''Foolin' Around'' is a 1980 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...

directed by

Richard T. Heffron Richard T. Heffron (October 6, 1930 – August 27, 2007) was an American film director. He worked on many television series such as ''The Rockford Files'' and films including ''I Will Fight No More Forever'' (1975), ''Futureworld'' (1976), ...

and starring

Gary Busey William Gary Busey (; born June 29, 1944) is an American actor. He portrayed Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award fo ...

and

Annette O'Toole Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in t ...

. The film was shot on location in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, Minnesota. The theme music was performed by

Seals and Crofts Seals and Crofts were an American soft rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938). They are best known for their hits " Su ...

Plot

College student Wes (

), who comes from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

to a university in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, signs up to participate in a psychological experiment where he meets Susan (

). The two are instantly attracted to each other. Besides the problem of their differing socioeconomic backgrounds, Susan is also engaged. However, Susan's grandfather recognizes her fiance's opportunism and when he sides with Wes, their relationship is given more of a chance, in spite of the concern Susan's mother has about social status.

Cast

as Wes *

as Susan *

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She received many accolades including 22 Primetime Emmy nominations and won eight, tying Julia Louis-Dreyfus ...

as Samantha *

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...

as Bronski *

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor of film, television and stage. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in the 1970–1975 television adaptation of ...

as Peddicord *

Michael Talbott Michael Talbott (born February 2, 1955) is an American actor. He portrayed Detective Stanley Switek in the crime drama television series ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989). Early life Michael was born on February 2, 1955, in Waverly, Iowa, to parents ...

as Clay *

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Albert made his actin ...

as Daggett *

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

as Whitley * Shirley Kane as Aunt Eunice * Beth Bosacker as Rickie *

Roy Jenson Roy Cameron Jenson, also known and credited as Roy Jensen (February 9, 1927 – April 24, 2007), was a Canadian American football player, stuntman, and actor. Early years Jenson was born in Calgary, Alberta, and moved to Los Angeles with his ...

as Blue *

Gene Lebell Ivan Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American actor, judoka, stuntman and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "Judo Gene" and "The Godfather of Grappling", he is credited with popularizing grappling in professional fighti ...

as Paul * Makarand Jawadekar as Vijay Singh, a friend of Wes

Production

Susan's house, where Wes comes to play tennis and crashes her bridal shower, was the original Pillsbury family home, built in 1918 on Lake Minnetonka and called "Southways" because one must go "south a ways" to reach the estate. The address is 1400 Bracketts Point Road, Orono, Minnesota. It is a 32,461-square-foot home situated on 12.91 acres, with 1,700 feet of lakeshore, a cottage guest house, a greenhouse, 13 garages, an outdoor pool, a tennis court, and an attached tandem four-car garage. It was listed for $54million, dropped to $24million, and dropped again to $7.9million, eventually sold for $11,327,239 in August 2018. The mansion was demolished one day after new owners closed on the property.

Critical reception

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave the film a mixed review:

References

External links

* * {{Richard T. Heffron 1980 films 1980 romantic comedy films 1980s American films 1980s coming-of-age comedy films 1980s English-language films American coming-of-age comedy films American romantic comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Richard T. Heffron Films produced by Arnold Kopelson Films scored by Charles Bernstein Films set in Minnesota Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Minnesota English-language romantic comedy films