And after years of seeing giant sky diving formations, and stunt orientated sky diving scenes,
The Skydivers simplistic shots of people falling through the air in the star position are immensely unexciting. Not quite as boring as listening to the endless, intimate conversations of Harry and Suzy, but that still leaves scope for it to be the sort of boring that will have you cutting yourself to see if you still feel.
But, when it seems like there’s another ten minutes of torture left,
The Skydivers miraculously picks up. There’s a party with a really entertaining band (Jimmy Bryant and his Night Jumpers), some crazy 60s-style dancing, and a rowdy Scotsman. They’re partying because the club is going to do a night time jump (which clearly takes place during the day), and if it’s successful then something good will happen, I think the school will gain back their reputation from Pete plunging to his death. Frankly this marketing plan wouldn’t convince me to sign up for lessons at a fatality-prone jump school, but I’m not much of a daredevil.
As if this wasn’t enough, after Harry insults Suzy, she convinces the dopey Frankie (this is all so tiring) to put acid in one of the parachutes, causing Harry to plunge to his death. Then a random character says they saw Frankie and Suzy in the tent and a posse goes in chase on foot, by car and by plane. Cops join the posse, and gun down the fleeing suspects.
A fun ending to a poor film, but it doesn’t make up for the 60 minutes of drudgery it took to get there. Thinking about the ending is like remembering a great night of drinking before a two-day hangover. You should only subject yourself to
The Skydivers if you can get your hands on the
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version, which, to complete (complicate? - ed.) the drinking metaphor, is like alternating between beer and water.
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