Foolin' Around
{{Short description|1980 film by Richard T. Heffron}}
{{About|the 1980 film|the songs|Foolin' Around (Changing Faces song)|and|Foolin' Around (Buck Owens song)}}
{{Better sources needed|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Foolin' Around
| image = Foolin' Around.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Richard T. Heffron
| producer = Arnold Kopelson
| writer = Michael Kane
David Swift
| narrator =
| starring = Gary Busey
Annette O'Toole
Eddie Albert
Tony Randall
Cloris Leachman
John Calvin
| music = Charles Bernstein
| cinematography = Philip H. Lathrop
| editing = Peter Zinner
| studio = GCC Productions
| distributor = Columbia Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1980|10|17}}
| runtime = 111 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $2 million
}}
Foolin' Around is a 1980 American romantic comedy sports film directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring Gary Busey and Annette O'Toole. The film was shot on location in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.{{Cite web |title=Foolin' Around (1980) - Filming & production |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080750/locations |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=IMDb}} The theme music was performed by Seals and Crofts.
Plot
College student Wes (Gary Busey), who comes from Oklahoma to a university in Minnesota, signs up to participate in a psychological experiment where he meets Susan (Annette O'Toole). The two are instantly attracted to each other. Besides the problem of their differing socioeconomic backgrounds, Susan is also engaged. However, Susan's grandfather recognizes her fiance's opportunism and when he sides with Wes, their relationship is given more of a chance, in spite of the concern Susan's mother has about social status.
Cast
- Gary Busey as Wes
- Annette O'Toole as Susan
- Cloris Leachman as Samantha
- William H. Macy as Bronski
- Tony Randall as Peddicord
- Michael Talbott as Clay
- Eddie Albert as Daggett
- John Calvin as Whitley
- Shirley Kane as Aunt Eunice
- Beth Bosacker as Rickie
- Roy Jenson as Blue
- Gene Lebell as Paul
- Makarand Jawadekar as Vijay Singh, a friend of Wes
Production
Susan's house, where Wes comes to play tennis and crashes her bridal shower, was the original Pillsbury family home, built in 1918 on Lake Minnetonka and called "Southways" because one must go "south a ways" to reach the estate. The address is 1400 Bracketts Point Road, Orono, Minnesota. It is a 32,461-square-foot home situated on 12.91 acres, with 1,700 feet of lakeshore, a cottage guest house, a greenhouse, 13 garages, an outdoor pool, a tennis court, and an attached tandem four-car garage. It was listed for $54{{Nbsp}}million, dropped to $24{{Nbsp}}million, and dropped again to $7.9{{Nbsp}}million, eventually sold for $11,327,239 in August 2018.{{cite web |title=Zillow |url=https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/1400-Bracketts-Point-Road,-Orono,-Minnesota_rb/?fromHomePage=true&shouldFireSellPageImplicitClaimGA=false&fromHomePageTab=buy |website=Zillow.com |accessdate=8 October 2018}} The mansion was demolished one day after new owners closed on the property.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
Critical reception
Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a mixed review:{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=1980-10-17 |title=Screen: 'Foolin' Around' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/17/archives/foolin-around.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240618030016/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/17/archives/foolin-around.html |archive-date=2024-06-18 |access-date=2024-06-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
{{cquote |Foolin' Around is an affable, meandering comedy with a nice cast and nowhere much to go... The rich-girl scenes are perked up considerably by Cloris Leachman, though... Richard T. Heffron's direction has a television blandness (most of his other work has been in television), but he keeps the story moving briskly even when it's familiar. The performances vary widely, from Tony Randall's peculiarly humorless turn as a diabolical and/or drunken butler, to Miss O'Toole's personable but innocuous heiress, to the rough-hewn, easygoing Mr. Busey and Eddie Albert, as a construction mogul who thinks Mr. Busey may grow up to be just like him. Mr. Calvin is also noteworthy, for making Whitley much less of a dope than stock characters like Whitley usually are.}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0080750}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|foolin_around}}
{{Richard T. Heffron}}
Category:1980 romantic comedy films
Category:1980s coming-of-age comedy films
Category:1980s English-language films
Category:American coming-of-age comedy films
Category:American romantic comedy films
Category:Columbia Pictures films
Category:Films directed by Richard T. Heffron
Category:Films produced by Arnold Kopelson
Category:Films scored by Charles Bernstein
Category:Films set in Minnesota
Category:Films set in universities and colleges