Pink Cadillac (1989) User Reviews

Not a skip tracer's ride

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 24 November 2013]

Pink Cadillac has Clint Eastwood playing a skip tracer who most assuredly is not Dirty Harry. But he's a guy who's good at his job and is most clever at arresting subjects, catching them off guard with all kinds of cons and disguises.

He also likes a challenge so he's not terribly thrilled with getting an assignment to track down Bernadette Peters who simply has the bad misfortune to be married to a real loser in Timothy Carhart. He's done some jail time and made some real friends with the birth righters, a white supremacist neo Nazi gang who work on the outside as well.

And what they're into is counterfeiting and when Peters walks out on Carhart taking their baby and the Neo Nazi loot with both real and bogus bills, she's got them after her as well.

This film which will please die-hard Clint Eastwood fans didn't rise to any occasion for me. I just could not quite accept the neo-Nazis as even comic villains. And the film seemed to be a one note joke about the Pink Cadillac that hovered over the film. That no one would expect Clint Eastwood to be driving in such a conspicuous and flamingly effeminate ride. Even if it is Peters' car which they have to use out of necessity.

Clint and Bernadette never quite connected either. Funny thing that with a different leading lady and a more serious treatment this might have been an Eastwood classic.

But they would have to get rid of the Pink Cadillac as well.

Cadillac Clint meets Pink Peters

[tom-darwin · 6/10 · 14 April 2006]

Someone who, as the result of long military deployment at the end of the Cold War, saw nearly every theatrical release of the time is familiar with the Eastwood Mayoral Late Bubblegum Period. Scholars define this as Clint's tenure as mayor of Carmel, between the Marine anthem "Heartbreak Ridge" in 1986 and Clint's Western opus "Unforgiven" in 1992. In 1988 he put a belated end to Dirty Harry in the "Dead Pool," in 1990 he had a PG-13 bondage scene with Sonia Braga in "The Rookie," and in between there was this streetwise chase caper that was, to our loss, his only work with Bernadette. Bounty hunter Tommy (euphemistically a "skip tracer" since he's chasing a girl) captures bail jumper Lou Ann in Las Vegas and becomes caught up in the chase for a cash stash hidden in her pink '59 Caddy convertible by her drug-addict husband & his white supremacist, counterfeiting friends. Clint is at his most likable in these average-Joe tough-guy roles, men who survive only by their wits in seedy jobs (bounty hunter, bank robber, detective, street boxer) & take their lumps when they fall for lost causes or damsels in distress. Peters is fantastic in a humdrum role, going from sullen to sassy to sexy to sensitive without letting us down for an instant. The film is pure fun for its first two thirds, featuring little besides the two stars (Clint mimicking Bernadette's unique soprano is not to be missed). Geoffrey Lewis, an essential in all Eastwood movies like this, is entertaining as ever, this time as an addled hippie forger. The story follows the formula of several movies of this period, the best of which was "Midnight Run" (Cop/bounty hunter finds initial quarry, who's a patsy holding the key to bringing down a really nasty criminal/terrorist outfit). Unfortunately, the bad guys are too psycho-nasty for the light-hearted script, which also features Lou Ann's baby as a hostage. The pre-"Sopranos" mob bad guys of "Midnight Run" brought just the right amount of humor to distill their menace, but if you can find anything funny about neo-Nazi redneck drug addict survivalist militiamen who kidnap babies, please seek therapy. Clint actually gives it a shot near the end, so never let it be said he's not up for a dramatic challenge. "Pink Cadillac" isn't worthy as the only vehicle for the Broadway star and the greatest tough guy of his day, but it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours at sea. Compliments to "Speed Channel's" Lost Drive-in for bringing this & other forgotten car movies back to the small screen.

Not a waste of time, but one of my least favourite Clint Eastwood films

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 5 December 2011]

I don't consider Pink Cadillac a terrible movie, just one I didn't care for. It is a well made movie, with a beautiful car, a good soundtrack, a few witty quips in the script, Clint Eastwood giving his all to the role and Bernadette Peters all bubbly and fun. On the other hand, I find the film rather dull, with a very sluggish first half, a mostly incoherent plot, characters that don't have much substance and you don't care much, some jokes that feel forced and lethargic direction.

Overall, Pink Cadillac was not as bad as I thought, but considering how much I respect Eastwood, both as an actor and a director and a large body of his films, it could have been better. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Track em and snatch em Clint.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 26 September 2010]

Pink Cadillac is directed by Buddy Van Horn, written by John Eskow and stars Clint Eastwood, Bernadette Peters & Timothy Carhart. Story sees Peters as Lou Ann McGuinn , who finally has enough of her no good husband Roy (Carhart) and flees off with their baby in his treasured pink Cadillac. Unbeknown to her the car contains a lot of money garnered from illegal means by the white supremacist group that Roy was hanging around with. Bounty hunter Tommy Novak (Eastwood) is then brought in to capture her since she has skipped bail. Once locating her an unusual friendship begins to form as both of them get deeper and deeper into trouble as the gang close in.

Pink Cadillac was a flop on release, and now it's almost forgotten by not only the casual film fan, but also by many of Eastwood's loyal fan club. Yet it's hardly the disaster some have painted it out to be. Yes the plot is a thin one and has been done brilliantly before; notably Midnight Run a year previously. While there's not enough action and comedy to sustain the 2 hour running time. It's also not unfair to say that the villains here-an array of dunderhead white supremacists-are weak and in the case of Carhart ; badly acted. But Pink Cadillac does have its moments and in Eastwood & Peters we have a most engaging, unpredictable odd couple act that is easy to warm too. Peters turns in a fine comedy performance, both psychically and verbally. Her ability to blend cute and needy with spunky feistiness works well off of Eastwood's more rugged charms. It seems that finally having a co-star of some worth is loosening the big man up, for here he enjoys playing comedy with his series of caricature disguises that he uses to catch the bail jumpers that form part of the story.

Perhaps it's a little unsettling to some fans to see Eastwood not being overtly macho, but this does make for a nice change of pace for Eastwood. A return to his days with the Orangutan; which incidentally up to Pink Cadillac's release were his biggest hit movies. But breaking it down it's a neat character that Eastwood has taken on with Tommy Novak. Almost anti-macho yet able to single handedly protect Lou Ann and her baby. You feel that this was a personal and deliberate choice for Eastwwood in a decade that for him mostly consists of diminishing sequels and poorly scripted misfires. Pink Cadillac has been lumped in with the worst of his career, but viewing it now it holds up much better than nearly all of his 80s output. File it along side Bronco Billy as one of his most underrated performances.

Not breaking any rules of the genre, or showing technical prowess and sharp scripting, Pink Cadillac is still the kind of inoffensive fun that knows its limits. Boosted by a relaxed Eastwood and a perky Miss Peters it's just waiting to be reappraised by a new audience. 7/10

Hated by critics and a box office flop...did it deserve all this?

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 27 August 2017]

"Pink Cadillac" was one of Clint Eastwood's few flops. Not only did the film do poorly in the box office, but critics hated it. Was all this really merited or was the film actually much better? Well, after watching about 90% of it, I must say that the hatred is, in this case earned. Why only 90%? Because I disliked the film and characters so much I couldn't make myself finish the movie...and that is very rare for me.

Eastwood plays Tommy Nowak, a skip tracer. This is a person who works for a bail bondsman in order to track down folks who ran away to avoid prosecution...thus leaving the bondsman with a huge debt. He's really good at what he does and is very clever in order to catch these people...which is why what he does with Lu Ann McGuinn (Bernadette Peters) makes very little sense. In her case, for once, her tears and request for his help after she's captured makes little sense--especially since she is on the run from the law AND already lied to him and escaped from him already. However, the pair go off on an adventure to see her baby before she is turned in...and along the way the sleaze-bag husband and his Neo-Nazi friends show up and Nowak must contend with them.

There are two huge problems with the film. First, Nowak's character is very inconsistent and makes little sense. Second, and most importantly, there really is no chemistry between him and Lou Ann. These are problems and good writing wouldn't have let such glaring problems get into the script. Overall, a dopey film which tries, in vain, to be a comedy but just comes off as forced and disappointing.

Eastwood expanding his acting range

[smatysia · 7/10 · 31 January 2000]

I suppose this was part of the period when Clint Eastwood was intent on expanding his acting range from just squint-and-shoot. Actually I thought he did OK at it. Bernadette Peters was sooo cute and quirky, like she always is. There was one emotional scene where I cringed at her acting, but other than that once, she was great. The stereotypical white supremacists were laughable. Clint needs to come up with some better bad guys. These were just as bad as the biker gang from his orang movies; in fact, some of them might be the same ones.

Pink Cadillac

[jboothmillard · 3/10 · 24 June 2011]

I knew the leading actor was in this film because I had heard the title quite a few times, I didn't realise it was meant to be a funny as well as serious, and I had to see why it wasn't highly rated. Basically Tommy Nowak (Clint Eastwood) is a skip tracer, with a talent as master of disguise who fool a criminal on the phone or in person into thinking well of him, and then he makes his move to catch them for whatever crime they are wanted for. His latest target is Lou Ann McGuinn (The Jerk's Bernadette Peters) who has skipped bail, and she married to husband Roy (Timothy Carhart) who is Nazi inspired and has a stash of counterfeit money, which he hides in the pink Cadillac. Tommy does catch Lou Ann in Reno, Nevada, but he comes to like her with the time they spend, being chased by Roy's gang of thugs for example. It is when the bad guys kidnap her baby who was being looked after by sister Dinah (Frances Fisher), Tommy decides to help his new friend get her baby back and deciding to forget about her in to the police. While driving through the West and catching a few more criminals with the disguise tactic along the way, romance is blooming between Tommy and Lou Ann. Eventually after some adventure, they do eventually catch up to Roy and the other criminals, and in the end they do manage to get the baby back and Tommy and Lou Ann drive away in the pink Cadillac together seemingly as fugitives. Also starring John Dennis Johnston as Waycross, Michael Des Barres as Alex, Geoffrey Lewis as Ricky Z, William Hickey as Mr. Barton, Home Alone's Gerry Bamman as Buddy, James Cromwell as Motel Desk Clerk, Bryan Adams as Gas Station Attendant and young Jim Carrey as Lounge Entertainer. I will admit I did giggle a little at the moments where Eastwood was in disguise as the radio DJ, the rodeo clown, the casino hotshot and the trash pool player, Peters was also quite amusing as his female companion, and the car of the title is obviously nice, but the film is too long, the more serious side of the story is silly, and not all the jokes are funny, so all in all, a disappointing comedy drama. Adequate!

Well Made But Dull

[bob_bear · 6/10 · 13 August 2005]

Like most people I guess, I'd never heard of this movie (it not getting a theatrical release in the UK). But I like Clint so when it came around on late-night TV...

The leads are excellent, the script is witty, but the direction plods. The first third is so slow it almost had me reaching for the off switch. (A Pink Cadillac that runs on Valium, is no fun ride, me thinks.) Still I hung on in there and am not disappointed that I did.

Eastwood's attempt at playing "characters" was vaguely cringe-worthy. Let's face it, his best role is playing Clint Eastwood. Even so, he still has enough charm to get away with trying. Bernadette Peters adds subtlety, humor and integrity to her role. The film is well made. It hangs together. It was just never worth a special trip to the cinema. But fine on DVD or video with wine and a pizza.

See Midnight Run Instead

[gottogorunning · 5/10 · 16 August 2005]

As mentioned in another comment, this film is very, very similar to the brilliant De Niro movie Midnight Run which came out a year before this one. This one pales in comparison unfortunately. I wouldn't have thought it was a deliberate move by Eastwood to cash in on the success of Midnight Run, because I don't think Clint has to ride on anyone's coat tails, and was Midnight Run a big hit anyway? Actually this must be one of Clints least known films, its very rarely shown on TV here in Great Britain, in fact I think it went straight to video, a Clint Eastwood film straight to video! It must be really bad yeah? well no, not really, but not exactly great either. Its a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours, and does show Clint doing different things. He takes on different persona's in his Bounty hunter role to catch the crooks including a DJ and a redneck, which I thought was hilarious, really funny. Bernadette Peters was really good in this I thought as well, bright and quirky. What really let it down was the gang of Nazi redneck bikers (or whatever they were meant to be), they bordered on comedy villains, in fact I kept waiting for Clyde the Orangatun to wander on screen and punch them out and drink all their beer! So one for Clint fans only I'm afraid (like me!) P.S See if you can spot Jim Carrey AND Canadian rocker Bryan Adams in the film.

Better Than Average Screwball Comedy

[user-38 · 8/10 · 6 February 2004]

Q: What's hotter than a blond in a pink cadillac convertable? A: a blond in a pink cadillac convertable with a trunkful of money. So hot, in fact, she's got her hapless husband, his white supremist buddies and a bounty hunter on her trail.

This a true screwball comedy, not just because of the absurd situations and unlikely romance, but for its warmth, humor and intelligence. Some of the laughs are pure slapstick, others pure wit, but through it all, the lovers sparkle. Burnadette Peters, probably the best screwball actress of her generation, is a delight as the smart, silly Lu Ann. Eastwood displays a surprisingly light touch as the bounty hunter who gets drawn into the hurricane she's inadvertantly released.

If you're looking for the Great American Film, try Citizen Kane. If you want braindead humor, try Dumb and Dumber. But if you want a light, funny, sexy, smart flick, you might want to check out Pink Cadillac.

aging well

[buby1987 · 7/10 · 21 April 2005]

I didn't care for this movie when it first came out, but now it plays much better than most late 80's action flicks. There is great chemistry between Eastwood and Bernadette Peters. Eastwood has been canny about who he teams up with. Pink Cadillac is in the mold of Two Mules For Sister Sara, The Enforcer and The Gauntlet, in which Eastwood's macho character gets saddled with a female partner, and has to make the best of it. In fact, this plot device is used in Million Dollar Baby.

Pink Cadillac is simply good old-fashioned Hollywood film-making, no fancy cinematography or special effects, just a simple but well-told story with two characters that we like and care about. Eastwood is gracious in allowing his female characters to live and breathe and have unexpected reservoirs of strength and resilience. This is evident in movies like Tightrope with Genevieve Bujold and The Enforcer with Tyne Daly.

As for Eastwood, he makes it look effortless, but he is an underrated actor. Pink Cadillac gives him the opportunity to do some odd character acting bits, as he adopts eccentric accents and disguises in his job as a skip tracer. One gets the feeling Eastwood is enjoying himself immensely, and it is a joy to see him doing off-the-wall stuff, although it is also cool to see Eastwood being Eastwood during the action sequences.

Pink Cadillac also shares with other Eastwood films like Bronco Billy, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, A Perfect World and Honkytonk Man an affinity with American people living on the margins. While most filmmakers (such as the smug Coen Brothers) treat rural American characters with contempt, Eastwood views all people with a measure of respect and affection (except for the white supremacists).

There is also a great sense of place in this film, as it captures off the beaten path locations in Northern California that are seldom used in film. Director Buddy Van Horn provides efficient craftsmanship that doesn't call attention to itself, but his eye always alert to the telling details of character and setting.

In all, an unexpected pleasure, and an underrated road film.

Pink Cadillac

[phubbs · 3/10 · 2 July 2019]

In the long long long filmography of the mighty Clint Eastwood, this has to be one of the most unusual. Unusual in the fact that whilst watching it you're wondering just why the hell he agreed to star in it (other than lots of money obviously). In short, this movie is absolute hot garbage, red hot trash, and I'm not being funny. It's just odd because this is Clint we're talking about and this movie really is THAT bad.

So basically, Lou Ann (Bernadette Peters) is white trash living in a trailer park (yep the stereotypes come thick n fast here). Her other half Roy (Timothy Carhart) is a member of a white supremacist group (perfect political commentary for this modern age as everyone loves white supremacists these days). The group has a large sum of counterfeit money (turns out to be real but that matters not one jot in the grand scheme of things) which Roy is supposed to look after. Alas he gets busted and Lou Ann takes the fall.

Feeling somewhat fed up Lou Ann does a runner in Roy's pink Cadillac (ah ha!) which is exactly where he stores the loot (see where this is going yet?). So Roy and his nasty white male friends go after her. At the same time Tommy Nowak (Eastwood) is hired to track down Lou Ann and bring her back to Sacramento (I think it was) cos she skipped bail. Naturally Tommy finds her but falls in love and ends up helping her yadda yadda yadda. Oh and there's also a baby involved which probably would have been killed by the end of this story considering all the danger.

OK so firstly Clint is clearly too old in this movie. He was too old way before this but its really showing here. Yeah he looks sort of OK but he can barely move with any speed and its painfully obvious in all action sequences which don't involve simply standing still and punching someone. There are far too many obvious stunt double moments and one sequence where Tommy runs after this other guy in downtown Reno (unfortunately an aged fat bloke) is hilariously awful looking. Both guys are CLEARLY running at a snails pace and CLEARLY having trouble at that! It really does look very very bad.

The very first time we see Tommy bust some criminal he's been hired to track is also really stupid. Tommy is supposedly a master of disguise (oh yes) and he goes to this huge amount of trouble to set this criminal up. But in a wholly idiotic move he reveals himself to the criminal BEFORE he gets the guy fully in his car. This of course leads to a fight which totally could have been avoided. Now let's focus on Tommy and his disguises, and by that I mean Clint and his God awful acting. Yep Clint can do the steely-eyed, somewhat muted tough guy, but sure as hell can't do comedy. The scene where he's pretending to be some kind of brash casino contest host is pure cringe, 100% face behind your hands cringe. Later on he then pretends to be a slack-jawed yokel type, oh Jesus!

But wait, that's not all. The movie is titled 'Pink Cadillac' after the car they use for most of the runtime. This is completely pointless though because they could have used any car, it really didn't make a blind bit of difference. I guess it just sounded kinda cool. Much of the movie is set in Reno which I have been to and here lies another problem. Reno is a small city, the main casino strip is actually very small, just two or three rather short streets that don't actually have that many casinos (as of 2019). So it's pretty clear they must have driven around in circles to make the car chases and in-car shots look good.

And then we have the bad guys, oh boy. Now these guys are your stereotypical gun wielding, redneck, yeehaw yokels that seemingly do nothing all day but get drunk and fire guns in their homemade firing range. They all dress as you'd expect in military fatigues or jeans with big belt buckles, and they all have guns, knives, and big 4x4 trucks. Their homemade base is just like some Scout camping activity centre complete with a fake town to run around in and shoot guns. And their leader Alex (Michael Des Barres) is a short scrawny little guy with a greasy ponytail. The bad guys literally look like a bunch of dads at Scout camp trying to look cool.

Yeah so this movie will probably pan out exactly as you might expect...except for one thing, we don't actually know what happens to most of the characters at the end. Yes believe it or not but this movie isn't that violent. In fact you hardly see any bad guys getting killed at all. I would have bet my bottom Dollar on some of the arsehole baddies getting killed off but nope. But referring back to my original point, we don't actually find out what happens to most of the bad guys. Do they simply stop being supremacists? Or do they even live? Dunno. Same goes for Lou Ann's other half Roy who is a main character. No clue what happens to him. The movie just ends after a car chase just as you were expecting the boss to get killed, did he? You just hear the sound effects of a car crashing (low budget? Lack of time?).

So yeah, a cheap looking pile of poo basically. The final showdown really highlights how poor this movie is. It's like a TV show. The only plus point that I can think of was the nice locations and backdrops. It feels like an ill-conceived comedy spin-off from the 'Dirty Harry' franchise. A huge misfire trying to ride the coattails of another Clint hit.

3/10

I'm going with not so great on this

[dworldeater · 5/10 · 28 March 2020]

With the exception of the quite excellent Bird, the late 80's/early 90's contains some of Clint's worst and least interesting films until he turned things around with Unforgiven. Granted, I like The Rookie, but is not a great movie either. Well, neither is this. Pink Caddilac is not as enjoyable as The Rookie either. While very standard and formulaic, The Rookie works as a buddy action comedy. This has a hard time deciding whether it's a action piece, a comedy or or drama and fails at all of these. Clint does his standard tough guy stuff and the chemistry between him and Bernadette Peters is at zero. While it has a decent cast and some actually good acting performances, the film itself for whatever reason does not work. It's hard to pinpoint why this didn't resonate with me at all, but for the genre of action comedy it falls flat with a film that is the least bit funny or generate any excitement. Clint does little to make this better by basically giving a run of the mill performance with an occasional one liner. But this is the 80's, pretty much every movie from this period that was guaranteed. Overall, Pink Caddilac kind of sucks and you would be better off to watch the similar and much better Midnight Run instead.

One of Clints lesser known films

[LuboLarsson · 6/10 · 11 July 2002]

As mentioned in another comment, this film is very, very similar to the brilliant De Niro movie Midnight Run which came out a year before this one. This one pales in comparison unfortunately. I wouldn't have thought it was a deliberate move by Eastwood to cash in on the success of Midnight Run, because I don't think Clint has to ride on anyone's coat tails, and was Midnight Run a big hit anyway? Actually this must be one of Clints least known films, its very rarely shown on TV here in Great Britain, in fact I think it went straight to video, a Clint Eastwood film straight to video! It must be really bad yeah? well no, not really, but not exactly great either. Its a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours, and does show Clint doing different things. He takes on different personas in his Bounty hunter role to catch the crooks including a DJ and a redneck, which I thought was hilarious, really funny. Bernadette Peters was really good in this I thought as well, bright and quirky. What really let it down was the gang of Nazi redneck bikers (or whatever they were meant to be), they bordered on comedy villains, in fact I kept waiting for Clyde the Orangatun to wander on screen and punch them out and drink all their beer! So one for Clint fans only I'm afraid (like me!) P.S See if you can spot Jim Carrey AND Canadian rocker Bryan Adams in the film.

This Cadillac runs a little rough

[Mr-Fusion · 5/10 · 23 March 2015]

"Pink Cadillac" is a fairly dull action comedy (long on runtime, short on laughs), but it's worth a look-see for Clint Eastwood in a comedic role. He really goes all out in those goofy disguises and it's always something to see when he plays against type. Also, for the very cute Bernadette Peters and the curious bit parts (James Cromwell, Jim Carrey and Bryan Adams).

But I don't see myself coming back to this; I don't remember making with any ha-has. If you want to see a movie star in the sick-of-bounty-hunting role, stick with "Midnight Run", no question.

5/10

It was a departure

[southaustinartist · 6/10 · 18 September 2005]

This was supposed to be a comedy, a bridge between the "Clyde" movies and his later, more serious movies. Here, Clint is beginning to show his age. HE just cant be as rough and tumble as he was in the 60's & 70's. Ms. Peters wasn't a very good actress in this movie, Its painful to watch the baby bomb scene. She's better suited to Broadway.

Here, Clint played down his character. This was more of a parody of his "Gauntlet" role, just as the last Dirty Harry movie was a parody of the entire Dirty Harry series. The Caddy gets ruined much like the bus. The Brotherhood gang isn't as scary as the Black Widows, but they are as goofy, and they serve the same purpose: just a group of outlaws to give Clint someone to contend with. Clint had better adversaries in his Spaghetti Westerns.

The scenery is nice though. I graduated high school not long after this movie came out and it was an encouraging factor in all the road trips I took all over the American Southwest. I still haven't made it to the Sierras though.

The lesson learned here is, its better to make fun of yourself and have fun doing it before someone else does and possibly does it with venom.

Turkey Burger

[Bolesroor · 1/10 · 22 February 2011]

"Pink Cadillac" is, simply put, Clint Eastwood at his worst. Smug, coy, and far too dependent on his tired tough-guy persona, he's just going through the motions in this senseless and silly turkey burger.

We've seen Clint coast on charm before, and this type of film might have worked in 1979, but by the time the movie was made in 1989 it was sloppy and insubstantial, and it can't be saved even by Clint's frequent winks to the audience that imply there's a funny teddy bear beneath his bad-ass characters. Awww.... (vomit).

The plot throws everything into the mix: counterfeit money, crystal-meth amphetamines, the titular vehicle, kidnapped babies, grenades, Vegas and a militia training complex. It still doesn't make any sense. Perma-baby Bernadette "Booby-Dupe" Peters shows up to coo and gurgle while managing to conceal her prize-winning bazongas the entire time. Boo!

Clint definitely thinks he's funny here, impersonating a fast-talking radio DJ and pretending to be a dirt-stupid redneck in order to infiltrate a criminal gang. Our standard for Clint humor is usually set pretty low- if only because he's so stiff and dry that ANY comedy seems hilarious- but his routine here is corny and embarrassing. He comes off like your Uncle who believes he's funny enough for Saturday Night Live but- in an ironic twist- is nowhere near funny enough for Saturday Night Live.

The movie also features an awful cameo by Geoffrey Holder, as an aging hippie who can't stop saying, "whoa, man" and "oh, coooool!" This painful, anachronistic performance- only twenty years out of date- is further evidence of the arrogance that went into the film. When the bad guys burn Idiot Hippie's house down he responds by saying, "major bummer." Are you laughing yet?

I'm gonna go ahead and assume that the makers of this film came up with the title first and wrote the screenplay around it. Oh... just a hunch. I love Clint Eastwood- I truly do- and his Dirty Harry films and westerns are some of the most enjoyable action films ever made, but "Pink Cadillac" is a sloppy, contrived ride which goes nowhere fast. Miss it.

GRADE: D

Light but enjoyable bounty hunting action with Clint

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 23 July 2019]

This film sees Clint Eastwood playing skip-tracer Tommy Nowak, basically a bounty hunter working to catch those who have skipped bail. His latest target is Lou Ann McGuinn a woman charged with handling counterfeit money. She has gone on the run with her baby in her husband's pink, convertible 1959 Cadillac... not initially realising it has a quarter of a million dollars stashed in it. This means her husband and his white supremacist friends are also after him. Nowak finds her first but the story is far from over; a run in with her husband leaves her baby with the racist gang.

Clint Eastwood is mostly associated with spaghetti westerns, Dirty Harry and other similarly tough characters so it is easy to forget that he also took plenty of lighter roles and this is one of those. The story is fun and while there are some action scenes there isn't a real sense of danger for our protagonists; even the racist antagonists are more incompetent than menacing. Clint Eastwood is solid as Nowak and Bernadette Peters is a lot of fun as Lou Ann. Those playing the villains are somewhat less impressive making their characters hard to believe. Geoffrey Lewis, a regular in Eastwood's films of the period, puts in a fun performance as the hippy forger Ricky Z. Overall this might not be a must see but it is fun and has little in the way of offensive material.

Lost & Not Found

[thesar-2 · 2/10 · 13 April 2019]

I'm really not going to spend much time on this turd. It's 2-hours I'll never get back and it was never enjoyable.

The one positive about "Pink Cadillac" is that Clint Eastwood actually acted outside his normal persona and that was refreshing. Otherwise, this movie was so long, so unnecessary and ended so abruptly, it's as if the writer/director just gave up.

Basically it's about a rough bounty hunter who turns on a dime when one target kinda flirts with him and she just wants to get her baby back.

My assumption: this was supposed to be a romantic comedy. It was not funny, not romantic and definitely not entertaining. Save your time, skip it all-together.

Another Eastwood "B" movie.

[TxMike · 20 June 2007]

Clint Eastwood is Tommy Nowak, making his living working for a bond company, tracking down and bringing back those who have jumped bail. The opening scenes establish his character by showing him in action in two different cases.

Bernadette Peters has always been a favorite of mine. Here she plays a young mother Lou Ann. Her husband is mixed up with a gang of Caucasian supremacists who are also thieves. It turns out her husband and their friends have a big stash of counterfeit money and, when a raid happens she is the only one there, thus the one arrested. Out on bail, she slips away and Nowak is hired to track her down.

This isn't a particularly good movie. The title comes from the car that Lou Ann's husband owns, and which Lou Ann and Nowak end up traveling in. There is a big gun fight near the end. But when it is over it all adds up to nothing much.

Car

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 15 April 2021]

One of clints best car movies and there's heaps of them.

Pink Cadillac

[actionstar-89625 · 6/10 · 19 May 2021]

While not one of Eastwood's better films it still has some elements to it that I would say it is worth a watch. Clint Eastwood plays Tommy Nowack a hard-edged skip tracer. He is given the task of finding a loving mother Lou Ann McGuinn (Bernadette Peters, who does a really good job in her role) who after being caught with counterfeit money and being bailed out has gone on the run. She left her husband Roy (Timothy Carhart) with their baby and his pink Cadillac. Unknown to her at the time the trunk is just jammed with money. So in turn her husband is after her as well to keep her quiet and get the money back for his neo-nazi buddies. Maybe a good flick to throw on if you want to see an Eastwood movie or perhaps on a rainy afternoon. I thought it was okay. Enough action and comedy to keep things interesting. Also starring Bill Moseley, William Hickey and Geoffrey Lewis.

Lazy but Amiable

[JamesHitchcock · 5/10 · 19 June 2017]

"Pink Cadillac" is one of those films which seem to owe their existence to a scriptwriter or studio executive noticing a catchy song title, thinking it too good to waste on a mere song and concocting a film script to fit it. (See also "Pretty Woman", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Addicted to Love", "Jumping Jack Flash" and others). At least the film does actually feature a pink Cadillac.

The film also served another purpose, that of finding another role for Clint Eastwood who had recently made his fifth and final "Dirty Harry" movie, "The Dead Pool". Having tried "tough cowboy" and "tough cop", with occasional forays into "tough soldier" and "tough trucker", Clint decided to try "tough bounty hunter". His character here is Tommy Nowak, a "skip-tracer", that is to say a bounty hunter who specialises in tracking down people who skip bail. (The name "Nowak" is pronounced either in the authentic Polish way as "Novak" or as the anglicised "Noack", depending on who is speaking). His latest target is a young woman named Lou Ann McGuinn who has run off in her husband Roy's pink Cadillac. This was, however, an unwise choice of getaway vehicle because Roy is a member of a violent white supremacist movement and the car contained a large quantity of counterfeit money belonging to the group. Now Lou Ann is being chased not only by Tommy but also by a scary gang of Neo-Nazi fanatics. Let's just hope he gets there first.

Although Eastwood was nearly sixty when he made the film, he could not resist the chance of an on screen romance with an attractive younger woman (in this case Bernadette Peters), so when Tommy finally does find Lou Ann it is inevitable that they will fall in love and join forces to fight the evil white supremacists.

The film was not generally popular with the critics. The New York Times called it the "laziest sort of action comedy" and predicted that it "will probably settle comfortably near the bottom of the list" of Eastwood's movies. There is probably some justice in that criticism. The plot could have been taken straight from the "Lazy Screenwriter's Guide to writing- by-numbers, and the film will never rank alongside the likes of the first "Dirty Harry" or "Pale Rider" or "Unforgiven" or "Gran Torino" in the pantheon of Eastwood's work. I have always found Eastwood more effective in serious drama than in comedy, and "Pink Cadillac" is essentially an action-comedy rather than an action-adventure.

That said, however, it is not altogether bad. Eastwood and Peters make a likable couple, despite the age difference, and although the bad guys are predictable and stereotyped, that is probably inevitable in the context of an action-comedy, a genre which operates under different laws from those which govern serious action dramas. "Pink Cadillac" may be lazy, but it is also fairly amiable. 5/10

Driving on half empty.

[lost-in-limbo · 5/10 · 3 February 2007]

Skip-tracer Tommy Nowak is the man who chases down people who have jumped bail and to get his target he does it in many different disguises. Now his on the tail of Lou Ann McGuinn, who has hit the road in her husband's, pink Cadillac that has a quarter of a million in the trunk. Nowak is not only one after her, as the money belongs to a group Neo-Nazis that want it back.

Eastwood has been in his fair share of duds and this one could be added to the list too. The lively rapport between Clint Eastwood and Bernadette Peters is what makes this forgettable outing admirably watchable. The offbeat premise comes across like a live cartoon, but when it goes for a serious drama touch it loses its spark, falls into a uneven patch and the tongue-in-cheek script just doesn't work with its grim sub-plot involving white-supremacists. It moves away from humorous gimmick to follow a systematically overlong and goalless old-hat narrative of two-dimensional good guys, bad guys on a road trip. Oh, and what bunch of numbskulls the bad guys were! These hammy Neo-Nazis have got to be most inept and over-the-top bunch of villains I've seen in any movie. Especially since I think they are supposed be realistically based, than being comically goofy (as they come across). They spit out a good quota of brainless drivel that simply bores you. Eastwood's joyfully loose performance has to be one of his better ones (though not the movie), which he generates warmth, wit and truly gives out zesty attitude that shows he loving every minute of it. A very cute Peters is delightfully good along side him and adds a real pluckiness to her seductively sweet-hearted character. Geoffrey Lewis is quite run in his minor role as the spaced out hippie. Bill Moseley shows up and there are blink and you'll miss them parts by Jim Carrey and musician Bryan Adams. Director Buddy Van Horn plays it straight with his filming techniques. It can feel drawn-out because of the relax nature of his style, but he does milk out some nice backdrops and minor characters along the trip. It does turn heavy-handed towards the end though, when a slight dose of action goes "Duke Hazard". Swift camera-work and a rousing country tied score are cooked up too.

In all it's definitely one of Eastwood's lesser film vehicles that harmlessly passes the time in a light-hearted, mediocre pink Cadillac ride.