D: John Huston
ABC (John Foreman)
US 1985
129 mins
Crime/Comedy
W: Richard Condon & Janet Roach [based on the
novel by Richard Condon]
DP: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Ed: Rudi Fehr & Kaja Fehr
Mus: Alex North
PD: Dennis Washington
Cos: Donfeld
Jack Nicholson (Charley Partanna),
Kathleen Turner (Irene Walker), Robert Loggia (Eduardo Prizzi), William Hickey (Don Corrado Prizzi), John Randolph (Angelo Partanna), Anjelica
Huston (Maerose Prizzi)
Jack Nicholson & Kathleen Turner star as hired
killers for rival Mafia family's who fall in love when meeting at a wedding, only later to be assigned to assassinate each other.
Critically lauded on its original release, the film is
frankly, incredibly slow to get going with a needlessly puzzling presentation and a large cast of characters. For a black comedy, it could have done with a more focused narrative with
sharper jokes. The performances are fine, especially Anjelica Huston who won an Oscar for her work, but for me, this is amongst the most overrated films of the 1980's, (though I'll
happily admit that I was probably too young to appreciate it when I first watched it).
6/10