I am a sick, sick man. I love hokey, cheesy movies. And horror/thrillers never fail to turn out as such in basket loads. The Original Jaws is a classic in every sense of the word, a genuine edge of your seat thriller, that despite my having seen it 413 times never ceases to make me jump at just the right moments. The first sequel Jaws 2, was just your average, late-1970's rehash, Chief Brody is scared of Sharks, we get it, but not bad either, it had going for it a reasonable number of the original cast and enough of the shark to keep even the most slacked of jaws happy. Jaws: The Revenge (the fourth one) is just trash, stupid and without redeeming value (except Michael Caine, but that is another review). But this little, almost lost gem, is just so great it blinds me as a shining example of how to make a great second sequel without any of the original cast, and being a sequel in name only, Halloween wishes it could the Jaws series, and Highlander, I laugh at you (and not in a good way). A quick rundown of the plot finds MIKE BRODY (son of Roy Scheider, is afflicted with the most interesting aging disease ever, as first he ages too fast, then starts to go backwards), played by Dennis Quaid, who was at the time, near the peak of his cocaine habit. Although to be fair, he keeps it hidden MOST of the time. He was something of a heart-throb in the 80's, and the years since have been kind to him, as he still turns out pretty decent fair and hasn't gotten too ugly with age. He, John Schneider, and Sean Connery should all do a film that compliments their superior genetics. Oh sorry...got off topic for a second. Brody is an UNDERWATER ENGINEER (real likely field of work, given his history, anybody with anything remotely approaching logical reasoning abilities would go and be a farmer in Kansas) who is the leading member of the construction crew finishing up a new addition to Sea World. Lou Gossett Jr. is Calvin Bouchard, an interesting millionaire who owns Sea World and is implied to have dragged himself up by his bootstraps, thus explaining his thick quasi-Cajun accent, and lack of refinement. A lot was made of his being in the film just after his win of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman, but he probably had most of this flick in the can before the awards ceremony (Shark Chow). Bess Armstrong is Brody's girlfriend (fiance) who is also a marine biologist, fortunately for both her and Brody, she has a strange power over dolphins, and that saves them. Simon (Manimal) MacCorkindale makes an appearance as the only person I have ever actually wanted to be eaten by a shark in a movie (and real life too), fortunately the movie doesn't disappoint. We get to see the most annoying member of the Brody men, Mike's brother Sean, who despite having a stated fear of water, spends quite a bit of the film in the water. Keep an eye open for a young Lea Thompson, she dated Quaid for a while after they met making this movie. Needless to say, a shark makes its way into the park, eats a few people (for the relatively few of us who have actually seen the movie in 3-D, it is a pretty neat special effect) and then has to be taken out by Brody. He uses a grenade, borrowed from MacCorkindale's corpse, as it has been decided that the only way for the shark's to go is to be blown to smithereens. Don't worry the dolphins rush Quaid and Armstrong to the surface after the coolest 3-d explosion ever, without worry or mention of the Bends. There is a very special place in my heart for this movie. For some reason I must be the only one, as the next film, just pretends this never happened. Which is sad because this one actually made money at the theaters, and has characters that are relatively easy to care about. Watch Jaws: the Revenge, and you are hoping the entire Brody clan is taken out, not quite the heroes we were hoping for. But this little film is a great time waster. If you don't have a date for Friday night, or if like I once did, you do and she just wants to spend the night with the TV, some popcorn, the couch, a blanket, and you. You really can't go too wrong with this one. It's also a great flick to show the kiddies (I told you I am sick), I showed it to my then 5 year old nephew just before a trip to the beach, and a good time was had by all (although therapy bills are expensive). Get a copy, it's out on DVD (though not in 3-d), make a batch of popcorn, and enjoy your lovely Friday night.
