Moon Over Parador feels like it was written with Richard Dreyfuss specifically in mind, and after seeing the movie it’s hard to fathom anyone else playing the part. Accompanying him can be seen Raúl Juliá who also performs tremendously well as the menacing head of the police masterminding the whole ordeal.

The movie skillfully builds up a mouth watering situation that would’ve lended itself to a great variety of humor, but never quite explores it deeply enough. The end result is entertaining, but never quite side splittingly funny. Whatever humor there is, it’s because of the snappy delivery of the lines by the talented actors involved, not necessarily because of the lines itself. There are also scenes that don’t really contribute to anything, like the homecoming of the dictator’s mother.

Still, there’s something heartwarming about the whole movie that makes me want to be generous with the scoring. A credit for that has go to Dreyfuss who plunges into the role with a great energy, making Moon Over Parador his second best 80s comedy after Stakeout.

80s-o-meter: 87%

Total: 80%