The North Avenue Irregulars

"Five dames ain't gonna find no bank. We'll be lucky if they don't get us all killed! If you want me honest opinion, it's a wild duck chase."

Reverend Michael Hill (Hermann) is the new pastor at North Avenue Presbyterian Church.  He has many new ideas for how to run things, and puts the Rafferty's in charge of one the church funds.  Sunday morning he learns that the money was bet in a horse race.  Unable to get the money back, he begins a crusade against the criminal underworld that has a stranglehold on the town.

He is soon contacted by two treasury agents, Marv (Constantine) and Tom (Franken), who want his help.  They need ordinary citizens to place bets and monitor the criminals.  No men in the community want to be involved, so Hill recruits some women from his church: Vickie (Harris) who brings along her kids, church secretary Anne (Clark), newly engaged Jane (Valentine), vain Claire (Leachman), outspoken Cleo (Capers), Rose Rafferty (Kelly) and her husband Delaney (Fowley).  While the government and criminals think they are a joke, can the ladies of North Avenue get organized and do the impossible?


A hidden gem of Disney films...  My best friend suggested this film and I trust her judgement, so I decided to give this film a chance, and I'm so glad I did.  It takes a little bit to get into the film, but once the women go undercover it picks up.  Each woman gets a chance to shine, although Cloris Leachman steals the show as Claire.  She has great reactions / physical comedy, but the best moment is when she loses her fingernails (trust me).  Patsy Kelly and Douglas Fowley are great as the Rafferty's.  They are an entertaining duo and get some great lines.  Edward Hermann's Reverend Hill and Susan Clark's Anne stand as the straight-man characters amid the chaos, but also get a few laughs.

This is a fun and funny, family screwball film, with a stellar cast.  Quite a few well-known comedians have small roles and get sizable laughs.  The ending chase is the funniest scene in the film!  And the music, specifically the song performed by Strawberry Shortcake (can't find it anywhere on the internet, which is surprising), which will be stuck in your head for several hours.

Hard to find, but definitely worth the search!

The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) 100 minutes
Director: Bruce Bilson
Starring: Edward Hermann as Reverend Michael Hill
Barbara Harris as Vickie Sims
Susan Clark as Anne
Karen Valentine as Jane
Michael Constantine as Marv Fogleman
Cloris Leachman as Claire
Patsy Kelly as Rose Rafferty
Douglas Fowley as Delaney Rafferty
Virginia Capers as Cleo
Steve Franken as Tom Voories