GOING BANANAS

US, 1988, 95 minutes, Colour.
Dom De Luise, Jimmie Walker, David Mendenhall, Herbert Loam.
Directed by Boaz Davidson.

Going Bananas is a pleasantly raucous and inconsequential family comedy. It focuses on a trip to Africa, African settings, the towns, the African natives. It also focuses on beautiful African scenery and animal life.

David Mendenhall is a young boy, Ben, who goes to Africa in the company of Joe - played by an ever more rotund Dom De Luise. Their adventures include finding a talking monkey, its friendship, its capture, contacts with a smuggler and also with a circus. There is also an exasperated police chief, played by Herbert Lom.

The adventures are fairly predictable, done in a cheerful and noisy way. Probably entertaining for family audiences who are undemanding. The film was directed Boaz Davidson for the Cannon Group - and written by one of its executives, Menahem Golan. Golan has directed many films including Diamonds, Over The Top. Davidson is best known for a series of teenage sex comedies set in Los Angeles.