A Fine Mess

Clever of Blake Edwards to review his frenetic comedy in the title, but after that it's downhill all the way to the tune of screeching tires, the jabber of gibberish, and a hysteria count likely to leave audiences gasping like goldfish. What plot there is has movie extra Danson blundering into a racehorse-nobbling racket, and attempting to stay one car chase ahead of the cops, the mob and a string of irate old flames long enough to collect his ill-gotten winnings. This involves more crashes than the M1 on a Bank Holiday, a host of throwaway jokes which should all have been thrown away, and wild overacting all round. The biggest disappointment is Danson, who created an exquisite satire on the American superstud in TV's Cheers; his extension of the role here, as Sex Machine Spence, is a downright embarrassment.