D.C. Cab (1983) * * *

Directed by:  Joel Schumacher

Starring:  Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Max Gail, Anne De Salvo, Whitman Mayo, Charlie Barnett, Bill Maher, The Barbarian Brothers, Irene Cara, Gary Busey

I don't know what got me thinking about this movie.     It's remarkable how the mind works.    I was thinking that Real Time With Bill Maher is on tonight and I'll watch it.    Maher co-starred in this film and here we are with a review.      D.C. Cab is a goofy comedy with a lot of energy.     It is pretty funny too in its unpredictable, lowbrow way.     Sometimes lowbrow can be very entertaining.

Mr. T's picture was all over the posters and print ads for the film when it was released.      Mr. T was fresh off Rocky III and the A-Team was just taking off.     He was a megastar who was popular with adults and kids.     In D.C. Cab, he has a supporting role as Samson, a Mohawk-sporting cab driver whose personality is not a million miles removed from his real one.     Say what you will about Mr. T's acting ability, but he is one of a kind.   

Adam Baldwin stars as Albert Hockenberry, a young man who moves to Washington, DC and goes to work for the cab company belonging to his late father's army buddy, Harold (Gail).     Harold's cab company is in shambles financially and physically.    He can not compete with the competition and the cabs look like crap.     His drivers are a bunch of goofballs killing time between weekends.     Harold's wife Myrna (De Salvo) is an unsympathetic money-grubber with little regard for the work force.     She tells Harold, "You have faith in God, you have faith in your country.    You do not have faith in the eight Stooges!"

Things begin to turn around for D.C. Cab when the crew finds a violin left behind in a cab and earns a $10,000 reward.     Harold wants to share the reward and bring his drivers in as partners.   Myrna steals the reward and throws Harold out of the house.    No worries.    Albert puts up his life savings and the cab company begins to transform into a respectable business.     Sort of.    One of the drivers, a burnout named Del (Busey) proclaims, "I don't work on January 8, because that's Elvis' birthday."   To be truthful, whenever Elvis' birthday comes up every year, I think of that scene.

There is another subplot involving two kidnapped children and the cab company's attempts to rescue them and the driver.     This leads to a scene in which Mr. T and The Barbarian Brothers (two huge muscleman drivers) crash a quiet family dinner in a moment of hilarious physical comedy.    You'll have to see it to truly admire its timing and its payoff.     I also couldn't help but admire the manic energy of Tyrone (Barnett), who trains Albert in the ways of cab driving and other assorted stunts.    Baldwin's laid-back style provides a balance to all of the lunacy.

D.C. Cab was but a small footnote in movie history because it capitalized on Mr. T's incredible popularity at the time.      I still admire its comic style and the willingness of the actors to take the goofiness to another level.     There are times when comedy can be elevated with energy and a little bit of nerve. with D.C. Cab as a prime example.