Outrageous Fortune (1987)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Leslie Dixon (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery

Tagline:

The CIA is trailing them. The KGB is tracking them. The phone company is tracing them. The police are chasing them. The cowboys are herding them. And the Indians are hunting them. Are they going to fall for all of that?

Plot:

Lauren and Sandy are total opposites who end up in the same acting class and who don't know they are sharing a lover...

Plot Keywords:

Acting | Faked Death | Money | CIA | Buddy Comedy

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins

Cast

Shelley Long	...	Lauren Ames
Bette Midler	...	Sandy Brozinsky
Peter Coyote	...	Michael Sanders
Robert Prosky	...	Stanislav Korzenowski
John Schuck	...	Agent Atkins
George Carlin	...	Frank Madras
Anthony Heald	...	Weldon
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Cab driver
Florence Stanley	...	Ticket agent
Jerry Zaks	...	Tobacco clerk
John DiSanti	...	Police lieutenant
Diana Bellamy	...	Madam
Gary Morgan	...	Agent Fanansky
Christopher McDonald	...	George (as Chris McDonald)
J.W. Smith	...	Gilroy, Dealer #1

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Interscope Communications

Trivia:

The title is taken from the Shakespearean play "Hamlet", Act 3, Scene 1, line 58, which is the famous "To be or not to be" speech. In the movie, Long's character confesses to a classmate at the beginning of the movie that she someday hopes to play Hamlet.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end a handful of money is thrown from a cliff to be gathered by the Indians below. But some of the tribesmen already have wads of cash sticking out of their pockets.

Quotes:

Lauren: Excuse please. I vas hoping you were to... how do I to say?
Ticket Agent: You say it quickly, I'm off in three minutes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Bob Saget/TLC (#20.19)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Get Out Of Denver

Daft but fun

Well educated Lauren and loud mouth blagger Sandy are complete opposites who don't get on. They are also in the same acting class and share the same lover – school teacher Michael. When Michael is killed in a terrorist attack the two find out about each other but realise that Michael isn't dead. With the police in disbelief the two set out to find him. However they find that other groups are after him too and they begin to figure out that Michael was not a mild mannered school teacher at all.

From the opening credits you realise that this is going to be very 80's. The credits and the music are very wacky and zany. This isn't a bad thing in itself but it hasn't dated well. The plot is pretty daft and revolves around the highly unlikely fact that two scorned lovers can track a guy that no-one else can find. Once past this then it's plain sailing plot wise as it doesn't even pretend to be serious.

The film then goes from one comedy scene or chase to another. It's not high-brow stuff but it's breezy and quite good fun to watch. The stereotypes of the characters work well enough and serve up easy `odd-couple' laughs while the energy of the cross country adventures easily manages to keep wind in the film's rather silly sails. The 80's thing is very evident in the tone of the film, which is breezy, care free and silly. This hasn't dated well and occasionally feels a little past it's sell by date, but it's still fun.

Long and Midler work well together and play off each other quite nicely. The only downside is how stereotyped their two roles are – but I suppose that's the point. Coyote is OK as are Prosky, Heald and Carlin, although all the meat belongs to the two female leads.

Overall this isn't art in any form, it's silly, wacky, zany and all those other terrible words. The interplay between the leads is worth watching as simple as it is and the `zany'™ energy of the film almost manages to hustle us through without caring how daft the whole thing is. Simple but fun.