Bail Out (1989)

The plot of Bail Out is too convoluted for its own good, but all you really know is this: It stars and was produced by one Mr. David Hasselhoff.

Davey plays “White Bread,” a tennis instructor and bounty hunter hired by an annoying Jewish bail bondsman to make sure spoiled heiress Nettie Ridgeway (The Exorcist‘s Linda Blair) shows up in court. Then he turns into Rambo when she’s kidnapped by swarthy foreign types with Uzis. With the help of his skip-tracin’ pals Blue (the black guy) and Bean (the Hispanic guy), he vows to rescue her.

At first, Nettie doesn’t even like White Bread (who can blame her?), leaving him stranded without clothes at a cheap sex motel. Earlier, he plays air tennis with a stripper while she dances onstage! The strangest moment, however, comes courtesy the bail bondsman, who refuses to pay Bean in cash because his family will “use it to buy marijuana and wine!”

Despite all the dead bodies, the movie wants to be funny, too. Unfortunately, its attempts at humor are reminiscent of the lame ’80s NBC TV-movies loaded with sitcom stars like Night Court’s Richard Moll, Family Ties’ Tina Yothers, a lesser Cosby kid or two and of course Jackée from 227. You know the ones: They were either set in Europe or at a summer camp.

Hasselhoff’s in way over his head in this one on all fronts. He even says to himself, “I can’t believe he called me ‘fuckface!’” Really, David? —Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

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