Sounds good right? What could that possibly mean anyway? A deal of the century sounds like the ultimate deal, right? Well, if you are Chevy Chase, it means one zany comedy satire involving weapons and killer planes. I’m getting ahead of myself though. Let’s start from the beginning shall we?

While in the process of moving I have been going through items that I no longer need and of course the items that will always have a home with me. While going through the various movies I have owned, I came across one of my favorites as a kid and it got me thinking, “I don’t know that I have ever met or talked to someone that has seen this movie.”

The gem is of course Deal of the Century; an unmanned aerial vehicle of a film starring Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, and Gregory Hines and directed by William Friedkin (of Exorcist fame.) Released in 1983 Deal of the Century was one of those movies I did not fully understand as a kid, but for some reason I found it oddly interesting. The movie follows Chevy Chase’s Eddie Muntz, a salesman trying to make a dollar in the arms business by selling crappy weapons to the leaders and rebels of a war torn Third World country. The stakes get even higher once Mr. Muntz falls into a partnership with LuckUp to sell the Peacemaker, a sloppy unmanned aerial vehicle that will be the beginning and ending of any war, if not the world.

The movie is chock full of political satire, but that is not why I want to discuss this movie. I want to look at this movie from the lens of its silliness. The bizarre romance between Chevy Chase and Sigourney Weaver is hilarious while the friendship with Gregory Hines is an important piece of the movie. There are parts of the movie that get a little creepy and dark, particularly the scene featuring Ray Manzarek from the Doors. The star of the show though is the Peacemaker.

Who knew that a UAV would capture the fear and excitement of my five year old self? I lived for the shenanigans of that darn plane. The Peacemaker wreaked havoc across a city, a launch party, and one finale of a weapons expo at the end.

I have always been a little terrified of planes and I was certainly never one for getting excited about them, but I really loved this movie. Particularly the ending, that chase scene high in the sky is just perfection. Granted, it is all very dated. In fact it was dated when it came out; nevertheless it was such a fun ride! When I watch it today, the chase scene in the end goes by so quickly, I wish it could last just a little bit longer.

As a kid I called it the Airplane movie. When I was a little older I searched for the movie believing it to actually be called the Airplane movie. Well, we all know how that turned out. Upon my search, I ended up coming across Airplane!, that 1980 gem of sky high laughs.  

Does anyone else remember, or even like, Deal of the Century? It is an oddball film and certainly one that is not the most popular of Chevy Chase’s work, yet, it contains a sense of charm about it. I often wonder what Chevy Chase thinks of this piece, or really any of the other stars in it. I have never really spoken to anyone that has seen it. When I bring the movie up at parties or other events with people, I am often given blank stares. I can’t help it though, for all its cheese-factor, it isn’t that bad of a movie. There is just something really memorable about the movie for me, which is a bit sad in some regards because the subject matter is not exactly what a kid would find entertaining. This is why I am wondering if anyone else has ever seen this movie. I want to know your thoughts!

On a side note, I did some research and found out that the movie is currently out of print. This is not really a problem for me, as I enjoy this movie so much that I purchased it on VHS and DVD awhile back. I know, I know, this is why I have problems with too much stuff. With that said, if anyone is interested in watching all or part of this movie, I have seen important clips of the show on YouTube and I believe the film can be found on Netflix or similar video formats. Check it out and let me know what you think. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the weekend. Take care everybody.