Captain Ron tells the story of Martin Harvey (Martin Short), who upon learning that his recently deceased uncle has bequeathed him a sailing yacht once owned by - of all people - the late Clark Gable, decides to take his family on a vacation to the island of Ste. Pomme de Terre so he can retrieve the boat. When they reach the island, they find out the boat is actually in terrible condition. Upon hearing this, the yacht broker decides to not hire an experienced captain to help navigate the Harvey family back to the states. Instead, he goes local, hiring Captain Ron Rico (Kurt Russell). Despite Captain Ron's quirky behavior, Martin, needing to get back the U.S. so he can sell the boat, settles for his services.
This is one of those movies that you don't expect much from until you actually watch it. The plot is as simple as they come, but that's not the film's strength anyway. The film's strength lies solely in the comic back and forth between Kurt Russell and Martin Short, who are both hilarious together. Credit should also go to casting directors Mary Gail Artz and Barbara Cohen for casting both Russell and Short in their respective roles. It would've been so expected and easy just to cast Kurt Russell as the straight man and Martin Short - who even prior to this film was no stranger to quirky roles - as the crazy, yet well meaning, Captain Ron. It really is a shame this film flew under the radar as much as it did when it first came out (although today it has gained somewhat of a cult-following), 'cause there really are quite a few laugh out loud moments here whether it's Ron's unorthodox ways of looking after Martin's son, Martin's diary narration or his rant on misreading Ron's warning about "gorillas" ("He could've said freedom fighters... Revolutionaries, but no he says guerrillas!"). All in all, this is a film where you simple leave your critic's brain at the door and just enjoy a good laugh with two great comic performances.
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