Rollercoaster (1977)

Let's be realistic.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

A blackmailer threatens to sabotage roller-coasters at various American amusement parks if he isn't paid a huge ransom.Look at this: Helen Hunt, in her first feature film role, has the supporting role as Tracy Calder, Harry's teenage daughter and a potential victim of the young man. Steve Guttenberg, also in his first brief film role, plays a messenger at Six Flags Magic Mountain who brings the plans for the Revolution to Calder and Hoyt. Gotta love that.But really, you have to love this movie. A great, high-stakes game of cat and mouse, and one of the few really centered around a theme park. I'm surprised that doesn't seem to be a more common location. I could have done without the music from Sparks, though... that "Big Boy" song is not good.

Roller-coaster is a taut, suspense-packed thriller from a decade chock full of such movies. It's written by Richard Levinson and William Link, the guys behind COLUMBO, and in many ways it shares similarities with the films chronicling the TV detective's antics. There's the eye for detail, the strong handling of guest actors, and the detailed investigation and pursuit of a character who is always one step ahead of the police.Despite the disaster overtones, Roller-coaster is much more of a low key thriller than one of the big '70s disaster flicks. Almost the entire second half of the movie is set in a single fairground location yet it becomes a masterwork in claustrophobia as a result. George Segal is a nice and sympathetic choice of lead, and Timothy Bottoms his match as the almost faceless killer. A supporting cast including Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Susan Strasberg round things out nicely, and there are minor turns for future '80s stars like Craig Wasson, Helen Hunt, and Steve Guttenberg.The movie is well shot throughout by experienced director James Goldstone and the cinematography brings out nicely the hustle and bustle of the amusement park attractions. Despite the PG certificate, there are some well-done violent moments, along with some hand-held POV roller-coaster ride shots which complement the action nicely. With a superior script and suspense that never lets up, Roller-coaster is never a disappointment and instead something of an under-appreciated gem.

George Segal stars with Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Timothy Bottoms, Harry Guardino, and Susan Strasber in "Roller-coaster" from 1977. The fashion of the '70s was, in part, disaster films -- The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, The Towering Inferno, the Airport films - I mean, it was constant.It's possible that Roller-coaster was thrown into this bunch - I actually don't remember the movie -- but it actually has more plot than most of the films mentioned.The film concerns a technical supervisor, Calder (Segal) who suspects that several accidents that have taken place in amusement parts are not coincidental. And sure enough, bombs are being set and detonated by a calculating sociopath (Bottoms). He then tries to extort $1 million from the companies that run the parks. The FBI is brought in, in the form of Richard Widmark, but Calder actually forms a sort of connection with the bomber, so Widmark and Fonda, another higher-up, are forced to go along with him.Calder ultimately is forced by the bomber to deliver the money, making for a tense ending where anything might happen.Roller-coaster was an attempt to use the Effect Du Jour, Sensurround, and I'm sure it was effective in the theater, though, because I am terrified of rollercoasters, it would have made me nauseous. I saw it on TV, and it was suspenseful with a likable Segal and a scary Bottoms. I'm not sure it would be made today. After all, we've experienced too many bombs and shootings happening in unlikely places.

It's more fun that it has a right to be, an inexpensive movie about a Safety Inspector (Segal) who must deliver a million dollars to a techie madman who will otherwise blow up one of the rides at the King's Dominion Amusement Park in Richmond, Virginia.There's a scene in "Dirty Harry" in which the madman "runs Harry all over the city" with a suitcase full of cash, attempting to lose or confuse the many cops known to be following Harry and watching for the pick up. This whole movie is like that, except that instead of simply running from one point to another, Segal is instructed by radio to buy funny hats, ride the roller coaster multiple times, be weighed by a cute girl in glasses, have his picture taken, and do the usual things that people do in amusement parks.George Segal does a nice job as the reluctant but savvy and inventive hero. He's supported by several familiar names, most of them past their prime, few of whom worked on the picture for more than a day or two -- Henry Fonda, beginning to gargle with age; Richard Widmark as the federal agent in charge of tracking Segal's moves in hope of capturing the madman, Timothy Bottoms; Harry Guardino from "Dirty Harry", who has about two lines of dialog; Susan Strasberg who is there to prove Segal is an ordinary heterosexual; and an adolescent Helen Hunt.It's silly and enjoyable, like spending a day at an amusement park, and, like cotton candy, after it melts so engagingly in your mouth there's nothing of substance left.