What's wrong with 'The Fortune'? A lot of things. My God, this movie is really, really bad - but how did it end up that way, and why?
The paper thin plot follows two idiotic hustlers Oscar and Nicky (Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty) who try their best to earn an heiress's fortune.
And so, hilarity ensues - not. It's a strange concoction of bizarre writing, overacting and terrible direction from the usually reliable Mike Nichols ('The Graduate'). The movie also has a reliable cast and a great screenwriter (Carole Eastman, who wrote 'Five Easy Pieces', one of my favorite movies maybe ever). There are moments in the film where it is crushingly, shockingly, disturbingly clear that no one has any idea what they are making, what they are doing, or, really, why they care. It's one of those things - if they don't care, why should we care? Good question. Its paper thin plot, a rehash of screwball classic plotting and bad, uninspired comic timing, is incredibly investing, and is made even worse by the fact that the two main stars, Beatty and Nicholson, overact like toddlers. Beatty tries an American type accent I think, but when you know what he really sounds like in real life, you cringe and roll your eyes. Nicholson, often the most moderated performer in Hollywood, and maybe ever, goes completely crazy with a stunningly bad, terribly conceived part and horrible, plodding screaming, yelling, and general nonsense like acting like a total loony, reminds me more of a bad, uninspired rip-off of Jim Carrey.
Out of the attempted, oh, 85 jokes, I laughed twice. Let me remind you also - this is a Mike Nichols movie! Going into his films I usually expect to laugh at least a dozen times. Twice - that's all. I laughed at one clever gag which I don't even remember, and some opening dialogue that was, granted, pretty funny. 'The Fortune' is stunningly, shockingly bad - it's what 'Ishtar' was hyped up to be (I loved 'Ishtar,' so when people slam that as the worst ever and forget about this movie, I am baffled). Unlike 'Ishtar' - it's literally never funny, or even amusing.
The Fortune (1975)
1 STAR (OUT OF 4)
Directed by Mike Nichols
Screenplay by Carole Eastman
Starring Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Stockard Channing and Florence Stanley
Rated PG
88 minutes.
The paper thin plot follows two idiotic hustlers Oscar and Nicky (Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty) who try their best to earn an heiress's fortune.
And so, hilarity ensues - not. It's a strange concoction of bizarre writing, overacting and terrible direction from the usually reliable Mike Nichols ('The Graduate'). The movie also has a reliable cast and a great screenwriter (Carole Eastman, who wrote 'Five Easy Pieces', one of my favorite movies maybe ever). There are moments in the film where it is crushingly, shockingly, disturbingly clear that no one has any idea what they are making, what they are doing, or, really, why they care. It's one of those things - if they don't care, why should we care? Good question. Its paper thin plot, a rehash of screwball classic plotting and bad, uninspired comic timing, is incredibly investing, and is made even worse by the fact that the two main stars, Beatty and Nicholson, overact like toddlers. Beatty tries an American type accent I think, but when you know what he really sounds like in real life, you cringe and roll your eyes. Nicholson, often the most moderated performer in Hollywood, and maybe ever, goes completely crazy with a stunningly bad, terribly conceived part and horrible, plodding screaming, yelling, and general nonsense like acting like a total loony, reminds me more of a bad, uninspired rip-off of Jim Carrey.
Out of the attempted, oh, 85 jokes, I laughed twice. Let me remind you also - this is a Mike Nichols movie! Going into his films I usually expect to laugh at least a dozen times. Twice - that's all. I laughed at one clever gag which I don't even remember, and some opening dialogue that was, granted, pretty funny. 'The Fortune' is stunningly, shockingly bad - it's what 'Ishtar' was hyped up to be (I loved 'Ishtar,' so when people slam that as the worst ever and forget about this movie, I am baffled). Unlike 'Ishtar' - it's literally never funny, or even amusing.
The Fortune (1975)
1 STAR (OUT OF 4)
Directed by Mike Nichols
Screenplay by Carole Eastman
Starring Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Stockard Channing and Florence Stanley
Rated PG
88 minutes.