Take This Job And Shove It

Since it's Labor Day, I thought it would be fitting to take a look back at a film aimed at the blue collar worker. 1981's Take This Job And Shove It.

Based off of the 1977 country song by Johnny Paycheck, Take This Job And Shove It stars Robert Hays, fresh from his starring role in Airplane, as Frank, a manager at a big cooperation that has acquired some breweries. One of which happens to be in Frank's hometown and is one of the big employers there. Frank has the dirty task of going to that brewery and cleaning house. Not an easy task since his childhood friends, Tim Thomerson and David Keith, and childhood sweetheart, Barbara Hershey, are employees there. Once he reconnects with his old crew, he begins to see what's important in life.

This was made during the time that good old boy movies were all the rage. And it definitely has a Smokey And The Bandit, Every Which Way But Loose, and Urban Cowboy feel to it. It's even the first film to feature the monster truck Bigfoot. This was a pretty big deal when I was a kid.

The cast, which also includes Eddie Albert, Art Carney, and Martin Mull are all great. Too bad the material isn't as great as the cast. It's not a horrible movie, and things really do pick up when Thomerson and Keith are on screen. It's just not an incredibly memorable film.

This is what I call a good rainy day movie. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, but nothing that will really stick with you.

It's available on dvd.