Blind Date (1987)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writer:

Dale Launer (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

"Do you recognize me? I used to be a respectable citizen. I had a good job and a promising future. I made only one mistake - I went on a blind date. ...Anyone got $10,000 for bail?"

Plot:

Walter Davis is a workaholic. His attention is all to his work and very little to his personal life or appearance...

Plot Keywords:

Butler | Slapstick | Yuppie | Blind Date | Lawyer

Cast

Kim Basinger	...	Nadia Gates
Bruce Willis	...	Walter Davis
John Larroquette	...	David Bedford
William Daniels	...	Judge Harold Bedford
George Coe	...	Harry Gruen
Mark Blum	...	Denny Gordon
Phil Hartman	...	Ted Davis
Stephanie Faracy	...	Susie Davis
Alice Hirson	...	Muriel Bedford
Graham Stark	...	Jordan the Butler
Joyce Van Patten	...	Nadia's Mother
Jeannie Elias	...	Walter's Secretary
Herb Tanney	...	Minister (as Sacerdo Tanney)
Georgann Johnson	...	Mrs. Gruen
Sab Shimono	...	Mr. Yakamoto

Also Known As:

Blake Edwards' Blind Date (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 (w) | Iceland:L | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

Madonna and Sean Penn were approached to star together in this movie, but Blake Edwards wanted to cast Bruce Willis in the male lead and Melanie Griffith or Kim Basinger in the female lead, so Madonna backed out. Eventually Basinger would be chosen for the female lead.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the disco fight scene, the paint on David's face alternates between being spotty and smeared between shots.

Quotes:

Nadia Gates: I just have this chemical imbalance almost like an allergy to alcohol. It just makes me crazy!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Naked Movie (2002)

Soundtrack:

CRASH, BANG, BOOM

Perhaps it was made in the wrong decade...

Blake Edwards once again turned to his bread-and-butter genre, and kept things nice and simple. However, for whatever reason, this downplayed treat was and is often panned by critics left and right. I submit to you that this is because most of us just don't get it.

I'll use the plot portent to tell you what this movie isn't, first of all. Despite appearances, it's not about up-and-coming, wannabe yuppie Walter Davis (Bruce Willis), not really about his blind date of the title with the beautiful and potentially deadly Nadia Gates (Kim Basinger), not about psychotic defense lawyer and jealous ex David Bedford's (John Laroquette) attempts to break the two up and steal back his first love, and not about the punches and rolls with which these people, along with their families and acquaintances, must deal.

It's just my theory, but I think most of us didn't get this movie because it was a humorous commentary on the time during which it was made. This movie is all about the '80s; the yuppie culture, the self-absorption, the repeated attempts of folks to find solace in getting and having things, and our near-tragic couple's struggle to be who they are, even if it doesn't fit with '80s yuppie culture, and embrace what's important. Consider it--during her drunken binge, Nadia assaults everything that could make Walter a yuppie as if it were a well-organized plan. Walter, in turn, tries his hand at the same thing, mostly upon David and car salesman brother Ted (late, great Phil Hartman). Sure the details give a chuckle or two, but there's an almost cerebral humor going on under the surface of the film, right at the core, which pokes fun at a cornerstone of life in the '80s.

This led to the movie's downfall in favor, since the very people at which the movie so heavily pokes fun were probably among the first ones to see it premiere in the '80s. Even if they got it, they probably didn't appreciate the joke. Essemtially, Edwards had spoofed the '80s DURING the '80s. A gutsy move, and witting or unwitting, this gave it a kind of staying power. It really is about more than you think.

So, if you're one of the lonely soldiers who likes the movie, try to view it in this context and see what you think of it. If you hated it, please try to observe this point of view, and again, see what you think. Blind Date is one of the most different comedies to emerge from this decade. No matter where you sit on the quality issue, perhaps it deserves a second look.