Norman Mailer's "Tough Guys Don't Dance" is incredibly convoluted and complicated, and even I, after sitting through the whole movie, understand what happened. There's a weird connection I have to this film... I was laughing along and confused at moments, but found myself enjoying it. The film was written and directed by Norman Mailer, the famed novelist, and is even based off of his 1984 title. The film is meant to be a somewhat noir, and it is, and even has an overplotted string of events. I particularly liked the elements that director Mailer incorporated into the setting, creating a somewhat ghostly connection to this little Massachusetts town in which the film is set. Mailer's film also looks nice and polished. Problems arise with 1) the screenplay, and 2) the acting. The screenplay is one of those times where a lot of the dialogue would best be suited for a novel; for example, the line "I am all wrong for this kind of imbroglio" is more for a novel than a real film. I certainly have never heard anyone talk like that before in real life, let alone in a movie. And the acting is another thing altogether; much of it is laughably bad, including the now famous scene in which Ryan O'Neal as Tim Madden exclaims "oh man... oh god, oh man... oh god, oh man". It is these elements, combined with Mailer's interesting sense of direction that make this quite a fun time at the movies. It is most certainly not a good movie, and I know Mailer wasn't trying for one. I'm pretty aware that this was not intended to be a really good movie, and with that, it's a successful movie because of how sheerly ridiculous the whole idea even is.
I'm going to keep this basic, but the plot follows Tim Madden (Ryan O'Neal) an overtly dramatic writer and ex-con. He's known for alcoholic blackouts, and awakens one morning from an eventful two week bender only to discover a pool of blood in his car and a severed head in a trash bag hidden where he usually keeps his stash of drugs.
The best element of this movie, as many critics have pointed out, is Tim's father, Dougy (Lawrence Tierney of "Reservoir Dogs" fame) who has a great characterization and performance from Tierney. The rest of the film is really hard to take seriously, but then again, Mailer didn't want us to take it seriously. It's campy too. Every element of this picture is ridiculous. It's a pretty funny picture, and if you do see it, I'm sure you will 1) not be disappointed and 2) laugh a great deal. It's a lot of fun, if you can even decode the plot.
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)
3 STARS (OUT OF 4)
Written and directed by Norman Mailer
Starring Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Debra Stipe and Wings Hauser
Rated R
110 minutes.
I'm going to keep this basic, but the plot follows Tim Madden (Ryan O'Neal) an overtly dramatic writer and ex-con. He's known for alcoholic blackouts, and awakens one morning from an eventful two week bender only to discover a pool of blood in his car and a severed head in a trash bag hidden where he usually keeps his stash of drugs.
The best element of this movie, as many critics have pointed out, is Tim's father, Dougy (Lawrence Tierney of "Reservoir Dogs" fame) who has a great characterization and performance from Tierney. The rest of the film is really hard to take seriously, but then again, Mailer didn't want us to take it seriously. It's campy too. Every element of this picture is ridiculous. It's a pretty funny picture, and if you do see it, I'm sure you will 1) not be disappointed and 2) laugh a great deal. It's a lot of fun, if you can even decode the plot.
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)
3 STARS (OUT OF 4)
Written and directed by Norman Mailer
Starring Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Debra Stipe and Wings Hauser
Rated R
110 minutes.