On TV: 'Justin Case'
The Orange County Register
Ten years ago, the very idea that George Carlin -- Mr. Seven Dirty Words
himself -- would star in a Disney film was one of the more preposterous
notions one could have concocted.
But just as truth generally is stranger than fiction, Carlin is starring in
his ownmovie from Disney, the same people who bring us Mickey Mouse and Winnie
the Pooh.
The Carlin project is titled "Justin Case," a fun 'n' lively romantic ghost
comedy(that's not a typo) airing under the "Disney Sunday Movie" banner Sunday
from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on KABC/7.
It's the first TV movie in which comedian Carlin has played the lead. Andyou
know what? He's not bad. His role enables him to essentially do a slightlymore
physical version of a stand-up comedy routine, and he pulls it off with style.
Because the film was written, executive produced and directed by Blake
Edwards and marks his return to TV after some 25 years, it's a cut above the
family film norm. He makes a delightful little piece of escapism in the "Pink
Panther" vein that leaves us with a smile.
Oh, yes, the plot. Carlin plays Justin Case (get it?), an incompetentprivate
eye who has just been slain and has only a ghost of a chance to catch his
assailant. That is, he inexplicably changes into a ghost after he's killed and
finds he can do it all -- go through walls, make himself invisible, the whole
number.
In fact, Case can't be seen by anyone except the spunky, down-on-her-luck
young woman named Jennifer Spalding (a dynamite, campy job by Molly
Hagan), who innocently stumbled onto Case's lifeless body.
The enterprising Case decides he needs the help of Jenny in bringing his
killing suspect -- a mysterious dame known only as The Lady in Black -- to
justice. His being invisible makes for goofy situations and allows for somenice
visual effects with moving objects and people.
There's also a subplot with a hunky paramedic (Douglas Sills) who romances
Jenny. And as an eccentric neighbor named Sheldon Wannamaker, Gordon
Jump ("WKRP in Cincinnati") nearly steals the film. He's an absolute scream.
All in all, "Justin Case" is a breezy 90-minute diversion. Bring the kiddies.
-Ray Richmond, The Orange County Register
May 13, 1988
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