4/10
The Sheik Hits the Fan
8 March 2019
Dirk Benedict was two years between, before and after BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and THE A-TEAM when he starred in this CAR WASH clone where a group of misfits are supposed to park rich people's vehicles in the parking lot beneath a plush hotel - only to race them around, now and again...

The rest of the picture involves the gang of mostly minorities including Robert Hegyes as a Latin lover; cool black dudes Randy Brooks; the always optimistic T.K. Carter; the otherwise non-speaking, barking/howling human voice-box Michael Winslow; handsome Italian Rick Podell as a selfish mechanic boyfriend of ingenue Melanie Griffith, whose high-pitched voice is squeakier than ever as she predictably edges toward Benedict, the new guy/resilient con man and soon enough, leader of the pack...

One of those comedies where the cast is having more fun than the audience, the worst story involves a shy young Sheik who the cast spends so much time helping romance engaged blonde bombshell Audrey Landers, there's barely time for other random hijinks: all while dodging a security chief named Fred Kruger...

Meanwhile, miscast ladies' man Hegyes finds his "perfect girl" before acquiring a distinct persona to fit within the overall eclectic ensemble. In fact, pretty much everyone on board goes through cliché motions in a limited space with hardly any comedic breathing room, unlike its classic (and even more contained) mentor, CAR WASH...

And if the awesome-titled UNDERGROUND ACES had the decency to call itself ONE SHEIK FOR ONE BRIDE, fans of exploitation drive-in flicks wouldn't have been taken for such a ride.
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