Ed Okin can't sleep. His life isn't working out. Late one night he drives out to LAX and inadvertently rescues the mysterious Diana from a quartet of Iranian killers. For the next two days, he is plunged into her bizarre world of international criminals, assassins and sugar-daddies. Ed does his best to help, but he has his own problems ...
There are two main aspects to this enjoyable thriller which raise it above others. The first is the character of Ed, who's a world away from the stereotypical action hero / disgruntled cop male lead. Ed isn't stupid but he is boring and non-responsive. A bit like Chauncey in Being There, everybody else assumes there's far more to him than there actually is. Jeff Goldblum pulls this trait off note-perfect, somehow managing to make Ed both dull but still funny and watchable. The other great amusement here is the extraordinary cast; it has some fine actors (Farnsworth, McGill, Papas), some weird people in key parts (French auteur Vadim as a gangster, British writer Lynn as a tailor, a hilarious Bowie as a killer) and an astonishing array of filmmakers in cameo roles (a technique Landis reuses to good comic effect, especially in Spies Like Us and Innocent Blood). The eagle-eyed can spot Jack Arnold, Paul Bartel, David Cronenberg, Jonathan Demme, Richard Franklin, Amy Heckerling, Jim Henson, Lawrence Kasdan, Daniel Petrie and Don Siegel as well as Rick Baker (who is very funny as a drug dealer) and Landis himself as the clumsiest of the four Savak goons. It has plenty more to recommend it though - the story is exciting and has a pleasantly dizzying feel to it, although the comic/thriller tone veers sometimes (as in the scene where Harrold is murdered). It's also a photobook of eighties super-rich, with glamorous Beverly Hills locations and opulent sets by John Lloyd, all gleaming marble penthouse apartments and sky-blue swimming pool mansions. If I have one problem with the movie it's the Diana character, who is required as the backbone of the plot, but is not really very likable or interesting. It's odd that she has a whirlwind lifestyle and Ed has an incredibly boring one, but he's fascinating and she isn't - I think it's down to the actors but I'm not sure. Anyway, this is a terrific thriller, with Landis in fine form, corralling all the crazy elements of his movie together. Written by Ron Koslow, with a great wailing blues score by Ira Newborn and B.B. King. Check it out.
There are two main aspects to this enjoyable thriller which raise it above others. The first is the character of Ed, who's a world away from the stereotypical action hero / disgruntled cop male lead. Ed isn't stupid but he is boring and non-responsive. A bit like Chauncey in Being There, everybody else assumes there's far more to him than there actually is. Jeff Goldblum pulls this trait off note-perfect, somehow managing to make Ed both dull but still funny and watchable. The other great amusement here is the extraordinary cast; it has some fine actors (Farnsworth, McGill, Papas), some weird people in key parts (French auteur Vadim as a gangster, British writer Lynn as a tailor, a hilarious Bowie as a killer) and an astonishing array of filmmakers in cameo roles (a technique Landis reuses to good comic effect, especially in Spies Like Us and Innocent Blood). The eagle-eyed can spot Jack Arnold, Paul Bartel, David Cronenberg, Jonathan Demme, Richard Franklin, Amy Heckerling, Jim Henson, Lawrence Kasdan, Daniel Petrie and Don Siegel as well as Rick Baker (who is very funny as a drug dealer) and Landis himself as the clumsiest of the four Savak goons. It has plenty more to recommend it though - the story is exciting and has a pleasantly dizzying feel to it, although the comic/thriller tone veers sometimes (as in the scene where Harrold is murdered). It's also a photobook of eighties super-rich, with glamorous Beverly Hills locations and opulent sets by John Lloyd, all gleaming marble penthouse apartments and sky-blue swimming pool mansions. If I have one problem with the movie it's the Diana character, who is required as the backbone of the plot, but is not really very likable or interesting. It's odd that she has a whirlwind lifestyle and Ed has an incredibly boring one, but he's fascinating and she isn't - I think it's down to the actors but I'm not sure. Anyway, this is a terrific thriller, with Landis in fine form, corralling all the crazy elements of his movie together. Written by Ron Koslow, with a great wailing blues score by Ira Newborn and B.B. King. Check it out.