Deal of the Century (1983)

A small time arms dealer in South America to sell weapons to the revolutionaries, winds up negotiating the sale of an experimental plane to the nation's dictator.

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Paul Brickman, Bernard Edelman (book)

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, Gregory Hines

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Eddie Muntz
Sigourney Weaver	...	Catherine DeVoto
Gregory Hines	...	Ray Kasternak
Vince Edwards	...	Frank Stryker
William Marquez	...	Gen. Cordosa
Eduardo Ricard	...	Col. Salgado
Richard Herd	...	Lyle
Graham Jarvis	...	Babers
Wallace Shawn	...	Harold DeVoto
Randi Brooks	...	Ms. Della Rosa
Ebbe Roe Smith	...	Bob
Richard Libertini	...	Masaggi
J.W. Smith	...	Will
Carmencristina Moreno	...	Woman Singer (as Carmen Moreno)
Charles Levin	...	Dr. Rechtin

Storyline

Arms dealers from several companies vie to sell the most expensive and highest tech weapons to a South American dictator. There are complications; understanding the exact nature of how 'gifts' are used to grease the wheels of a sale, a religious conversion from one of the salesman and a romance that begins to grow between two competitors, not to mention the imminient financial collapse of one of the companies if they don't make this sale.

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Plot Keywords:

dictator | arms dealer | helicopter | used car salesman | explosion | 

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Taglines:

Chevy Chase and his partners are arms dealers. They sell second-rate weapons to third world nations. But they're not out to stick it to anyone.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

CBS scheduled a broadcast of this film for December 1986. It was canceled due to the revelation of Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra arms deal scandal, and was replaced with (Risky Business (1983).

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Goofs

The Cordosa guard falling into the lake (trying to retrieve the golf ball) appears out of sequence. Previously the guard has been seen retrieving the golf ball and throwing it back into play. A following scene shows the guard stepping/falling into the lake.

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Quotes

Ray Kasternak: You got a nice flame job there, Becha. I'm gon' gi'ya a lil' touchup! A lil' touchup! Just a lil' touchup for ya!

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 5 minutes from this film for its 1988 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in Exterminator 2 (1984)

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Soundtracks

Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
(Cerisier Rose et Pommier Blanc)
Music by Louiguy
French lyrics by Jacques Larue
English lyrics by Mack David
Performed by Dámaso Pérez Prado

User Reviews

A forgotten classic comedy

The overall plot of this movie is weak however there are A LOT of memorable scenes. These scenes make me watch this movie a couple times a year. This movie has a similar tone to Caddyshack, Head Office, Fletch, etc. I think it's one of Chevy's better performances. His narration in the movie helps add to the overall comical tone.

If you are at all a Chevy Chase fan and enjoy his older work (Caddyshack, Fletch, etc.) this is definitely worth renting.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deal of the Century

Filming Locations:

Chet Holifield Federal Building - 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Niguel, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,520,605, 6 November 1983

Gross USA:

$10,369,581

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,369,581

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Dream Quest Images

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1