In the darkly comedic world of Southern California comes this gem of a detective movie, except no one is a cop. Instead, we find raging drunk Alex Cutter (John Heard) brutally traumatized by war that he spends his days in a Bukowski drunken cloud trying to fight any fight. When one night, his best pal Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) witnesses someone who dumped a dead body.
When mentioned to Cutter, suddenly he has a moment of purpose and sets out to solve the murder of a young hitchhiker.
Does it matter who really did it? Sort of. The McGuffin is actually the murder, the rest is an adventure between two friends who are living on the fringe of the ultra-wealthy. In a way, a dissection of how the powerful keep these people at bay. And it is funny. Not that Heard's performance of Cutter is amusing, he's abrasive, ugly, and downright mean. If anyone has ever been around a mean drunk, this is that in spades. What is surprising is how well this movie holds up. It's got nice slow moments between all the players, okay to slowly burn through the day to day of...day drunks, night drunks and friends who love other friend's wife. If you approach this movie for action packed violence, it's not that. It's a great behavior study with genuine drama. Beautiful work also by Lisa Eichorn playing Mo, the long suffering, somewhat enabling wife of Alex Cutter. She appeases his alcoholism due to some deep obligation (and, maybe, some pity). They have drifted apart, and seem more roommates than spouses. To me, she anchors what we're all thinking. Especially when they set out to truly solve the mystery through shenanigans. In a way, it's almost like "Stand By Me." In that, the efforts to see a dead body meant much less than the adventure to get there. By the time you get to the resolution, it really doesn't matter. Most will feel cheated by the ending. Director Ivan Passer (admittedly this is my first Passer film) really allows moments between the actors to develop. It's great in the sense that they feel like real people. And that sometimes it is as simple as fighting with neighbors, getting drunk and doing dumb things. Spinning our wheels until we find some purpose. This is a human story. Beautiful work by cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth as expected. It holds up to the years. Surprising this was 1981. Looks great! Anyway, it's a fun romp through the rich life through the eyes of poor. A solid yarn!
Does it matter who really did it? Sort of. The McGuffin is actually the murder, the rest is an adventure between two friends who are living on the fringe of the ultra-wealthy. In a way, a dissection of how the powerful keep these people at bay. And it is funny. Not that Heard's performance of Cutter is amusing, he's abrasive, ugly, and downright mean. If anyone has ever been around a mean drunk, this is that in spades. What is surprising is how well this movie holds up. It's got nice slow moments between all the players, okay to slowly burn through the day to day of...day drunks, night drunks and friends who love other friend's wife. If you approach this movie for action packed violence, it's not that. It's a great behavior study with genuine drama. Beautiful work also by Lisa Eichorn playing Mo, the long suffering, somewhat enabling wife of Alex Cutter. She appeases his alcoholism due to some deep obligation (and, maybe, some pity). They have drifted apart, and seem more roommates than spouses. To me, she anchors what we're all thinking. Especially when they set out to truly solve the mystery through shenanigans. In a way, it's almost like "Stand By Me." In that, the efforts to see a dead body meant much less than the adventure to get there. By the time you get to the resolution, it really doesn't matter. Most will feel cheated by the ending. Director Ivan Passer (admittedly this is my first Passer film) really allows moments between the actors to develop. It's great in the sense that they feel like real people. And that sometimes it is as simple as fighting with neighbors, getting drunk and doing dumb things. Spinning our wheels until we find some purpose. This is a human story. Beautiful work by cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth as expected. It holds up to the years. Surprising this was 1981. Looks great! Anyway, it's a fun romp through the rich life through the eyes of poor. A solid yarn!