Sunday Matinee #59 Caddyshack
An iconic line? No. A funny one? Absolutely!
Mark 8:31-38 | Revised Common Lectionary | EnterTheBible.org
Second Sunday in Lent | 02.25.2024
Context: Jesus asked some of his disciples who the crowds think he is, and even who they themselves think he is. Simon Peter gives a correct response, that Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus affirms him. However, this scene immediately follows and Simon Peter undoes his response by wishing things would be otherwise.
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Adversary! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Caddyshack | 1980
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: It’s the snobs vs. the slobs at Bushwood country club. At the start of an early-morning golf match with an illegal wager, caddyshack manager Lou Loomis (Bryan Doyle-Murray) explains the rules of the match to “The Snobs” of Judge Smails (Ted Knight) and Dr. Beeper (Dan Resin) and “The Slobs” of Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) and Ty Webb (Chevy Chase). They’ve all agreed to the rules and it’s time to begin when Czervik slips Loomis a little cash…
Al Czervik: Hey, Tiger. Here. Keep it fair. Keep it fair, will ya?
Lou Loomis: No, I can’t accept this…
Lou quickly pockets the cash and walks off. Al walks in the opposite direction.
Al Czervik: All right…
Commentary:
When I was in Third Grade math class, the teacher went around the room asking each student to give an answer for each problem in the workbook. You know that thing where you count off all the people before you to determine which problem you’ll have to answer about, then you double-check your math to make sure you’re prepared? I did that. Then, the teacher accidentally skipped me. I was too flustered to say anything, but like any good bunch of 8- and 9-year olds, we all knew the teacher had made a mistake and everyone looked at me with “Can you believe this?!” delight in their eyes. When we finally went through the entire workbook page and everyone responded, the teacher said it was time to move on to a new lesson.
For reasons I can’t explain, I waited for her to explain the next lesson to the class, though I can’t say that I really paid much attention because as soon as she was done talking I was ready to tell her that she skipped me. Sure enough, when she was done, I raised my hand and she called on me. I blurted out, “You skipped me,” which is pretty snarky, I admit. She apologized and said okay, why don’t you go ahead and do the first problem in this new lesson. I looked down at the workbook and realized I had no idea how to do what she had asked. I stared at that page. I didn’t put my head up. I just stared in silence at it, realizing I’d paid more attention to being right about what happened earlier than the new information at hand.
After an hour… okay, probably 10-15 seconds, but it felt like an hour, the teacher asked who can help him out? Another student gave the answer, I immediately understood how to do these new problems, and she moved on to the next student. Isn’t it weird the stories that stick out in your mind 35+ years later?
I imagine it was tough for Simon Peter to give Jesus a correct response to his question of who he thinks Jesus is. He said the Messiah, and Jesus lauds him for it. Jesus took that response as his cue to move on to the next lesson, to expound upon what would happen to him, that he would be humiliated and killed. It’s like Simon Peter didn’t really pay much attention, because as soon as Jesus was done talking he was ready to tell him that he’s wrong. Unlike my teacher who I think did her best with me in that tough moment, Jesus is not above pushing back on Simon Peter. You don’t have to like that this will happen, my disciple, but it will. And don’t even begin to tempt me otherwise! Then he called over the rest of the class to continue the new lesson.
What does any of that have to do with this tiny little throwaway line in Caddyshack? Lou Loomis just finished explaining the rules of an illegal golf game to Judge Smails, a known cheater, and Al Czervik, a known briber. He likely hoped they listened to his opening statement: “Gentlemen, we all know this is illegal and against Club practice, and I'd like to ask at this time if you all agree to waive all sanction against said referee ...or anything that might get me fired.” They all nod their agreement.
Then what does Al Czervik do? He bribes Lou! And what’s he bribing him to do? To “keep it fair!” Lou says, no, he can’t take that money… as he pockets the money. Talk about “Get behind me, Adversary!” Al shows he really didn’t pay much attention because he was so ready to bribe Lou. And unlike Jesus who resists temptation when Simon Peter rebukes him, Lou pocketed the cash with the least bit of resistance.
It’s all played for laughs and it really works. Caddyshack has so much telegraphed broad humor and so many memorable visual gags that these tiny moments of quick, playful dialogue can get lost. It’s always been a favorite. It’s also, I think, a very real moment. The Bushwood staff are constantly looking for ways to make an extra buck throughout the movie. Even after confirming he’ll help them, but don’t get me fired, an extra buck looks good to Lou. He also knows this: who is Judge Smails going to complain to? “He took a bribe in our illegal game!” I think if I could go back to my Third Grade self, I would tell him there will be plenty of times to speak up later. Pick your battles, unless you’re prepared to be in a sticky situation.
Simon Peter could learn that. Lou knew.
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Read Sunday Matinee #34 about Vacation:
