moonspinner55 Review of Strike It Rich

Strike It Rich (1990)

Molly Ringwald is unconvincing as a kooky youth in the 1950s...

[5/10 · 10 September 2005]

Molly Ringwald is such a modern, grounded presence on the screen that she's an awfully odd fit for a romantic comedy set in the '50s. Paired up curiously with a much-older man (the somewhat square Robert Lindsay), Molly finds herself in Monte Carlo without her rich benefactor (an amiable John Gielgud), and soon the couple is without funds. The picture begins well, and utilizes its cramped budget to good effect, but it's my guess that the later scenes were filmed first because by the last reel, Ringwald and Lindsay suddenly seem very uncomfortable together. This is a slight romantic comedy which may play better on TV than it did in the theater; the production looks great and there are some laughs early on. How does the grown-up Molly Ringwald fare? She still has that special spark, but without many witty lines--à la the pen of John Hughes--she's just a bit unsure of herself, though still pretty (in black, this time). ** from ****