Think Big

Think Big (1989)


Runtime: 87 minutes


Directed by: Jon Turteltaub


Starring: Peter Paul, David Paul, Ari Meyers, Martin Mull, Richard Moll


From: Motion Picture Corporation of America


This wasn't what I originally was going to watch, but last night a podcast I listen to did a livestream of the 1987 movie The Barbarians, starring the twin buff jacked up bodybuilders known as the Barbarian Brothers, Peter Paul and David Paul, who made some movies in the late 80's and early 90's but made their debut with D.C. Cab, as reviewed by me last year. This was a movie I saw as a kid more than once way back when, but I don't even know how many years ago that was and I barely remember it at all. Anyhow, that podcast review inspired me to try and find this, and thankfully someone uploaded it to Youtube.


The plot, as described on IMDb: “A teen genius (Ari Meyers) escapes from a teen think tank with the plans for a secret weapon. On the run, she stows aboard a truck driven by two slow-witted brothers (Peter and David Paul) who are transporting toxic waste across the country. Martin Mull also appears as the mentor of the think tank, Claudia Christian is the school's psychologist, and David Carradine is a repo man.” I did not go with the plot description where the brothers were described as “somewhat retarded”, as that's just not nice. Sure, Rafe and Victor are dumb jocks and they are really superstitious, but mentally retarded is not nice.


Besides the stars I mentioned already, there's Tiny Lister as “Z”, so I'll presume that stands for Zeus, Richard Moll (as the world's tallest stereotypical nerd), Michael Winslow, and Richard Kiel. Some really tall people are in this movie, obviously. Overall, the movie is pretty stupid and goofy, but in a good way. It's inoffensive and I did laugh, which is the important thing. I mean, the “secret weapon” is a silly “impossible device” that looks like a late 80's remote control and it allows to turn on or shut off anything with an electronic circuit. Really. The wacky trio drive from Montana to Southern California and they have to do it in a set time or they'll get fired and lose their truck. They experience wacky adventures while avoiding those people that are trying to get the device and the girl back.


I mean, there are some action/fight scenes and there's plenty of goofy humor, so you shouldn't hate it if you want to check it out for the first time. I mean, the opening and closing credits of the film are actually RAPPED by the twins. This is as good as you'd imagine. Also, plenty of late 80's Oldsmobile sedans are seen throughout. It was nice as a piece of nostalgia as something I watched years ago and to see all of those old actors as of course I saw them in other movies back in the day. I am thankful it was on YouTube so I could watch it again; otherwise I imagine it could have been difficult to track down.



I'll be back tomorrow night. It isn't quite exactly what I wanted to see but I changed things around so I will be able to watch that sometime later. The next movie should be one of Hitchcock's best, as said by most people.