Moving Violations (Blu-Ray)
Blu-Ray Reviews | Dec 13th, 2016
Starring: John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, James Keach, Brian Backer, Sally Kellerman, Ned Eisenberg, Clara Peller, Wendie Jo Sperber, Nedra Volz, Fred Willard, Lisa Hart Carroll
Written By: Neal Israel, Pat Proft (screenplay), Paul Boorstin, Sharon Boorstin (story)
Directed By: Neal Israel
Studio: Kino Lorber
Buy On Amazon.com
The underrated 80s comedy Moving Violations is re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray, thanks to Kino Lorber. If you’re a fan of 80s comedies and never saw Moving Violations, now’s a good chance to see it!
The movie follows around Dana Cannon (John Murray) and others who have gotten numerous traffic violations in a California city (basically Los Angeles). They all have had so many tickets that their licenses & driving privileges are taken away and they all must attend a driving course program. The teachers teaching the class are Deputy Halik (James Keach) and Deputy Morris (Lisa Hart Carroll), who got Dana ticketed but he also got them demoted for tricking them with smashing the wrong car. Dana and the rest of the group begin to grow suspicious with Deputy Halik intentions with the class and begin to dive deeper into things.
I used to watch Moving Violations all the time since I’m an 80s kid. It was always on cable and all the time, I would put it on or watch it from a taped VHS tape. It has a lot of funny scenes and memorable quotes. “Why is my back all wet,” “It’s like I always say. When the going gets tough, the tough get going in their pants,” “Dad, are we there yet? I’m hungry” and so many other lines. Sure, John Murray is doing his best Bill Murray (his brother) impression but it’s still a funny movie. I think if someone who was more famous starred in this, it would have been a bigger hit. The movie holds up well for the most part. Some things are really dated like the music and some of the dialogue. There’s a lot of character actors in this like Fred Willard, Wendie Jo Sperber, that nerdy Brian Backer guy, and even a young Don Cheadle as a Juicy Burger employee at the drive-thru window.
I owned the DVD when it was original released by Fox or whoever, but I think it’s been out of print for awhile. I believe this is the first time it’s been on Blu-Ray and it looked pretty good for an 80s movie. There’s some noticeable grain and such, but it still looks the best I’ve seen. There’s audio commentary from director/writer Neal Israel and a trailer but would have been nice to have some other extras for the Blu-Ray release. Deleted scenes or a look back with some of the cast?
Moving Violations may be an 80s movie that some people might not know about, so I’m happy it’s back out there for people to buy. Beats having to pay overpriced DVDs on eBay for it. The movie still holds up for the most part and still is very funny!
Features:
Audio commentary by writer/director Neal Israel
Trailer
Audio
English DTS 5.1
Video
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color
Bottom Line: An underrated 80s comedy that still holds up well
Running Time: 90 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
