Towing
- Posted on January 2, 2016
- in Bad Movies
- by Anthony Smith
“Towing” is a 1978 comedy filmed in Chicago, IL and for sure it’s not a boring movie. It’s full of chaos, but this doesn’t count at all when you see how much fun the actors have.
The movie was written and directed by Maura Smith and is her first movie. “It’s a low budget movie, made possible with an initial budget of $185.000. The movie was filmed in Days and the total cost of the movie with expenses that will need to be paid later, ended up being around $400.000. It took more than 6 months to find a distributor once the film was finished. When it was launched in the local cinemas around Chicago the film made $144.000 in the first week. “ said Maura Smith in an interview with Komono Tribune.
The main characters Jennifer Ashley in the role of Joan and Sue Lyon in the role of Lynn, employed in the night bar, decide to go against a local intrepid towing company when several cars parked by Jean, who is employed by the bar to park the costumers cars, are towed by a towing operator. It turns out that this towing operator is towing even legally parked cars, and for the owners of the cars to retrieve them, he is charging them $60.
The war between the 2 ladies and the towing company starts to get to a high proportion, but when the towing operator makes the mistake to fall in the trap of Jean and Lynn and picks up the mayor’s daughters car and damages it, the justice is finally served and Butch the towing guy is arrested.
The movie was shot all over Chicago but it doesn’t have a nice scene flow. The rock and disco music is laid over the dialogue between the actors so in many parts you can’t hear the dialogue.
“The movie as a whole is so loosely organized and so quirkily edited that none of it makes much sens; and it’s editing, with a joke involving the late Mayor is sadly outdated.
Characters are not developed; gags are not set up; screens either run far too long or are over far too soon.
Adding to the confusion are the poor technical qualities of filmmaking. The sound recording is atrocious.
In between love song, mood music, slapstick bits, fight scenes and fashion photography, viewers will also spot some nice travelog shots of such a scenic routes as Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue.
Mostly, however, “Towing” is a dead end.” Said Richard Christianson a local critic in the Chicago Tribune.