are standard looking TV show clips and promotion for such Disney classics as the 'The Shaggy Dog'.

The movie has very many funny and wacky moments and makes it worth a movie rental and maybe even a place in the family library. But there are a few glitches in the TV screen. When Kurt Russell's girlfriend catches him with her kidnapped chimp, he gives her a sweet apology and explains the real good (for himself) that came out of the deceit he has pulled on everyone around him. For the sake of moving the plot along, she seizes from being majorly being cheesed off at him and accepts his weak apology with a smile. For some reason I thought there was to be a great slapstick chase at the end of this film and for that reason I was a tad bit disappointed in the ending. Although the greedy TV executives get what they deserve in the end, I thought the ending deserved a little something more.

Although not perfect, 'The Barefoot Executive', is worth turning on. It was remade as a TV movie in 1995. This version has not been deemed worthy to be released on either VHS or DVD. But you have the original one to watch and enjoy.