VALLEY GIRL DRIVES FLASH GORDON IN MY CHAUFFEUR

year: 1986 cast: Deborah Foreman, Sam Jones, Howard Hessemann, Julius Harris rating: ***1/2

VALLEY GIRL ingenue Deborah Foreman is Casey Meadows, a free-spirited city chick stuck in the dirty job of washing dishes. She's invited to work at a Chauffeur company stuffy as an Ivy League college...

Basically a men’s club for the snobby (especially manager Howard Hessman), the colorfully jovial Casey winds up right on the streets – driving a limo with an assortment of people including a drunken crazy rock star (who yearns to steal an old lady's panties), a mute sheik, and of course a handsome love interest: Enter FLASH GORDON hero Sam J. Jones as Battle – a millionaire’s stuffy son, he couldn’t be more different than Casey but they hit it off after an afternoon drinking binge. Yet the best scenes have Casey on her own learning the ropes while experiencing the bizarre world of rich and eccentric weirdos.

Deborah Foreman in MY CHAUFFEUR

With the exception of a tediously overlong Penn and Teller sequence that not only drags but puts Casey in the story’s backseat, this is a bright and breezy romantic comedy where Foreman pulls off a miraculous turn as a character without limits.

A less gifted actress couldn’t outshine the often ridiculous dialog and oddball situations. But you get the feeling that, with a pop/punk soundtrack frolicking throughout, this is an intentional cult comedy that knows how far outside the box it needs to get.

Deborah Foreman and Sam Jones in MY CHAUFFEUR

Deborah Foreman's great smile

Deborah Foreman listens...