The American Success Company is movie gold. In the vein of much better-known movies like, Joe vs the Volcano, Being There, and Flirting with Disaster. Much like the aforementioned movies, The American Success Company is a movie with transcendent messages at the core of the fun, funny and whimsical tale. I remember watching this during my college years and being completely entertained. Now, forty years later, it holds up better than ever. Only now, the underlying messages of positive masculinity (a non-pc term these days), positive thinking (the good kind) and relationship dynamics, I like this movie even more than I remember. The only flaw in this film (which really isn't a flaw) is the dated look and formatting which might bother some. It's formatted for theaters in what I think is 1.85:1 which looks more like it's formatted for television vs widescreen. The old look aside, this movie is money. To quote one of my favorite moveis (Swingers), it's "so money, that it doesn't know how money it is". See it! Share it! It's comedy and stoic philosphy gold.
Reviews
2 Reviews
The American Success Company
(1979)
Pure gold! Rediscoverd after 40 yrs and better than ever!
22 January 2021
The Clovehitch Killer
(2018)
Dylan who? McDermott is transformed in this excellent thriller.
9 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I've always been a Dylan McDermott fan but in "Cloverhitch" he does his best work, maybe ever. McDermott mixes his suave, everyman persona with a subtle darkness that feels so real it becomes a slow-burn creepfest.
The writing, directing and acting uniformly lean toward "less is more." And less is more as the end result successfully blends thriller, mystery and family drama into one. I loved this movie for all of these not-so-easily blended elements.
For those who ask what happened to the final victim and how did she not reveal her assailant? Well, to you critics I say you weren't paying attention. While there are some minor leaps in logic required to make the final narrative work, in the end the story is tight enough not to fall apart under its own weight of pathology and consequences.
The performances of all were consistently strong but the standouts were the sweet-creepy and odd boy scout dad, McDermott and the mysterious girl-next-door loner turned girlfriend, Madisen Beaty. But again, the entire cast was solid if not excellent. Honorable mention goes to Samantha Mathis, who in a minor role as Mr. Burnside's (McDermott) wife, allowed us to see spousal codependent behavior at its worst with almost no exposition.
Overall this was a great ride in the slow-burn thriller genre. I want to give it a 10 out of 10 but nines and tens are reserved for special films like "The Departed." Still, I hope this IFC original reaches a large audience. It's so good it certainly deserves to.
The writing, directing and acting uniformly lean toward "less is more." And less is more as the end result successfully blends thriller, mystery and family drama into one. I loved this movie for all of these not-so-easily blended elements.
For those who ask what happened to the final victim and how did she not reveal her assailant? Well, to you critics I say you weren't paying attention. While there are some minor leaps in logic required to make the final narrative work, in the end the story is tight enough not to fall apart under its own weight of pathology and consequences.
The performances of all were consistently strong but the standouts were the sweet-creepy and odd boy scout dad, McDermott and the mysterious girl-next-door loner turned girlfriend, Madisen Beaty. But again, the entire cast was solid if not excellent. Honorable mention goes to Samantha Mathis, who in a minor role as Mr. Burnside's (McDermott) wife, allowed us to see spousal codependent behavior at its worst with almost no exposition.
Overall this was a great ride in the slow-burn thriller genre. I want to give it a 10 out of 10 but nines and tens are reserved for special films like "The Departed." Still, I hope this IFC original reaches a large audience. It's so good it certainly deserves to.
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