Nobody's Fool (1986)

Cassie has a miserable job in a bar, is lonely and depressed. Her boyfriend left her when she told him that she's pregnant. After several failed suicide attempts, she'd given away her baby ... See full summary »

Director:

Evelyn Purcell

Writer:

Beth Henley

Stars:

Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts, Mare Winningham

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rosanna Arquette	...	Cassie
Eric Roberts	...	Riley
Mare Winningham	...	Pat
Jim Youngs	...	Billy
Louise Fletcher	...	Pearl
Gwen Welles	...	Shirley
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Kirk
Charlie Barnett	...	Nick
J.J. Hardy	...	Ralphy
William Steis	...	Frank
Belita Moreno	...	Jane
Lewis Arquette	...	Mr. Fry
Ronnie Claire Edwards	...	Bingo
Ann Hearn	...	Linda
Scott Rosensweig	...	Winston

Storyline

Cassie has a miserable job in a bar, is lonely and depressed. Her boyfriend left her when she told him that she's pregnant. After several failed suicide attempts, she'd given away her baby for adoption, and regrets it now. When a theater group from Los Angeles comes to the small town of Buckeye, she meets stage technician Riley. Discreetly he starts wooing her. She likes him very much, but still has feelings for her former boyfriend Billy, too.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnancy | waitress | panties | underwear | love triangle | 

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Taglines:

Everybody loves somebody, somehow

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

En annorlunda tjej

Filming Locations:

Prescott, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$563,358

Company Credits

Production Co:

Island Pictures, Katz/Denny Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Riley: I don't trow things out windows, I don't screw nurses on linolium floors anymore... Look, I like... What I am trying to say is. Do you want to go out with me?
Cassie: What? God! I don't know.
Riley: You don't know. Look I have done worser things then you will ever do.
Cassie: You have? Alright then.

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Connections

Referenced in Blood Massacre (1991)

User Reviews

Hip romance.

Nobody's Fool surprisingly had some very funny moments, which made this a slightly different 80's romantic comedy about small town eccentrics which has the usual formula of strange guy meeting confused girl and falling in love (though their affection is very ambiguous) and then breaking up and then falling in love again.

Rosanna Arquette plays Cassie, a young woman who's small town life is constricting, although she's confused about how she really feels about her life there. She lives with her spacey mom (Louise Fletcher) and obnoxious brother, works a thankless job as a bartender with her friend who seems to be her only source of emotional support (Mare Winningham), and she still can't get over a jerk named Billy (hands down, the scene where she's at the resturaunt talking to Billy in that balloon outfit really got me howling).

So, along comes Riley (Eric Roberts) a quiet guy with a dangerous, but reformed past who passes through town as a member of the theater crew. The arrival of the theater group inspires Cassie to do something different. She joins a thespian class and actually turns out to be pretty good (the scene where she and the other members of her class perform and the audience heckles them silly is one of the funniest scenes in the movie). Riley really likes Cassie and realizes that her potential outgrows her little town and tries to convince her of that. Riley's there to get Cassie, confused enough as she is about what she should do, to figure out just what it is she wants and what it is she plans on doing with the rest of her life.

It is a sweet romantic comedy that has some incredibly funny moments, and you can see how good Roseanna Arquette is for comedy like this as sort of a shy, confused type of young woman who tries to get people to notice her, even though the people around her haven't got a clue about much of anything. This helps transcend beyond the template story. It's worth watching, especially if you enjoy Rosanna Arquette. I think this is one of her best early performances.