I was really excited to see 1941 when it turned out to be on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies, not to mention that when I looked at the cover at Hollywood Video, this movie had Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, John Belushi, among some of Hollywood's greatest actors. Now the fact that Steven Spielberg directed the movie got me more excited. When I checked out the rating for 1941, I got scared, I mean 5.5 isn't that exciting. Especially for a Spielberg film, usually most people get excited and love the film. Now granted, Spielberg was never the king of comedies, but 1941 is a decent film that gives you a few laughs, it's just a screw ball comedy, I admit some jokes are a little random, but over all this is a film that works and is just plain fun. Yes, it's a bit long and sometimes a little odd, the story though was something that was fun because sometimes we just need a little fun with history.

It's 6 days after the Pearl Harbor bombing and now the Japenese are coming after United State's pride and joy, Hollywood, lol. Basically, we just go through California citizen's lives and what they are going through. We have the wacky couple who can't seem to stay together. A silly guy with huge pride for his country. An army who seems to have a hard time getting how to actually fight. A crazed air pilot, crazy German captains, along with the Japenese who invaded the country are dressed up as Christmas trees. Well, let's just hope that they'll be alright with this silly invasion.

1941 is at times very random and doesn't know wither to be a mental comedy or a screwball comedy, but it still delivers a good laugh to those who are just looking for a fun movie. Don't go by the rating here on IMDb, I actually had fun watching this film and I'm not sure why people are giving it a hard time. But it looks like the cast had a genuinely good time making this film. The story is a bit much to follow, but it's worth a watch at least. 1941 is all in good fun, so just grab the popcorn and have a few laughs, I'm sure you'll get it with at least John Belushi's character.

7/10

Director Steven Spielberg's first theatrical misfire has bombastic humor and amped-up energy to spare--all it needs is a sharp, merciless editor to eliminate its excesses. Made up of equal parts "I Wanna Hold Your Hold" and "Animal House", the film opens with a spoof of "Jaws" that is funny and well done. The USO sequence is alive and crackling (any of the scenes with Bobby DiCicco and Dianne Kay are good), however John Belushi's Captain Wild Bill Kelso is a nuisance (perhaps recasting Belushi in Treat Williams' role of Corporal Sitarski might have saved some time). Buried under the morass is a fitfully funny spoof of wartime, although I tired easily of Ned Beatty running around with a shotgun. Robert Stack is wonderful, and the scenes between Tim Matheson and Nancy Allen in the airplane are fine if overextended, just like most of the bits and pieces in "1941". It has gloppy cinematography, messy comic staging and unconvincing sets. Spielberg's hopes for a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad War surely include isolated moments of inspiration--even brilliance--but those moments get trampled in the traffic. ** from ****

Very loud, very big and very funny fictional account of a supposed Japanese invasion of Los Angeles in 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There are many plotlines throughout the film--too many to summarize here. Basically, this is the most unusual Spielberg film I've ever seen (and his only bomb). It's from the bigger is funnier school of humor--Spielberg's only big comedy. There's lots of gunfire, lots of fights, lots of screaming (in full stereo) and tons of destruction (an entire amusement park is destroyed, a few city blocks of Los Angeles and a big beautiful house). As for the acting--it varies wildly. Tim Matheson plays a lt. who has the hots for Nancy Allen who only gets excited in moving planes--they're both cute and funny. Dan Aykroyd is wasted. John Belushi is annoying. Robert Stack is amusing. Ned Beatty and Lorraine Gary are funny, but underused. Treat Williams is violent and very unfunny. And where else can you see Christopher Lee play a German? The film is too long (I saw the 2 1/2 director's cut) and it doesn't always work...but when it does, it's hilarious! A definite highlight is the jitterbug sequence--unfortunately, it has a violent conclusion in which a very likable character is punched out three times. Terrific John Williams score too. The ending credits are quite interesting--it shows each cast character screaming! You may hate this film, but it's definetely a one of a kind. It's a cult classic in Europe.