The commercial success of films like AIRPLANE!, THE NAKED GUN, and HOT SHOTS! inspired a series of slapstick, absurd comedies that parody hit films. BACKFIRE!, which mimics the fire-fighting epic BACKDRAFT, is a mediocre example of the genre.
As a young boy, Jeremy Jackson accidentally causes his mother to die in a fire-fighting accident. Many years later, Jeremy (Josh Mosby) has grown up and is determined to become a "firewoman," just like his mom. He goes to fire-fighting school and joins the force. Though Jeremy is a klutz and a
fool, the firewomen, led by his older sister Sarah (Mary McCormack), grow to like him.
His ex-girlfriend Jessica (Kathy Ireland) works for the mayor, who is Sarah's enemy. Jessica doesn't approve of Jeremy's career choice, but gives their romance another chance and invites Jeremy to the mayor's fund-raiser. When Jeremy learns that the mayor is a crook, he tells Jessica off. Later,
though, a clever video manipulation turns his speech into an endorsement for the mayor, and Jeremy is subsequently kicked off of the fire-fighting force.
He discovers that the mayor has made a deal with a developer and that jet fuel is being piped through the city's fire hydrants, causing the city's current rash of fires. At first, Sarah distrusts Jeremy, but when he proves to her that his theory is correct, he is allowed back on the force. He
devises a plan to create a huge vacuum, which extinguishes the fires and saves the city. The mayor is disgraced. Jeremy and Jessica live happily ever after.
Since BACKFIRE's plot is absurd, its success or failure depends on the quantity and quality of its jokes. The first five minutes of the film contain several great moments. In a running gag, a woman calls 911 and gets stuck with a recorded answering service. This joke, the film's best, continues
throughout the film, but what surrounds it quickly becomes stale. While the opening scenes are overloaded with jokes, soon the plot takes precedence and the film slows down and loses its inspiration. While the jokes don't solely rely on the viewer's knowledge of BACKDRAFT, BACKFIRE! makes
references to a large number of films and television shows, rarely in a fresh or clever way. Most of the other humor consists of pratfalls, lame puns, and vomit jokes. The film contains nothing new, (in fact it steals some jokes directly from AIRPLANE!), and when desperate, becomes offensive.
(What ever gave these guys the idea that bulimia is funny?)
The special effects are terrible, which wouldn't have been a problem if the film's cheapness had been used to supply some humor. Some guest stars (Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas) have the sense to appear only in a scene or two, but Robert Mitchum has what qualifies as a supporting role as Jeremy's
fire-investigator boss. Mitchum's deadpan delivery of the script's one-liners only reinforces the film's impoverished sense of humor.
The movie's other leads are all uniformly fine, with the exception of Kathy Ireland, who plays an airhead, the same role she's played throughout her career. She may be the worst actress of the 90s, staring directly at the camera and opening her mouth wide to mime emotion. At least she's used here
in a role where unintentional humor does not seem out of place. (Sexual situations, profanity.) leave a comment