A small time arms dealer in South America to sell weapons to the revolutionaries, winds up negotiating the sale of an experimental plane to the nation's dictator.
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Title: Deal of the Century (1983)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Chevy Chase | ... |
Eddie Muntz
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| Sigourney Weaver | ... |
Catherine DeVoto
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| Gregory Hines | ... |
Ray Kasternak
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| Vince Edwards | ... |
Frank Stryker
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William Marquez | ... |
Gen. Cordosa
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Eduardo Ricard | ... |
Col. Salgado
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| Richard Herd | ... |
Lyle
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| Graham Jarvis | ... |
Babers
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| Wallace Shawn | ... |
Harold DeVoto
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Randi Brooks | ... |
Ms. Della Rosa
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| Ebbe Roe Smith | ... |
Bob
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| Richard Libertini | ... |
Masaggi
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J.W. Smith | ... |
Will
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Carmencristina Moreno | ... |
Woman Singer
(as Carmen Moreno)
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Charles Levin | ... |
Dr. Rechtin
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Arms dealers from several companies vie to sell the most expensive and highest tech weapons to a South American dictator. There are complications; understanding the exact nature of how 'gifts' are used to grease the wheels of a sale, a religious conversion from one of the salesman and a romance that begins to grow between two competitors, not to mention the imminient financial collapse of one of the companies if they don't make this sale. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Taglines:
Chevy Chase and his partners are arms dealers. They sell second-rate weapons to third world nations. But they're not out to stick it to anyone.Parents Guide:
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
4 November 1983 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Das Bombengeschäft See more »Filming Locations:
Santa Barbara, California, USACompany Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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(Cerisier rose et pommier blanc)
Music by Louiguy
French lyrics by Jacques Larue
English lyrics by Mack David
Performed by Dámaso Pérez Prado
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
When Eddie is in the trailer talking to Ray on the radio, he's wearing the headset with the microphone on the left side. In the next shot, it's on the right side. See more »Quotes
Eddie Muntz: It's only my second day in San Miguel, and I'll tell ya', I'm ready to hitchhike to Jonestown for a few laughs and a cool drink. This place is hotter than Dolly Parton's minipad. My job takes me all over the world. Lebanon, Nicaragua... Newark. You name it, I'm in there. Always where the action is.See more »
Soundtracks
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White(Cerisier rose et pommier blanc)
Music by Louiguy
French lyrics by Jacques Larue
English lyrics by Mack David
Performed by Dámaso Pérez Prado
See more »
It seems like everyone's opinion on this movie is evenly divided. People either love it or hate it. Personally, I am not a Chevy Chase fan by any stretch of the imagination. But I like many of William Friedkin's films so I wanted to give this a chance and went in without too many preconceptions.
It obviously can't stand up to a comparison to DR. STRANGELOVE as a few here have done. However, it still remains a fairly on-target, unflattering satire of the weapons industry and by extrapolation, other mass production industries that love to sell the government and public crap product cosmetically hyped as the next great answer to all their fears and desires, product that ends up being useless or obsolete within a year (if it even works properly in the first place). There are some pretty funny scenes sprinkled throughout and I was pleasantly surprised through the whole film how much dark, subversively funny jabs Friedkin gets away with. Especially in a big studio movie.
There's one scene in particular that makes the film well worth seeing --Gregory Hines (I believe it was him) gets into a verbal altercation with another extremely hotheaded driver (a maniacal Tony Plana) (over a fender bender? it's been a while since I've seen it) -- the verbal sparring quickly escalates into a life-threatening situation and the emotional dynamics the two actors bring to the scene is scarily believable while remaining extremely funny. This scene alone provides a microcosmic metaphor for the provocations of nations going to war and perfectly illustrates the pointless absurdity of aggressive behaviour in general. Also of note, it's great to see the underrated Vince Edwards in a large supporting role as the ruthless air weapons manufacturer.
DEAL OF THE CENTURY is never less than amusing and has some extremely funny sequences -- much better than many of these IMDb reviews would lead you to believe.