Jonathan Yeager (riverotter)

The Boatniks G

With its unusual coastguard-gone-wacky premise and a solid cast of comic talent that includes Phil Silvers, Don Ameche and Normal Fell, 1970's "The Boatniks" delivers exactly the sort of gentle, goofy fun that it sets out to, though it also never really rises above the level of "competent". The tv-ready direction of Disney gun-for-hire Norman Tokar gives the proceedings a pleasant if unremarkable polish, while Arthur Julian's script, which revolves around a hapless ensign's (Robert Morse) clumsy attempts to foil a trio of incompetent jewel thieves while simultaneously romancing a local beauty (Stefanie Powers), dishes out plenty of clever gags but also meanders along at an unnecessarily lackadaisical pace (there's no particular reason this movie needed to be 100 minutes long). While much of the comedy is affable, and on a few occasions even laugh-out-loud funny, there's nothing particularly memorable here either... there are no major comic innovations or jaw-dropping set-pieces to be had (and even the potentially whimsical submarine vs. rowboat chase at the end feels somewhat lackluster). Though hardly a classic, "The Boatniks" is enjoyable enough in its own good-natured if unexceptional way.