Movies of the 80s: 'Foolin' Around' with Gary Busey

There are people who just don't fit particular molds. For instance, you likely would not associate professional wrestler Hulk Hogan with Academy Award level drama. You likely would not view the brilliant Steve Buscemi as the star of a teen comedy. And, if you are aware of actor Gary Busey, you'd be unlikely to cast him as the lead actor in a romantic comedy. Though Busey has proven to be a dynamic and often charismatic film presence, his on screen persona and his idiosyncratic style of acting don't really translate to being the lead in a rom-com.

Busey is known for his intensity, his piercing, unsettling gaze, and a toothy sneer that appears to arrive in scenes even before Busey fully emerges. The Gary Busey of 1980 is quite different from the modern oddball Gary Busey whose most recent work has been as a freak show character on reality television and celebrity competition series. In 1980, Busey was a recent Oscar nominated actor, a serious actor who benefited from an unpredicable persona. Even still, as respected as Busey was in 1980, he was still not seen as a comic actor or a romantic one.

Thus why it was incongruous that Busey was chosen to star in the movie Foolin' Around. The character of Wes, a fish out of water moving from small Oklahoma to a big college up north, as written, is a charmer, a party starter, and a bit of a prankster. These are lighthearted traits and not traits one associates with Gary Busey. Not today, and not in 1980 when Busey starred in Foolin' Around opposite Annette O'Toole.

The plot of Foolin' Around revolves around Wes' attempts to navigate his new life in the city and his romantic pursuit of Susan, despite their different social backgrounds. Susan is already engaged to a wealthy man (played by John Calvin), but she is charmed by Wes' down-to-earth nature and sincerity.

The film is lighthearted and focuses on the comedic situations that arise from the culture clash between Wes' rural roots and Susan's sophisticated, upper-class environment. In addition to the romance, Foolin' Around features a mix of slapstick comedy and heartfelt moments. Supporting roles include Cloris Leachman as Susan's eccentric aunt and Tony Randall as her disapproving father.

Much of the critical derision aimed at Foolin' Around in 1980 centered on the casting of Gary Busey in the role of a romantic lead. Even before he became best known as an eccentric, somewhat creepy, fringe celebrity, Gary Busey was not viewed by anyone as a romantic or comedy actor. Critic Joe Baltake in the Philadelphia inquirer summed up the consensus on Busey writing "Busey might be a capable character actor, but a romantic lead? No Way!"

Critic George Meyer wrote about Foolin' Around "The primary embarrassment arises from the casting of Gary Busey."

Roger Ebert faulted the direction and editing of Foolin' Around in his pan of the movie, letting Busey off the hook. Notes Ebert: "The movie’s material might have been marginally successful in other hands, but this movie wasn’t directed or edited with a knack for comedy."

Behind the scenes, Foolin' Around was initially intended as a comeback vehicle for director David Swift, best known for lighthearted, lightweight comedy like The Parent Trap and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Swift hadn't directed a feature film since How to Succeed in Business in 1967 and wrote Foolin' Around with the intention of directing it himself. That plan was scuttled and eventually his script was rewritten by screenwriter Michael Kane and handed off to director Richard T. Heffron.

Foolin' Around earned only Two Million dollars at the box office and is mostly forgotten today.

Foolin' Around was released on October 17th, 1980. The film has no score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6 out of 10 rating from users on IMDB.

Foolin' Around is not available on traditional streaming channels but it is available in a fan upload on YouTube, linked here if you'd like to see Gary Busey in a romantic comedy for yourself. Speaking of YouTube, be sure to check out our YouTube channel, Movies of the 80s. We post a pair of short form videos everyday looking back at the most beloved and most forgotten movies of the 1980s. Like, share, and subscribe to movies of the 80s at this link.