"Mr. Mom" or "National Lampoon's Class Reunion" are a couple unsung John Hughes writing credits, but probably the furtherest removed script in his Brat Pack comedies he's is this period swashbuckler. Set in the South Pacific, where the wife of missionary Michael O'Keefe (Caddyshack's Danny Noonan) is stolen by slave traders, so it's up to him and colorful sea captain William Henry "Bully" Hayes, played by a pre-fame Tommy Lee Jones, to rescue her. Clearly a cash grab to take advantage of the success of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" this film is dull and pales in comparison. However, credit where credit is due, during one action set piece, this film beat "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" by a year with the cutting-the-bridge-while-surrounded gag. Still, Spielberg did it better and it's also kind of a jungle film staple. Overall, the only reason to watch this film is to see the great Tommy Lee Jones in what's probably the strangest casting of his entire career. It's not the worst Indy ripoff (ignoring the super low budget knockoff, I nominate "Firewalker" and "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold"), but it's far from the best (I nominate "Romancing the Stone" or "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" and honorable mention to Jackie Chan's "Armour of God" films and Disney's "The Rocketeer" for Indy adjacent retro film serial fun).
Review of Nate and Hayes
