“Well, I guess I’m your bachelor party.”

Justin’s rating: Didn’t expect so much manure in a non-Back to the Future flick

Justin’s review: This review comes courtesy of a list of under-appreciated ’80s films that I honestly never heard of. The movies, not the list, obviously. Intrigued by a particular mention of a rom-caper flick with fantasy elements and a kind of strange twist, I sought out It Takes Two (not to be confused with the Olsen Twins project from 1995).

If you don’t mind a verdict in the second paragraph: It’s kind of awesome in a totally ’80s way, especially if you like exuberant comedy, sports cars, and romantic triangles.

On the cusp of his wedding to Stephi (Leslie Hope, Men at Work) and the start of a new job working for his wife’s father, Travis (George Newbern, Adventures in Babysitting) heads down to Dallas to take a Lamborghini knock-off for a test drive in preparation for his new job. The sales associate, Jonni (Kimberly Foster, One Crazy Summer), ends up being the spice of life that Travis didn’t know he was missing, and the two end up connecting in a very carnal way.

That’s right. While most movies with this setup would have the vacillating partner toe the line of infidelity but not cross it, Travis boldly goes where idiots have gone before and outright cheats on his fiancee. Yet he still loves her and wants to marry her, so Stephi isn’t quite out of the picture yet.

I’ll give it to this movie: That’s a much more difficult narrative road to travel without making us hate the protagonist. It’s also opening wide the door to accusations of providing a male fantasy where a man is excused from having his cake and eating it too because he’s, like, flustered about marriage or something.

So how does It Takes Two pull this off? Simple: It takes a serious theme and doesn’t take it that seriously while at the same time not disrespecting it. This is a more surreal and zany comedy in the vein of Better Off Dead with the unraveling chaos of, say, Clue or Noises Off.

Travis is a guy living in a pressure cooker of two intense families, and so you understand — if not condone — why he’d suddenly grab on to the most attractive option that hasn’t been predestined for his life. He and Stephi are sheltered kids who are on the edge of a life-changing moment and haven’t really connected in a way that they should have in their pre-marital preparations.

We see how, for example, Travis and Stephi deal with overwhelming choices during a split scene where Travis goes all-in on every single car option at the dealer while Stephi is more analytical and realistic with her bridal registry picks. And Jonni is an attractive (in more ways than one) alternative to the sheltered existence that Travis has had so far in his life that you kind of want the two of them to drive off into the sunset together.

I can’t believe this comedy isn’t better known because it is good. Let me repeat that: It is so good. The jokes fly fast and furious, the movie’s pace is a breathless 82 minutes of pre-wedding jitters, and the actors are game with whatever lunacy they’re asked to do. It’s got three main characters that are all, in their way, likable and relatable. And also stupid.

We’re talking about a movie with a zombie bride, a super-hot sports car, a sales room that’s essentially a video game, the most chaotic wedding preparations ever put to film (there’s even a portrait artist), a malevolent burrito, a heist in an auto dealership, and an anarchistic mechanic.

Director David Beaird takes what could’ve been a forgettable movie-of-the-week and pours in so much effort crafting an experience that kept me glued to the screen. There are lots of little clever edits, an energetic score, and absolutely zero fat on this thing. It’s got a story — a weird, human story — to tell, and by gum, it’s going to tell it.

With a generic title and barely a release, this movie got seen by about nobody when it first came out. Yet It Takes Two is of the best ’80s comedies I’ve discovered in a long, long time. Well, since Big Man on Campus, which was also pretty awesome (and equally largely unknown). I think it’s high time we helped this film become the cult classic it deserves to be.

Intermission!

• This guy’s walking through his own personal music video with lasers and slow-motion dancing girls
• On your last day at the oil rig, you should hug your boss
• A kid pulling a dog on a wagon on a railroad track is a recipe for a very sad news segment the next day
• The artist painting a portrait (!) of the bride in her dress
• The chef bringing a dead frog and chicken into a bridal fitting to make her choose the meal
• “That is his earring. We have a matched set.”
• “How do I look?” “Like a mafia game show host.”
• ZOMBIE BRIDE!
• Moms, always giving you rubbers when you jump on a bus
• “Look kid, you bought a seat, sit in it.”
• The sped-up introduction to Dallas
• If you’re going to test drive a Lamborghini, you might as well go all out
• Check out those ’80s computer graphics and sound effects!
• Yes, get the digital tape option!
• The Mexican chefs vying for Travis’ attention
• On burritos: “Six is enough.” “You gonna die man.”
• “What’s the damage?” “Your colon.”
• Secretary… OF THE ENTIRE WORLD
• “Wedding ring goes around the fourth finger, husband goes around the pinky.”
• The car talking to Travis in Italian
• Travis making faces through the bars is a peak life moment
• Not many romcoms have a scene set in the stomach of the protagonist
• Not many romcoms have a lecture on manure
• The mechanic’s really groovy mechanical arm
• The band with an accordion, washboard, and sax cannot be a good band
• Stephi is a bit of a bridezilla
• “You breast fed her a little more, she wouldn’t be so jumpy.”
• Lots of auto dealerships stock their show floor with a pack of dobermans
• Blowing it up is a way to go, even if you stack up a million years of bad car-ma
• “You can’t destroy nothing, you just rearrange it.”
• That’s a very well-choreographed wedding
• TRO-VA-RE!