''Going Ape!'' is a 1981 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Jeremy Joe Kronsberg Jeremy Joe Kronsberg is an American film director, producer and screenwriter who appeared in such films as ''Every Which Way but Loose (film), Every Which Way but Loose'', ''Any Which Way You Can'' and ''Going Ape!''.Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The original music score was composed by

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

(who would later compose music for a later similarly ape-themed comedy ''

Buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

''). This film starred

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

as Foster,

Stacey Nelkin Stacey Nelkin (born September 10, 1959) is an American film and television actress. Career Acting Nelkin starred as Bonnie Sue Chisholm in four episodes of the CBS western miniseries ''The Chisholms'' (1979). When the miniseries resumed in ...

as Cynthia,

Jessica Walter Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...

as Fiona,

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

as Lazlo, and three

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

s. In this comedy, Foster inherits his father's five million dollar fortune after the wealthy circus performer passes away—but only if he can care for his three pet orangutans for the next two years. With the help of his disgruntled girlfriend Cynthia and the apes' eccentric handler Lazlo, Foster must struggle to keep the outrageous primates out of trouble and away from a trio of bungling hitmen.

Plot

Struggling slacker Foster Sabatini is the only member of his circus family who left the life, greatly disappointing his wealthy father Max Sabatini (of The Flying Sabatinis). When Max dies, Foster and his sisters (who all hate Foster) are shocked to hear that Max left his entire estate to Foster, but only on the condition that Foster can care for his father's beloved trio of orangutans. Along with the orangutans, Foster also inherits the services of Lazlo - Max's manservant & protege. The arrival of the orangutans and Lazlo turn Foster's life upside-down, all while he attempts to win back his disgruntled girlfriend and impress her high-society mother. All during the film are non-stop instances where the apes wreak havoc on Foster's quiet and simple life with their crazy and outrageous antics, while Lazlo continuously recites many quotations from Max (always ending with "Love Max"). Things are further complicated by a trio of bungling assassins hired by the local zoological society, who will inherit both the money and the orangutans if one of the apes dies. In scenes reminiscent of the Three Stooges, each attempt by the hitmen is foiled by the apes and results in the hitmen injuring themselves instead. Foster and the others are completely unaware of the attempts on the apes (until the end, when the frustrated hitmen barge in and take the apes by force), and try to keep order despite the mischievous behavior of the orangutans. Once aware of the danger to the apes, Foster and his friends must save the newly accepted primates from their captors and bring the assassins to justice.

Main cast

Awards

The film was nominated for a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for Worst Supporting Actor for DeVito.

Home video

The film was released on VHS in the 1980s however was never released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and remained out of print on home video for many years until it was released in January 2022 on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

.https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Going-Ape-Blu-ray/305066/#:~:text=Blu-ray%20-%20November%209%2C%202021%20Paramount%20Home%20Media,will%20be%20available%20for%20purchase%20on%20January%2017.

References

External links

* * * {{rotten-tomatoes, id=going_ape, title=Going Ape! 1981 films 1981 romantic comedy films American crime comedy films American romantic comedy films 1980s English-language films Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films set in San Diego Paramount Pictures films Films about apes 1980s American films