moonspinner55 Review of Oscar

Oscar (1991)

"A leopard don't change his stripes!" .. "You mean spots?" .. "I mean Snaps!"

[2/10 · 10 December 2016]

1930s gangster "Snaps" Provolone makes a deathbed promise to his papa that will he go straight; one month later, with his goons disarmed, Snaps is trying to get on the board of directors of the bank, but his former cronies think he's planning something big; meanwhile, Snaps' sheltered daughter is pretending to be pregnant by Oscar the chauffeur in order to get out of the house. Busy, fairly laughless farce, adapted from Claude Magnier's play by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland, hopes to evoke the screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s, but needed a far more nimble touch (and a likable troupe of players) to succeed. Here, director John Landis plays traffic manager with his hammy cast, encouraging them to flail away and mug without funny characterizations (it's all gangster shtick). An over-rehearsed Sylvester Stallone has the lead; his clipped line readings aren't fresh, and one can see right away that henchman Chazz Palminteri would do much better with the part (Palminteri's scene emptying his pockets-- a cartoonish, familiar gag--manages to get the biggest laugh). Stallone isn't much of a comedian (he's too heavy-spirited), and "Oscar" isn't much of a comedy, although one can fixated on the picture watching scene after scene fizzle without benefit of precise pacing and delivery. *1/2 from ****