Stick (1985)

Director:

Burt Reynolds

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (novel)
Elmore Leonard (writer) ...

Release Date:

26 April 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Crime

Tagline:

It's his last chance. And he's going to fight for it.

Plot:

Ernest (Stick) Stickley returns from prison, and very soon he gets involved with his old friend in a drug-running deal that goes sour...

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Gangster | Betrayal | Scorpion | Ex Convict

Cast

Burt Reynolds	...	Ernest 'Stick' Stickley
Candice Bergen	...	Kyle McClaren
George Segal	...	Barry Braham
Charles Durning	...	Chucky
Castulo Guerra	...	Nestor
José Pérez	...	Rainy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Cadiente	...	Nestor's Hood
Gary Cervantes	...	Nestor's Hood (as Carlos Cervantes)
Richard L. Duran	...	Nestor's Hood
Tricia Leigh Fisher	...	Katie
Leonard P. Geer	...	Old Man (as Lenny Geer)
Jorge Gil	...	Chucky's Hood
Laurah Guillén	...	Girl in Restaurant
Lamar Jackson	...	Edgar
Richard Lawson	...	Cornell
Monica Lewis	...	Female Vocalist
Deanna Lund	...	Diane
Ignacio Menocal	...	Nestor's Hood
Jesus Menocal	...	Nestor's Hood
Phanie Napoli	...	The maid
Sachi Parker	...	Bobbi
Dar Robinson	...	Moke
Alex Rocco	...	Firestone
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Nestor's Hood
Bert Rosario	...	Bodega Owner
Tim Rossovich	...	Cecil

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1985) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Originally set for release in August 1984 but Universal demanded Reynolds to shoot additional action scenes and cut down the film's humor to make it more commercially accessible.

Quotes:

Barry Braham: What's a boomerang that dosen't come back ?It's a Stick.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jackie Brown (1997)

Soundtrack:

I Don't Think I'm Ready for You

Could have been a lot better

Having read some of the comments from other users and some of the reviews, this film has come in for some criticism. Whilst some of the comments are fair, I think it's important to take into context the life of this film. Another user has already pointed out that Reynolds was suffering with TMJ at the time of the release and had a few flops before hand, so his star was on the wane. However, this movie was supposed to have been released in 1984 and initial filming (judging by many scenes) indicate Reynolds was in good health. Somehow the studio didn't like the first cut of the film,not enough action,too slow,not good for box office. However, the film as a character piece may well have been quite interesting and judging by the first 15 minutes which were excellent,less studio meddling would have more beneficial in this case. Reynolds did not want to make an all out action film but the studios panicked and asked for re-shoots. By this time though, Reynolds had lost a lot of weight due to the TMJ problems and was clearly neither in the physical or mental state to shoot these extra scenes. As a result, we have a number of scenes where Reynolds is markedly thinner than in other scenes. This creates a very disjointed look and obviously doesn't help the film at all. It would be very interesting to see the original cut as Reynolds intended - i'm certain it would have ended up being a far better movie than the result we got. As it stands, I think Stick has some very good moments and some very sub-standard moments. The good are the first 15 minutes,especially the scene with Mokey,Rainy and Stick in the van - nice tense atmosphere in the van, well directed. Other good scenes are when Stick has to remove the ex-driver from the party ('now say goodnight' as he poured gasoline over his face and flicks out a lighter), the mo-key death scene (a superb stunt and not bettered for many years),the scenes with Candice Bergen and Burt (i thought they quite effective). The sub-standard are the poor editing, healthy Burt, v.ill Burt..it's very obvious.Some of the action scenes,especially where sticks stops and waits for mo-key to catch up? the training sequences - why show that, is this Rocky..bit of vanity for Mr Reynolds there i think. The ending was a bit weak..i don't think it was originally intended to be like that - i haven't read the book, so i could be wrong but again we had ill Burt in this scene. In conclusion, this movie could have been a lot better that it was but due to a number of circumstances it turned out to be an fairly average Burt Reynolds thriller. Could have been another Sharkeys but not meant to be. A shame really, now where is that original cut?