Movie Log: Caddyshack

I'd never actually seen Caddyshack before; I guess I spent all my early '80s dumb-comedy time with Meatballs and Ghostbusters. (And this was an R-rated movie that came out when I was 11, so I couldn't officially see it for a while...and I have to admit, I had very little interest in golf then, or even now, which kept me away from it as well.)

But I'm watching a lot of old dumb comedies now, and catching up on the ones I missed. (I hope to catch up on serious movies eventually, but I haven't been in the mood to watch anything depressing alone recently -- and "serious" usually means "depressing," when it comes to movies.)

This is basically a generic shortish movie in the semi-serious Breaking Away mold, with a bunch of comedy subplots (Bill Murry as the gopher-hunting groundskeeper, Rodney Dangerfield as the rich jerk who might buy the country club, and so on) hanging loosely from various points, and (incidentally) providing most of the interest. In the time-honored comedy movie tradition, it apparently started off being a semi-straight golf movie with supporting roles for a bunch of funny people, and those actors ran away with the movie, since they were much more interesting on a minute-to-minute basis than the ostensible plot.

I suspect it's funnier seen in a crowd than alone, but it was pleasant enough by itself. It does feel very '80s to me, though, and not just in a "look at how young those people were" way. (And, if I were actually a feminist -- I'm not, though Vassar tried its damndest to make me one -- I'd comment on the very few roles for women here, including the one "hot slut" who manages to be the love sex interest for two of our main characters, sleeping with both of them to ensure that R-rating.)

I'll end with two things that puzzled me:

1. Where is this movie supposed to be set? I might have missed some dialogue placing it -- and it's not that important anyway -- but I'd like to know. It seems to be in some generic suburbia that isn't near New York, but nothing more specific than that.
2. And why does the hero's girlfriend have a thick Irish accent? Is she supposed to be straight off the boat? Was that a joke of some kind?