Take this Job and Shove It: Blu-Ray Review

Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time is the 1981 comedy, Take this Job and Shove It, starring Robert Hays and Barbara Hershey. This happens to be one of those comedies I remember seeing quite often as a child on television. There wasn’t a whole lot that I remembered about the film other than the country song that inspired the title. Still, being the Airplane! fan that I was growing, up, I pretty much would watch anything that starred Robert Hays.

The story centers on corporate slickster Frank Macklin (Hays), who is sent back to his hometown in Iowa to revitalize and restructure the local brewery that his boss just acquired. This includes replacing the longtime employees with machines that can do the jobs quicker and cheaper. The problem is that Macklin’s childhood friends are just a few of the workers at risk of losing their jobs at the brewery. Frank does get the brewery out of the red and ramps up production, even though the quality of the new beer is quite terrible. Unfortunately, the increase in production and profit leads to the new owner wanting to sell it off for a quick profit and put the locals out of work for good.

Take this Job and Shove It may still be a catchy song, but the film itself isn’t quite as enjoyable today as it once was. The supporting cast that includes David Keith, Martin Mull and Art Carney is solid, but I just didn’t find the film to see be funny. However, if you are a fan, the Blu-ray may be worth picking up.

Blu-ray Extras:

• Theatrical Trailer
• B&W and Color Stills Gallery

By: Marc Ferman