On this day August 28 1981, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash premiered in theaters. The offbeat comedy starred Carol Burnett as a former nightclub singer and Alan Arkin as a washed up baseball player turned street performer. Together, the unlikely duo found themselves in the middle of a spy plot after discovering a stolen briefcase filled with government documents.
The film blended street level quirkiness with espionage elements, leaning into character driven humor rather than high paced action. Burnett and Arkin had a natural chemistry, but the film’s tone and pacing made it a tough sell at the box office. Despite the star power, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash struggled to find a wide audience and received mixed reviews upon release.
Still, for fans of early 80s oddball comedies, the film offers a unique snapshot of two legends taking on unconventional roles in a story that plays more like a stage comedy than a traditional Hollywood caper.
80s insight: The movie was a real life collaboration between Alan Arkin and his wife Barbara Dana, who wrote the screenplay. It was a personal project that reflected the era’s growing trend of character driven comedies outside the mainstream.
The film blended street level quirkiness with espionage elements, leaning into character driven humor rather than high paced action. Burnett and Arkin had a natural chemistry, but the film’s tone and pacing made it a tough sell at the box office. Despite the star power, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash struggled to find a wide audience and received mixed reviews upon release.
Still, for fans of early 80s oddball comedies, the film offers a unique snapshot of two legends taking on unconventional roles in a story that plays more like a stage comedy than a traditional Hollywood caper.
80s insight: The movie was a real life collaboration between Alan Arkin and his wife Barbara Dana, who wrote the screenplay. It was a personal project that reflected the era’s growing trend of character driven comedies outside the mainstream.
