The Barefoot Executive
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Movie Reviews of The Barefoot Executive
Movie Review: Very funny, family friendly movie
Summary: 5 Stars
The end drags out a little, but this is one of the really great Disney movies, with a great, and very satirical, premise.Movie Review: Excellent work from one of my favorite periods of live-action Disney films
Summary: 4 Stars
The Barefoot Executive may appear to just be a light and fluffy 1960s/1970s-style Disney comedy, and it can certainly be enjoyed that way, but you don't have to dig very far below the surface to find a subtly clever satire of the television industry with a very insider feel. Having worked in radio for a while, and having friends and family who do or did work in television, as well as reading a lot of behind the scenes books on television programs, a lot of the jabs at the industry feel spot on.
The humorous premise, probably stemming from a common joke about this, is that a "monkey" (actually a chimpanzee here) could pick a television stations' programming and do just as good or even a better job at it. Screenwriter Joseph McEveety and director Robert Butler get the dynamics between various levels of employees right, including the bigwigs. There are nice, continuing threads of intertwined sycophancy, insular ideas, fears of getting canned or demoted over ratings or general incompetence, and self-righteous assertiveness. Some of those things may be contradictory, but nevertheless they're representative of life within the walls of a broadcast media outlet--and probably many other places of employment as well. To an extent, the personal dynamics aspects of The Barefoot Executive are suggestive of an early version of Office Space (1999). But towards the end of the film, The Barefoot Executive nicely diverges into slightly more absurdist territory.
Raffles, the chimpanzee, is charismatic and impressive. But an unexpected surprise was the scope and chemistry of the cast, which includes veteran character actors and Disney regulars Joe Flynn and Harry Morgan, veteran television actor Wally Cox, the woman who has supplied the voice of Daphne in most of the Scooby-Doo series and animated films since 1970, Heather North, and in one of his first films, John Ritter. Ritter is on fire here. He steals almost every one of his scenes. And that's quite a feat seeing that the star is an engaging Kurt Russell, who had already made a string of very successful films for Disney.
Movie Review: MORE FROM KURT'S EARLY DAYS
Summary: 4 Stars
If it seems like Kurt Russell has been around forever it's because he HAS! He's been acting since 1957. He was 20 years old when he made this movie in 1951, but still was that fresh-faced kid we'd come to know in "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" done a few years before. Although it seems like it since once again Joe Flynn is a co-star, this was not a part of the Dexter Riley series of films. Other co-stars include Wally Cox, Harry Morgan, and an equally young John Ritter.
Russell plays Steven Post who works in the mail room of a big television network. Steven discovers that his girlfriend's pet chimp can pick TV ratings winners and soon as the network execs buzzing. Joe Flynn and Wally Cox play off each other hilariously in this film. Flynn was always so much fun to watch with that always perturbed look on his face and wondering "why me?". Ritter actually plays the snobby nephew to the head of the studio who gets his just desserts in the end.
Hey, these things were not classics but they were good and fun family movies the type of which you don't see anymore. Disney did so well at these types of things in the 60's and early 1970's Nice to see they are releasing them on DVD as well.
Movie Review: The Barefoot Executive
Summary: 4 Stars
I am delighted to see that two of my favorite Disney films have been released on dvd, "Million Dollar Duck" and "The Barefoot Executive." Descriptions of the plots for these movies are already noted here, but I will say that both these films are very enjoyable family viewing. I can remember going to the theater as a child and watching these films, and I still enjoy them today. Nobody's claiming they're the best films ever, or even the best Disney films ever, just good, fun entertainment in the grand Disney tradition.Some have complained about these films not being released in their original aspect ratio's, or being remastered for dvd. Although I would have preferred them released letterboxed as well, neither film was released in a very wide aspect ratio, so they play fine on tv, and as for Disney using the same masters they used for the vhs releases and tv airings, if that's what they did, big deal. Those prints are fine. Sharp, clear pictures, with good color.Sure, it would have been nice to have remastered letterboxed versions on dvd, but be grateful we have them on dvd at all. They've both been a long time coming.Movie Review: Another Great Disney Movie , BUT WHY FULL SCREEN?
Summary: 4 Stars
Ah, it great to see Disney finally cutting loose from their film vault this and other great live-action films. Kurt Russell and especially Hayley Mills were true bread and butter income for a host of Disney films and were personal favorites of Uncle Walt himself. But why oh why does Disney treat these two wonderful actor's films to lousy Pan & Scan transfers? Of the six Mills pictures, only half are in their OAR. As far as Russell, I think only one of his flicks is in its OAR, "Now You See Him, Now You Don't"! A sad, sad situation for 2008 technology and an insult to both of these fine actors.
UPDATE: 04.29.08
As someone has kindly pointed out that this movie was an open matte from a 1.85:1 print, you wonder why they would do this, especially back in 1971? Disney's logic continues to befuddle even today.