Line #21 YMMV/Caddyshack


1	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
2	** The theme song "I'm Alright". It ''is'' Music/KennyLoggins.
3	** Mr. Loggins later returned with "Nobody's Fool" in the sequel. [[{{Sequelitis}} It might be the only thing about said sequel that's looked upon fondly.]]
4	** The goofy rendition of the 1812 Overture as Carl sets his explosives off.
5	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The synchronized swimming during the pool scene.
6	* CriticalDissonance: While Creator/LeonardMaltin gave both films only two stars, he gave a slight edge to the sequel, praising Jackie Mason's character as a welcome addition. Needless to say, most of the fanbase disagreed.
7	%%* CultClassic
8	* DesignatedHero: Al Czervik may be charismatic and funny, but Judge Smails isn't wrong when he declares the man a menace. In addition to generally being rude and insulting, he breaks etiquette by annoying and disrupting others midgame, illegally gambles against club rules, puts a lot of his partner's money on the line by repeatedly upping the wager, and when he's on the verge of losing all this cash, he cheats by faking an injury and choosing a stronger player to take his place. In addition to all that, Czervik proves to be a genuine danger to those around him when he carelessly drives his boat and nearly runs down several people while destroying others' property. And while Smails is a huge asshole, it's Czervik who starts their drama by actively antagonizing the guy before he's done anything to him.
9	* DesignatedVillain: Make no mistake about it, Judge Smails is a massive jerk. At the same time, his initial behavior doesn't go beyond just acting very mean, with him still following the rules of the club, unlike his frequent tormentor Al Czervik. Smails' behavior ''does'' get worse later on, but it's pretty clear he's breaking down from all his recent misfortune, and after all the trouble Czervik has caused, he's well within his rights to want the man out of the club. At least... that explains his behavior toward Czervik. His exploitative, dismissive, abusive, racist and manipulative behavior toward Danny (and the rest of the Club staff for that matter) doesn't really have an excuse.
10	%%* FanonDiscontinuity: Sequel? What sequel? There's no sequel seen here.
11	%%* FirstInstallmentWins
12	* GenreTurningPoint: Despite its reputation as one of the greatest comedies of all time, that's partly due to the fact that it was a great stoner flick when a certain generation of Hollywood writers were college stoners. Later comedies have taken the good parts of the movie and run with it, discarding the things that didn't work, a lot of which came from its troubled production.
13	* HarsherInHindsight: Ted Knight's character's GroinAttack by golf ball is more wincing as Ted Knight was diagnosed with colon cancer, that would claim his life six years following the release of this movie, which spread to his bladder and required him to have surgery to remove a tumor from his urinary tract.
14	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: After Creator/HaroldRamis' death, none other than UsefulNotes/BarackObama stated that he had hopefully achieved total consciousness.
15	* HilariousInHindsight:
16	** You'd swear the scene of Smails breaking through the door while chasing Danny was a parody of ''Film/TheShining''. But that film was only released two months earlier, so it's highly unlikely to be a deliberate reference.
17	** At one point while trying to kill the gopher, Carl mumbles "What's up doc?". Creator/BillMurray would go on to share a scene with [[WesternAnimation/BugsBunny the rabbit]] himself [[Film/SpaceJam 16 years later]].
18	* HypeBacklash: Given how much praise this movie gets as a comedy classic, many new viewers tend to go in feeling let down by the movie's directionless plot and odd pacing, both of which were byproducts of the film's rather TroubledProduction (as detailed in the "Trivia" tab).
19	* JerkassWoobie: Elihu Smails is an exceptionally unpleasant, elitist snob. Still, he takes a lot of abuse throughout the film, and some it really isn't warranted.
20	* JustHereForGodzilla: Who's here to watch young Danny's story, and who's here to watch comic pros Creator/ChevyChase, Creator/RodneyDangerfield, Creator/TedKnight, and Creator/BillMurray? Even the filmmakers realized people would prefer their more colorful antics and emphasized their roles at the expense of Danny and the intended main story.
21	* LoveToHate: Creator/TedKnight plays Judge Smails with such relish and perfect comedic timing that you can't help but crack up at his nastiness and misfortune.
22	* MemeticMutation: Every golf-related scene and quote has been hijacked and parodied by sports channels. Actually, this movie's created so many memes that a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch in the late 1990s had Creator/BillMurray, the night's guest host, present a ParodyCommercial for the book ''The Quotable Caddyshack''. The ad argues that if you're a guy, knowing ''Caddyshack'' memes is vital to relating to other guys.
23	** '''Judge Smails:''' "How 'bout a Fresca?"
24	** "...so I got that goin' for me."
25	*** Which is nice.
26	** "''Well?'' '''We're waiting!'''"
27	** "Cinderella story, out of nowhere..."
28	** As plenty of lifeguards in TheEighties and TheNineties can tell you, thanks to this movie, Baby Ruth bars were ''frequently'' snuck into pools as a prank.
29	** The sailing-related parts also have a high tendency to get referenced online in any thread about sailing or boats.
30	** "So don't tell them you're Jewish."
31	* MisBlamed: Creator/HaroldRamis and PJ Torokvei for the second movie. They're the credited writers, but they actually backed out when Creator/RodneyDangerfield left the project. Uncredited writers finished the script. According to Ramis, he wanted to have his name removed, but executives convinced him that would only cause bad publicity once the trades found out.
32	* MoralEventHorizon: In the sequel, the "snobby" country club members behave far worse than their counterparts in the first movie. They actively interfere with a low-income housing construction project (claiming a falling down carriage house is a historical site) and interfere with his construction business. But the ring-leader, Club President Chandler Young, crosses right over it when he hires a comically inept hitman to kill Jack after he buys out the club and turns it into a gaudy amusement park as a pressure tactic.
33	* RomanticPlotTumor: Danny has a girlfriend. Oh, maybe she's pregnant! She isn't? OK, forget it. (Actually an inversion: the residual romantic plot is what's left of the movie's main plot line after the comedy bits took over and stole most of the movie's running time).
34	* {{Sequelitis}}: The second movie came out almost a decade later, only brings back one original cast member (Creator/ChevyChase) and {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s of the first movie's main characters who hit the same beats story-wise.
35	* SoOkayItsAverage: ''Caddyshack 2'' is a shameless retread of the original movie with much of the original cast replaced with SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute characters. However, Dan Akroyd is certainly not a ''bad'' substitute for Bill Murray and Chevy Chase's enlarged role helps the film stay watchable.
36	* SpiritualSuccessor:
37	** To ''Film/AnimalHouse''. In fact, the film was pitched as ''[[RecycledInSpace Animal House]]'' [[RecycledInSpace in a country club]]. Harold Ramis and Doug Kenney co-wrote both films.
38	** Ramis later quipped that they had intended to make a poignant coming-of-age story but instead made a Creator/MarxBrothers movie, presumably with Rodney Dangerfield in the Groucho part, Chevy Chase in the Chico part, Bill Murray in the Harpo part, Michael O'Keefe in the Zeppo part, and Ted Knight in the Margaret Dumont part.
39	* StrawmanHasAPoint: Smails is unquestionably being a dick when he tells Danny "The world needs ditch-diggers, too!", but it turns out, yeah; there's really nothing wrong with working blue-collar (and in RealLife, the pay and benefits are usually pretty good).
40	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Judge Smails is an undeniable {{Jerkass}}, but that doesn't mean its okay for Czervik to repeatedly target and humiliate him unprompted. Additionally, according to the rules of golf, Danny's last putt would not count as going in, meaning Smails would be the real winner and justified in refusing to pay Czervik. He almost certainly doesn't know this due to not citing the rule in his refusal, but even if he's being a prideful dick, he's technically in the right.
41	* VanillaProtagonist: The filmmakers themselves realized that their intended protagonist Danny was much less entertaining than the supporting cast, so they expanded their roles at the expense of his. This simultaneously makes the trope less of an issue while also making it all the more noticeable how overshadowed the nominal lead is.
42	* VindicatedByHistory: Only an average success at release, has gone on to become one of the most memorable comedies of all time.
43	** VindicatedByCable: ...almost certainly due to frequent rotation in edited form on Creator/{{CBS}}, among other places.
44	%%* WatchItForTheMeme: The "Baby Ruth in the pool" scene.

Context YMMV / Caddyshack