Crackers (1984)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Louis Malle

Writer:

Jeffrey Alan Fiskin (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 February 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The Comedy that dreams the impossible scheme! [Video Australia]

Plot:

Garvey is a San Francisco pawnshop operator. His unemployed and criminal friends Dillard, Turtle, and Weslake...

Plot Keywords:

Pawnshop | Burglary | Gay Couple | Caper | One Word Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	Weslake
Jack Warden	...	Lou Garvey
Sean Penn	...	Don Dillard
Wallace Shawn	...	Turtle
Larry Riley	...	Boardwalk
Trinidad Silva	...	Ramon
Christine Baranski	...	Maxine
Irwin Corey	...	Lazzarelli
Edouard DeSoto	...	Don Fernando Pablo Jesus de la Vaca
Anna Maria Horsford	...	Slam Dunk
Mitchell Lichtenstein	...	Artiste
Charlayne Woodard	...	Jasmine
Tasia Valenza	...	Maria Elena Mercedes
Marjorie Eaton	...	Mrs. O'Malley
Ed Call	...	Officer Darney (as Edward Call)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | USA:PG (certificate #27176) | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Movie Connections:

Remake of I soliti ignoti (1958)

Soundtrack:

City Boy Lover

An awkward misfire, but still one of the best comedies of the 80's

Yeah, there's something wrong with CRACKERS. For one thing, it has more than its share of gags that fizzle and some laughless lulls peppered throughout. However, it's very well made (obviously... it's Malle behind the camera), the cast is top notch (and clearly devoted to their roles), and when the gags DO work they're unbearably funny, in my opinion.

CRACKERS is a total 1980's time capsule, to be sure, with music that is grating and dated, but if you can get past that (which I never seem to have a problem doing with older movies, for some reason) it's quite a ride, and it's nothing like any movie I've seen before. Yes, I've seen BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET (which, to me, is one of the best comedies ever made), but despite the plot similarities, CRACKERS feels nothing like that film. In fact, Malle's comedy stands alone; it has a manic quality that makes it feel like a European farce rather than a Hollywood comedy.

It's too bad that CRACKERS isn't on DVD. It deserves to be, especially since Malle's no longer with us and his films are finally surfacing on DVD. Is this one of his best films? No, but it's definitely one of his most entertaining, if you're willing (and able) to accept it for what it is. I will admit, however, that it's hard to believe, when watching CRACKERS, that the director also helmed MURMUR OF THE HEART, Atlantic CITY and LACOMBE, LUCIEN.