The Strongest Man in the World (1975) User Reviews

Dexter Graduates

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 28 November 2011]

Kurt Russell for the third and last time plays Dexter Riley in the Disney Studio's film The Strongest Man In The World. I presume that he finally graduated from Medfield College and Dean Joe Flynn's life got a whole lot less interesting.

Actually Russell was trying very hard to break free from the Disney image and I would say he's succeeded rather nicely. Although he did make a recent return to the studio for Sky High.

In this final film as Riley, Kurt Russell once again in the laboratory stumbles on a formula for superstrength. At first he and his fellow student scientists think it went into Michael McGreevey's breakfast cereal and that starts a whole industrial espionage war between the Krumbly and Krinkly cereal dynasties as personified by Eve Arden and Phil Silvers. Arden has a traitor in the ranks in the person of Dick Van Patten and he enlists Russell perennial foe Cesar Romero for some nefarious activities.

And once again the Magic Kingdom makes Medfield College completely oblivious to the outside world. Well at least student protest and the Vietnam War were over by this time so who would notice?

The Strongest Man In The World still contains the amusement value of its predecessors.

Great Comedy

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 6 April 2008]

Enjoyed viewing this very comical film dealing with a group of college students performing various tests in their school laboratory classes. Kurt Russell, (Dexter Riley) tries out a chemical he discovered by mistake and pours it on his cereal which he gives to a cow and eats some of it himself. The dean of the college is Higgins, (Joe Flynn) who is not very happy with this class spending all kinds of money on these experiments, but when he finds out it gives off a very special power of superhuman strength, Higgins decides to sell this formula to a cereal company. There are great veteran stars, Cesar Romero, (A J Arno), Phil Silvers, (Kringle) who gave great supporting roles along with Joe Flynn who had a short career dying at the age of 50 years of age. Great entertainment.

"Have you ever had a corn?"

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 23 August 2014]

The third in Disney's Dexter Riley trilogy starring Kurt Russell. This time college student Dexter accidentally creates a formula that, when mixed with a vitamin cereal, gives him temporary super strength. Since the school is once again in financial trouble, Dexter and friends decide to use the formula to help out. How they do this is silly. It involves a weightlifting contest and a cereal company rivalry. Villainous A.J. Arno (Caesar Romero) from the previous films also returns, up to no good as usual. Russell's good and the series regulars like Romero and Joe Flynn are lots of fun. This would be Flynn's last movie. Nice support this time from Phil Silvers, Dick Van Patten, and the always cool Eve Arden. Pleasant, likable family comedy. It's corny but fun.

The End of an Era

[Sargebri · 16 May 2007]

This definitely was the end of an era at the Disney studios. This was the last of the so-called "college comedies" that began with the classic "The Absent Minded Professor", continued with the two "Merlin Jones" films ("The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" and "The Monkey's Uncle") and ended with the three "Dexter Riley" films ("The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes", "Now You See Him, Now you Don't" and this film). These films all followed the same formula but still were funny in their own way. However, by the time this film was done the formula had worn thin and this pretty much was the end of the line for this series of films. Kurt Russell was his usual funny self as the perpetually in trouble Dexter getting himself and his buddy Schyler in perpetual trouble. Ceasar Romero was also great as the kids' perpetual foil Arno.

However, it is also a somewhat surreal film due to the fact that Joe Flynn died after this motion picture finished filming. He definitely was great in his role as Dean Higgins and it was definitely an extension of his "Captain Binghamton" character and this capped off his legendary career as on of the all-time great curmudgeons.

absurd,and fun

[disdressed12 · 6/10 · 1 December 2008]

i liked this movie.it's typical Disney silliness of that era,but it is fun and goofy,even absurd.there's a lot of overacting,but so what.this was supposedly a Kurt Russel vehicle,but it's really an ensemble cast.i liked Caesar Romero the most though.the story is simple. a college student discover a strength formula,and things go from there.if you're looking for high art,you won't find it here,but if you want something that's family friendly viewing,with a few amusing moments,this might be your movie.Kurt Russel starred in a lot of these silly Disney movies,starting as a teenager,and yet still manged to become a serious actor as an adult.anyway,for me,The Strongest Man in the World is a 6/10 for me.

Very Goofy, Very Funny

[bmagnetic7 · 6/10 · 28 August 2005]

I was inspired to get this movie after seeing (and enjoying) Sky High with Kurt Russell and I happened to recall this movie. I originally saw "The Strongest Man in the World" as a child (I was 5 years old) and enjoyed it VERY much. As an adult, I find it's VERY silly, and campy and wonderful.

Very enjoyable is the opening animation, which depicts a little boy doing AMAZING & IMPOSSIBLE things: catching a king-kong style gorilla that fell from a building, carrying a cruise ship, & holding (with one hand mind you) a stage carrying 3 grown men pressing over their heads what looks to be about 1000 lbs. WOW! College science student, Dexter Riley (Russell) creates a vitamin formula that, by pure accident, becomes a temporary superhuman strength formula. News of the formula comes to the attention of two rival cereal companies who stage a weightlifting contest to see which cereal would render the eater the strongest. One cereal, supposedly having the strength formula in it. It DOESN'T. Now Dexter, must race against the clock to get the real formula in order to win the weightlifting match.

Again, funny, goofy, slow in certain areas, but it doesn't take away from the humor of the film.

needs more Dexter Riley

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 2 March 2016]

College dean Higgins (Joe Flynn) is in danger of losing his job for financial problems. He promises to raise more money in 30 days while using science Prof Quigley as a scapegoat. Student Richard Schuyler is trying out different cereals for a cow. Higgins is horrified at all the money used to feed a cow and fires Quigley. Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell)'s experiment gets mixed with the cereal leading to powerful growth. Dexter tries the cereal himself giving him temporary super-strength. Higgins seizes on the opportunity and sells the formula to the cereal company run by Harriet Crumply. Harriet challenges cereal rival Kirwood Krinkle (Phil Silvers) to a competition. Krinkle calls on his mole V.P. Harry Crumply who is jealous of Harriet. Harry hires A.J. Arno who is just out of prison.

This is a functional Dexter Riley movie although I like "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" the most in the series. I don't think lifting things is the most exciting cinematic move. I actually think super speed is a superior power visually. It has more comedic potential and it would fit the car perfectly. This type of live-action Disney family comedies is fading in popularity at the time. Also this movie needs more Kurt Russell. There are sections where he is absent and he should not be. Richard Schuyler is in this more than Dexter Riley. Kurt Russell may be trying to slip away from his Disney roots at this time.

Everything's just a little duller

[r96sk · 6/10 · 3 August 2020]

Worst of the trilogy.

While 'The Strongest Man in the World' isn't anything atrocious, it most certainly fails to land on the same level as the two Robert Butler directed films. The plot, which is about strength this time, isn't as finely executed or as entertaining.

Kurt Russell (Dexter), the star of the last two productions, barely features in this one. I can see why they kept the focus on Higgins (Joe Flynn), as it worked well in 'Now You See Him, Now You Don't', but to switch eyes from Dexter to Schuyler (Michael McGreevey) is a strange choice. Cesar Romero (Arno) and Richard Bakalyan (Cookie) are also too forced into things.

There is still minor enjoyment in there, but everything's just a little duller than in the other sequel and 'The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes' original. A decent set of films, still.

Now you see it, now you don't...

[moonspinner55 · 2/10 · 29 April 2008]

The nadir for the Disney company of the 1970s, the cinematic equivalent of heartburn. Follow-up to 1972's "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" as well as another Disney hit, 1969's "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes", has Kurt Russell returning to role as campus kook Dexter Riley, here discovering a formula which gives him super strength. Cesar Romero walks through standard villain role as the adversary who wants the formula for himself; other veteran character actors such as Joe Flynn, Eve Arden, Phil Silvers, Harold Gould and Dick Van Patten mostly just stand around making faces. Completely inane and insipid, with Russell curiously disappearing altogether from the picture's mid-section. The film would be even more offensive were it not for that cast list--Disney certainly gave employment to a lot of actors who were probably happy for the work--but it isn't a good tonic for restless kids. * from ****

The third and final Dexter Riley movie, probably for the best

[Mccadoo · 6/10 · 13 November 2020]

I grew up with the Dexter Riley/Medfield college trio of films. Well kind of, I was in grade school with The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes came out and a freshman in High School when Now You See Him Now You Don't was released. I enjoyed both of them and kind of got an image (mostly false as it turned out) of what lay in store for me at college. They were silly Disney fare that I loved then and still do today because they take me back to my youth.

By the time this movie came out I was a senior in high school and wasn't much interested in Disney moves any longer. But I did see it later on TV and I have to say it failed to live up to the first two. The first two movies were silly and fun, this movie was just silly, not so much fun. It seemed strained, as if all the actors from the first two were trying to squeeze the magic out of their characters one final time and having trouble succeeding. Kurt Russell was a no-show for much of the film, probably because he was trying to distance himself from Disney at the time and it was just as well. He was in his twenties by this time and the Dexter Riley persona no longer fit him. Cesar Romero seemed like he was just going through the motions. As if they asked him to play A.J. Arno one more time and he agreed either for a paycheck or out of nostalgia for what once was. And Joe Flynn, back as Dean Higgins was another story. He passed away not long after filming this movie and it's very apparent throughout the film that he's not well and is just a shadow of his former self. It's really sad to watch.

This movie was the last in a long line of live action Disney college/teenager movies and it barely manages to stumble across the finish line. Watch the first two Dexter Riley movies, they're well worth your time. This one not so much.

Watch the Opening Credits, Skip the Rest

[Cyrn · 2/10 · 22 February 2005]

Actually, the parts with Russell and Flynn are okay. The only actually good or inventive part of this flick is the Opening Credits in which a cartoon kid Dexter gets to live out what it'd be like to BE the Strongest Man in the World(catches King Kong after he falls from the Empire State Building, carries a large cruise ship,etc.). The rest of this is too cornily written with the lamest gags and SFX to bother with- even when one considers that it's a 70's Disney flick.

Sad to say, this proved to be Flynn's last film. He and Russell did the best any performer could have done with what they were given but that still doesn't make it worth looking for. Even for a time-filler after channel-surfing, it's ultimately not worth it.

20 years and still going Strong!

[markdcampbell · 10/10 · 14 December 2001]

There's a reason this campy cult Disney classic is so hard to find at video stores and even to purchase... because it is almost so goofy, that everybody loves it.

Granted, it is silly, campy, goofy, dull, dumb, and even dim witted, but it is such a fun movie (next to the whole Herbie series), you cannot escape it.

And you will not forget it, either.

Enjoy Kurt Russell just before he broke into the big leagues... he is at his Brittany Spears level here (in Disney comparison, anyway).

peace

fizz

Hyperextended

[NoDakTatum · 6/10 · 15 October 2023]

A good natured Disney film suffers from the absence of its main star, Kurt Russell. Russell is Dexter, he of other assorted Disney films involving the lucky Medfield University student who gets into a variety of trouble. This time around, Dexter and his nerdy pals accidentally create a formula that gives whoever takes it superhuman strength. Wrongly, they think the formula is a combination of vitamins added to a cereal. Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn) comes up with a plan. Medfield, sponsored by Aunt Harriet's (Eve Arden) cereal company, challenges the State University weight lifting team to a match. State is sponsored by a rival cereal company run by Krinkle (Phil Silvers). The large cast expands as Krinkle and his industrial spy Harry (Dick Van Patten) hire Arno (Cesar Romero) to get the formula from one of Dexter's goofy friends.

Despite the scant plot, I found myself laughing out loud through most of this. The slapstick is funny, and the cast mugs their faces off for the kids. Joe Flynn is a riot as the flustered dean, stealing every scene he is in. Russell is likable enough as Dexter, but he disappears for much of the middle of the film so as to let the adults get their screen time. Filmed in the mid 1970's, there are dated characters and situations all over the place. This datedness includes a horrible scene in a Chinese restaurant that smacks of racism. This is Disney, so every plot point is telegraphed. The cast is filled with familiar faces from film and television, and it certainly is comfortable. The film makers do not dumb it down for the kiddies, but there is not enough here to keep the adults entertained, either. When I used to see the words "live action Disney film," I'd cringe. "The Strongest Man in the World" provides laughs and thrills, but cringing will soon set in.

A college where classes take place in Juvenile Hall.....

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 5 November 2013]

The very generic sounding Medford College was the location for a few silly Disney comedy's starring Kurt Russell prior to his action star fame, and while they appealed to me as a child and even in early adult hood, now they are obvious and beyond total adult enjoyment. But what a cast it includes, as silly as these veterans get to be, they are names from the past that are a "Who's Who" of favorites. Phil Silvers, Eve Arden, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, Harold Gould, Kathleen Freeman, Mary Treen, and that's just some of them.

The story surrounds a magical serial pumped with scientific formula accidentally spilled in Medford's laboratory that make a wimpy pup chase a Doberman down a crowded street, turn the nerdy dean into a weight lifter who can crack a conference room table and lift up a chair with Ms. Arden sitting down, all with one hand. I couldn't help but giggle at this sight of Joe Flynn performing this deed even as I rolled my eyes. When Kurt Russell takes it, he is set to be the star athlete at a competition between Arden's cereal company and that of her rival's, played to snarky perfection by Phil Silvers. Cesar Romero and Richard Bakalyan are the two "reformed" prisoners hired by Silvers to steal the formula.

Let's see, considering that this is a Disney movie, where do you think it will go from there? If you said into even more silliness, then you are right. I don't think today's cynical kids, already jaded with technology and special effects can appreciate the brilliance of early similar Disney classics such as "The Absent Minded Professor" and "The Shaggy Dog" let alone this one. But we can try, right? O.K., so a few savy ones might recognize Arden from "Grease" or Silvers as Sgt. Bilko, but for us adults who remember Russell from an early appearance in an Elvis Presley movie (before playing Elvis himself) and his single appearance as a jungle boy on "Gilligan's Island", it is a far cry from his much later action movie days which took his career into an entirely different direction.

For me, the attraction was seeing these scene-stealing comic stars, and I'm sure many of them wanted to be in something that their grandchildren could watch. In an era when Disney was going for films they could later show on their Sunday night T.V. series (producing such slap-dash fare as "Gus" and "Superdad" in addition to classics like "Escape From Witch Mountain" and "Freaky Friday"), these films do seem somewhat rushed, tossed around with overly silly scripts and veteran stars mixed with younger actors like Russell and Jodie Foster. For what they are, they are certainly "cute" but "memorable" they are not, especially when compared to much of their earlier big screen fare.

Dexter Riley strikes again....

[Mister-6 · 11 September 1999]

Having seen all of the Dexter Riley films that Disney has put out, I can honestly say that "The Strongest Man in the World" is my favorite.

And why not? Not only does it have Russell in all his youthful exuberance and Flynn as the eternally befuddled Dean Higgins but it also features parts for Eve Arden, Phil Silvers and Cesar Romero as A. J. Arno, the Alonzo Hawk for the '70s.

When Russell and his fellow college cronies discover a potion and add it to their favorite breakfast cereal, it gives whoever consumes it super-human strength. Of course, every unscrupulous character within reach is after it and will go to any lengths necessary (even Chinese acupuncture hypnosis. You heard me.) to gain their ends.

Wild special effects highlight this film, and as always, Flynn takes his broad, funny role as Higgins and runs with it, showing off the benefits of super-human strength to an amazed Arden and her associates.

It may be set in the '70s but gags like this stand the test of time. And "The Strongest Man in the World" is still as funny now as it ever was.

What can I say; If it has Joe Flynn in it, I'll watch it.

Ten stars. And one more thing: if you're the dean of a college, never let Kurt Russell borrow your car.

Farewell Medford College

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 27 February 2022]

Dexter, Dean Higgins, the kooky science department at Medford College, and A. J. Arno are back for a third and final time in Disney's The Strongest Man in the World. One of my favorite elements of these movies are the time capsules of the hair and fashions of the time period. In this one, 1975 is preserved for all time. The long sideburns and shaggy hair on the men, the bellbottom jeans on the women, and the funky music are fun to watch for those who want a history lesson - and for those who want to go down memory lane.

In a freak accident, Kurt Russell and Michael McGreevey create a miracle vitamin formula in the college laboratory. Whoever eats the magical cereal gets super-human strength. Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn), the CEO of the cereal company (Eve Arden), and Professor Quigley (William Schallert) are all a bit skeptical until they see the results with their own eyes. Once again, it's off to another college competition to gain funding for the science department. And once again, A. J. Arno (Cesar Romero) gets released from jail with his trusty sidekick (Dick Bakalyan) ready to thwart the college kids' master plan.

This fun for the whole family flick has lots of laughs, although it is a bit dated. But if you liked the first two, you owe it to Disney to finish the trilogy with the last one. We'll miss you Medford College!

Disney Was Doping before Doping Was Cool.

[robcat2075 · 7/10 · 9 September 2023]

I saw this when it first came out and found it modestly enjoyable, if implausible. At the time I didn't understand "franchise" so I thought it was kinda cheap of them to keep re-using characters and settings (Dexter Riley, Medfield College) from older movies.

But it wasn't until years later, as stories of athletes using performance-enhancing drugs entered the newspapers, that I thought, "wait a sec... wasn't all that... A DISNEY MOVIE???"

Yup, Disney was ahead of the curve on this one. Is it possible the scriptwriters were influenced by the whispers of Soviet bloc athletes (especially weightlifters) having some kind of chemical advantage at Olympic Games a few years before? Maybe?

But this was years before Arnold et al. Showed the world what serious chemicals could do for the human form; the public didn't understand how real it all was.

But that's why this movie could pass in 1975; the audience didn't grasp that this was an unfair, but entirely possible, advantage Dexter & co. Had cooked up for themselves. It just seemed like they were outsmarting their foes and explaining it all away with college-knowledge technobabble about "adrenaline".

That would definitely be illegal today, an adrenaline supplement. Maybe that's why this Disney classic hasn't been the object of a remake.

Some highlights, but overall kinda lame

[Wuchakk · 4/10 · 7 May 2018]

RELEASED IN 1975 and directed by Vincent McEveety, "The Strongest Man in the World" chronicles events at a Southern California college where Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell) & his pals inadvertently discover that a concoction of a new chemical mixed with a certain cereal will grant anyone or anything superhuman strength.

It's interesting seeing Kurt when he was so young (23 years-old during shooting) and there's a fun all-star cast of familiars who were popular at the time (Joe Flynn, Dick Van Patten, Phil Silvers, Cesar Romero, etc.). I also like the mid-70s fashions & décor; and there are a few laughs or well-done scenes, like the great conference room sequence.

But, with the exception of Eve Arden as a cereal mogul, there's zero emphasis in the female department. In other words, the story takes place at a Southern Cal college, but there are no women, except in a very peripheral sense. Someone might argue that this is a film for kids. Yes, real LITTLE kids; and maybe adults on a nostalgia trip.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 32 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles, Glendale and Pasadena, California. WRITERS: Joseph L. McEveety and Herman Groves.

GRADE: C-

Dexter Riley ends his theatrical run with a whimper.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 4/10 · 8 May 2021]

At Medfield College, Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn) is put on notice by the regents that he has 30 days to turn Medfield around or he'll be removed and replaced. Meanwhile, Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell) now using the University's creative lab to work on a strength formula developed by his friend Richard Schuyler(Michael McGreevey). Following an accident the formula starts working successfully. Higgins sees the formula as a way of securing the shool's financial situation and securing his job, and partners with a cereal company to sponsor the school in a weightlifting contest thanks to the formulas work with the cereal. Rival cereal magnate, Kirwood Krinkle (Phil Silvers) gets wind of the strength formula via hs corporate spies and hires crook A. J. Arno (Caesar Romero) recently paroled paroled again to steal the formula.

The third and final film in the Dexter Riley series, The Strongest Man in the World not only marks the end of this particular film series, but marks the last role for Kurt Russell in a Disney project save for his appearance in The Survival of Sam the Pelican on the Wonderful World of Disney before he transitioned to television to try and break out from his Disney persona. Like the previous two films, the movie follows hapless but good natured simp, Dexter Riley, accidentally discovering some miracle formula or ability and proving the basis for achieving whatever financially motivated macguffin is on Dean Higgins mind at the time. The formula is WELL past worn at this point as we follow the familiar plot beats and gimmicks established in the series to a T, except now Dexter Riley is noticeably absent for almost 60% of the movie(which was allegedly a condition by Russell).

This time around series director Robert Butler leaves the director's chair for Vincent McEveety director of lesser Disney flicks like Superdad and Million Dollar Duck (which was one of three movies Gene Siskel infamously walked out on besides Maniac and Black Sheep). Butler's presence is definite felt as the improvements in previous entry Now You See Him, Now You Don't are basically all but forgotten and regressed to the standards set in the first entry The Computer Wore Tennis Shoe's. While I wasn't a fan of Computer Wore Tennis Shoe's it at least felt like it had focus and direction even if it still ended up feeling like an extended sitcom pilot. Here however, the focus hopscotches around from one set of character actors to another with many obvious telegraphed gags or long sequences that o on just shy of forever such as a scene where Dean Higgins demonstrates his strength that is a comedic graveyard where the joke is him doing strength based feats and that's it, there are some visual references to things like the Steve Reeves Hercules or usage of music "Man on the Flying Trapeze" but these references seem to be the joke in and of themselves and there's no added friction to them. Then we have a cringe inducing Chinatown sequence that's just....odd. It's not brazenly offensive or anything it's just yet another sequence where I don't know what the joke is, there's some stuff involving hypnosis but there's nothing about it that makes it all the amusing and it plays more awkward and slow than farcical or funny.

The Strongest Man in the World is a very tired movie, the fact that Kurt Russell is absent for so much shows the filmmakers and possibly Russell himself knew there wasn't anywhere else this character or series could go, and it has the feeling and atmosphere of something that screams "contractual obligation". From its predictable formula to its scattershot focus this is easily the weakest entry in the Dexter Riley series.

More Dexter

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 17 July 2021]

The second sequel to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, after Now You See Him, Now You Don't, The Strongest Man in the World continues the story of Dexter Riley and the students of Medfield College.

Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn, who sadly died from drowning after filming was complete; the Youngstown native had also completed voicing over The Rescuers and was a major advocate for more equitable distribution of TV residual payments) is about to be fired for financial mismanagement due to the extreme overspending by Prof. Quigley's science class. Higgins fires the professor and threatens to have his entire class kicked out of school, but when he slams the door on the classroom, he knocks Dexter's experiment into another student's vitamin cereal. Then the cow - which cost so much money in the first place - eats the cereal, Dexter drinks the milk and then we have Kurt Russell gaining super strength.

This movie had to have been cast by me in a past life. Can we get Eve Arden? How about Phil Silvers? Can Cesar Romero come back? How about Dick Van Patten as the main villain?

Director Vincent McEveety was a Disney directing mainstay, making stuff like Gus, Superdad, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.

A great movie in hindsight

[brutusmaxximus · 8/10 · 5 January 2024]

It's wonderful to see all of those fine actors in this. Not every movie has to be an academy award winning entry. Joe Flynn, Kurt Russell, Phil Silvers, Cesar Romero, Eve Arden, Dick Van Patten. It was kind of a send off movie for a number of these fine actors while others shifted their careers into high gear. The movie is fun and enjoyable throughout. Camp is always fun! Also, at the very end of the move when Phil Silvers opens his mouth and they freeze the shot, it looks like he has strep throat or something. Just a fun mention. With all that said, I do feel that if someone had gone in an re-edited it and picked up the pace a bit that might have helped. Also, James Gregory really has a commanding presence in any scene he's in and it was a shame that they didn't give him a role that resulted in more screen time. I have to mention Paul Linke who was one of the students in this movie. He later went onto play the role of Trooper Grossman in CHiPS. He was a bit chubby in that show as he was here but a fine actor. Raymond Bailey who played Regent Burns should have been given a larger role. We all remember him as Mr. Drysdale the banker in the Beverly Hillbillies. He actually should have played the part of Dean Higgins. He would have brought much more strength and vitality to the role and may have helped to elevate this movie into a real classic. But, all in all I don't know how you can have such a large stable of actors like this and put them in the right part. Just enjoy the movie and don't worry about the plot too much. Just relish the actors.

Hilarious, great fun.

[Taz-59 · 12 April 2000]

This is the final installment in the Medfield High comedy/fantasy trilogy, and is as good as the other two. Yet again Dexter Reilly stumbles upon an incredible scientific discovery which brings him and his friends into another wacky adventure.

Fortunately, the same great cast is involved again including Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero and the brilliant Joe Flynn. Plenty of laughs this time round ensure you're enjoy this movie every time you see it.

Good cast in so-so comedy

[jimu63 · 31 August 2003]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Kurt Russell's final Disney film (not including his vocal work in "Fox and the Hound") was also the last of the studio's formula college comedies, and the last film appearance of the late, great Joe Flynn, who died before the film's release.

Once again Russell plays amiable science major Dexter Reilly, and once again Reilly stumbles on an incredible scientific breakthrough, this time a potion that induces superstrength. And once again Medfield College's Dean Higgins (Flynn) sees the discovery as a way out of the college's financial problems while villainous A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero) gets out of jail just in time to try to steal it. Add Eve Arden and Phil Silvers (very funny as the villain) as rival cereal makers eager to use the potion to increase their cereal sales and you have a top cast doing it's best to enliven a so-so comedy.

I must say I thought the previous film in the series "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" to be an absolute riot, so this film is a bit of a letdown. After a wonderful first half-hour, Russell and Flynn all but disappear from the film and Arno and henchman Cookie (Disney regular Richard Bakalyan) take over when they are hired by Silvers to steal the formula, which Higgins has sold to Arden. This leads to a series of disastrous theft attempts and a midsection that moves like molasses, and includes an offensive scene involving the racial stereotyping of a Chinese acupuncturalist.

Fortunately, the film recovers for a wonderful, and absolutely hilarious, finale involving a weight-lifting competition and an engaging chase scene involving Dean Higgins' supercharged vintage car, which has been "fed" the formula. That the beginning and end of the film are the best parts of the film, and that they both feature Russell and Flynn, is no coincidence, since they work so good together whenever they aren't on screen the film comes to a complete stop.

So, basically, you have a funny beginning, a hilarious ending, and funny performances by Flynn and Silvers, two authentic comedy legends. I also love the film's bouncy and catchy theme music, by the underrated Robert F. Brunner, who scored many of Disney's comedies of the time. So count this one as a mediocre, inoffensive Disney effort. You can do far worse. ** (out of *****)