A pre-superstardom Ben Stiller makes little impression opposite veteran stand-up George Carlin in this made-for-TV comedy caper.
When eager beaver Freddy Novak (Stiller) interviews for a stockbroker position at Wilson/Lodge Inc. his lack of an MBA relegates him to the company’s underground level. Unlike longtime janitor Ralph (Carlin), the street-smart Freddy believes he's destined for a higher calling. Then a lucky break enables Freddy to test his mettle and to bail Ralph out of a gambling debt. CEO Vandevere Lodge (Buddy Ebsen) entrusts his jittery secretary with his temperamental shredder. Spooked by the newfangled machine, she dumps confidential documents in the waste baskets picked up by the custodians. Armed with inside this info, Freddy invests with trader Susan Fahnestock (Leslie Hope) and scores a one-time windfall for his basement buddies. When Freddy discovers that Ralph has continued to profit from garbage can tips, he tries to put the brakes on the criminal enterprise. Unfortunately, Ralph and his janitorial investors have already called attention to themselves as rags-to-riches media darlings. Meanwhile Lodge’s nephew R. Judson Kimbrough (Jack Blessing) has laid the groundwork for financing a take-over of the brokerage by raiding the rank-and-file’s pension fund. Relying solely on his instincts as a stock analyst, Freddy vows to raise enough capital to crush Kimbrough’s power play while avoiding jail time.
Sparkling dialogue and snappy direction might have made this underdog saves the day cliché more palatable. However without those qualities, it plays out like a stale '80s update of Frank Capra’s populism. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
