CHiPs, the movie

[MaxConcrete]

(no real spoilers, but if you want to see the film with no prior knowledge, then click the back button)


Since the CHiPs television series was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and also very influential in my interest in highways, I decided I needed to see the movie, which was released yesterday.

The movie is very different than the TV series. It aspires to be primarily a comedy film with mostly lowbrow and often juvenile humor. Extensive use of f* in the humor. I did find myself laughing quite often, so they achieved some success.

If you are hoping for freeway scenes, there are very few. There is short scene near the beginning, maybe on the Foothill freeway, and then a little later a chase scene on the elevated section of the Century Freeway south of LAX, with a conclusion sequence on one of the high ramps, probably the 105/405 interchange. There is short scene showing the 110 near Dodger stadium and a brief view of the loop connector at the 10/110 interchange, which of course was heavily featured in the TV show. But that's it. There are plenty of chase scenes on the streets of L.A. mostly featuring motorcycles, and like most chase-oriented movies the L.A. river is used.

The personalities of Jon and Ponch are also very different, especially Jon.

I think the writers/producers wanted to do something different than the TV series, which makes sense. So don't go the the film expecting to relive any memories from the original series.

[nexus73]

(no real spoilers, but if you want to see the film with no prior knowledge, then click the back button)


Since the CHiPs television series was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and also very influential in my interest in highways, I decided I needed to see the movie, which was released yesterday.

The movie is very different than the TV series. It aspires to be primarily a comedy film with mostly lowbrow and often juvenile humor. Extensive use of f* in the humor. I did find myself laughing quite often, so they achieved some success.

If you are hoping for freeway scenes, there are very few. There is short scene near the beginning, maybe on the Foothill freeway, and then a little later a chase scene on the elevated section of the Century Freeway south of LAX, with a conclusion sequence on one of the high ramps, probably the 105/405 interchange. There is short scene showing the 110 near Dodger stadium and a brief view of the loop connector at the 10/110 interchange, which of course was heavily featured in the TV show. But that's it. There are plenty of chase scenes on the streets of L.A. mostly featuring motorcycles, and like most chase-oriented movies the L.A. river is used.

The personalities of Jon and Ponch are also very different, especially Jon.

I think the writers/producers wanted to do something different than the TV series, which makes sense. So don't go the the film expecting to relive any memories from the original series.

When "The Beverly Hillbillies" was remade as a movie, adding in four letter words took away from the charm IMO.  One viewing was enough for me.

"CHiPs" was a typical Seventies light fare show but I watched it due to the plethora of freeway scenes.  The series came out shortly after I returned to Oregon from the Southland so it was a joy to revisit that area.

Rick

[briantroutman]

Specifically because I grew up watching reruns of CHiPs on TNT–and still have a place in my heart for the cheesy show–I never had any interest in watching the comedy remake movie. And that was before reviews started to indicate the extent to which this movie failed within its own genre.

I don't really get the appeal of the "let's remake this kitschy TV series as a campy joke"  category of movies, but at least some of them (Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels) have managed to win over some critics and audiences by being entertaining comedies in their own right. From what I've read, CHIPS (why they couldn't keep the lowercase i, I don't understand) doesn't even do this much. I believe one critic referred to the movie's tasteless, labored, and unfunny comedic pieces as bits that "didn't make the cut for a direct-to-video American Pie sequel" .

[ET21]

This is a garbage fire film, poor representation of the TV series.

[wanderer2575]

I haven't seen the film, but I judged from the previews that it's godawful.  Same with most other movies derived from TV shows.  It perhaps speaks to this piece of Internet lore I came across quite some time ago:

"NEW RULE:  If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote control so we can see what's playing on the other screens.  The reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie."