It’s pretty crazy how many films Robert De Niro has appeared in over the decades. This one was a comedic role that he himself pursued back in the day, apparently just in order to change things up from his usual gangster roles. It was a major success back in the day but its reputation has also improved over time. As my wife observes, it evokes a sense of nostalgia for the style of humor of the 1980s but I also note that it isn’t a retrospectively offensive film in the way so many other films of the period are and that’s another reason why it holds up so well today.

Jack Walsh is a former police officer turned bounty hunter whose latest quarry is John Mardukas, an accountant who stole from a mob boss. Unsurprisingly, he is only one of many who is after Mardukas. His former boss Jimmy Serrano wants to kill him, FBI agent Alonzo Mosely wants him as a witness against Serrano and rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler wants the reward money as well. Jack gets to Mardukas first in New York City but has to bring him back to Los Angeles. He tries at first to get him back on a plane but when he learns that Mardukas suffers from a phobia of flying, is forced to go the long way over land. As everyone else is able to fly, this provides plenty of opportunities to everyone to run into each other again and again while Jack and Mardukas are on their extended roadtrip, Naturally the two also get to know one another as Mardukas states that he stole money from Serrano and gave most of it to charity while Walsh reveals that it was his refusal to accept bribes from Serrana that caused him to be forced out of the police force and become divorced from his wife.

This film clearly puts the comedy first so you have to be a little forgiving of the implausibilities in the plot. Mosely is able to call on the immense resources of the government but it is Jack who is able to find Mardukas through the simple expedient of looking up the phone number that he last called. The pair get caught again and again during their trip but always manage to escape, mostly because they manage to get the other parties to foul each other up. They commit an impressive number of crimes during their trip and I love that Mardukas even comments on it. It’s hard to say why exactly, but the formula, repetitive as it works, as Jack always finds a way to one-up the other pursuers, even if it is as dumb as distracting Marvin and then punching him out. As noted earlier, it’s 1980s-style humor done right and it turns out that there is a fair bit of nostalgic value in seeing it again today. Both De Niro as Jack Walsh and Charles Grodin as John Mardukas are amazing at their respective roles, with Jack as the person of action while John is the straight man who provides commentary and acts as the voice of conscience.

I do feel a little bad at how the film treats the character of Mosely who tries his best but keeps getting one-upped by Jack and as in the case with comedies, there must be so many deaths and injuries in the background that just get glossed over. All in all however this is a fun and entertaining film that holds up remarkably well. So many comedies of that period come across as cringey because they use jokes that were acceptable for the time but are offensive now. This film is actually kind of wholesome and the scenes with Jack’s family are short but are well done and really show De Niro’s acting range.