The Woman Chaser (1999) User Reviews

Patrick Warburton, aka Putty, in faithful pulp fiction

[Buckywunder · 8/10 · 1 July 2000]

I saw this film at this year's Seattle International Film Festival. It was one of the films I had been looking forward to as I had heard about it in the NYTimes program ads for the NY Film Festival.

The cinematography is pretty good and the b/w grain is outstanding. Another mention has to go to the soundtrack as it is some of the better cocktail/lounge music mixed with some other stuff (I think Latin) that was also very good at contributing to the feel of the picture. I've heard that they are debating releasing the film only in color and otherwise balking at sticking to the b/w release, which would really be a shame because this film really is complemented by the b/w print.

But the film really belongs to Patrick Warburton. I loved him as David Putty on SEINFELD, but I think he was able to get the same comic element to this character while stretching into new territory. It's hard to believe someone could get so much out of squinting his eyes, but somehow he manages the feat.

While the rest of the cast are relatively unknown, they contribute in very nice ensemble, character-acting ways to the feel of the film.

It's not a *great* film, but if you are looking for something outside of the mall, cineplex fare that will dominate the summer film season, this is definitely worth a look.

Brilliant, Just Brilliant

[djnik · 10/10 · 12 June 2001]

The Woman Chaser is a brilliant piece of faux film noir. Patrick Warburton deadpans his way through the title role, reminding one of Puddy with a serious Oedipal complex. Every time the smile was about to leave my face something else happened to bring it back. This is a very clever, engaging film which will be in my dvd collection when it comes out.

Film Noir for the new millennium

[Joel-39 · 10/10 · 7 February 2000]

Just saw 35 films at Sundance and hands down, this film stands out while most of the others are just a blur. Patrick Warburton plays "The Director" (the author's original title for the story)and he plays it to deadpan perfection. Shot in color and then transferred to a high contrast black and white title stock, paints this film in a lush visual treat. Plot and dialog holds true to the original 60's pulp and creates a harsh charm that is both parody and innovative filmmaking. Looking forward to seeing this one again as soon as it is released.

Wildly and wonderfully original.

[adam3000 · 10/10 · 22 October 2000]

The only truly original film I've seen this year, The Woman Chaser takes its cue from its psycho-pulp origins and steeps itself in a brilliantly mordant mise-en-scene. Each shot bursts with ideas and mood, and Patrick Warburton is wonderful. The film is hilarious, and far enough off-center to truly appeal to those who get it. Those who like it will love it, and those who dislike it should probably look a little closer. Somehow simultaneously endearing, shocking and gritty, it's an insider's view of insanity, with all its delightfully f***ed-up characters painted affectionately by the director and his actors. Insightful and funny on the dregs of human behavior and in many ways a multi-layered riff on the nature of movies themselves - this is the one American film I would recommend over any other this year.

Used car salesman has an irresistible calling to produce a movie

[ktrullender · 10/10 · 13 February 2001]

This is an incredibly under-rated comedic gem of a movie. Although it has appeared on several Top 10 lists, it was carelessly ignored by the sell-out lemmings at the Independent Spirit Awards. Patrick Warburton's performance as Richard Hudson is a tour de force. He does great justice to Charles Willeford's original portrayal. See this movie!!!

Faithful to the book

[jacksaunders · 25 October 2000]

A couple of the actors in this movie have done other things, but if you click on several of them, this is their only screen credit.

They don't act like amateurs. Nor do they look like actors. They look like people.

The director, Robinson Devor--this is his first film--got good performances out of them, and the lead, Patrick Warburton--he's in most scenes, or most scenes cut to him--also does a good job carrying them.

Warburton makes the movie, with his fruity voice, his barrel chest--a chest like Howard Keel--his combination of airy toe-dancer and used-car lot-manager kicking a salesman in the ass, of low-life moneygrubber and reader of T. S. Eliot who listens to Bela Bartok, the genius screewnwiter-director (auteur) who puts together The Man Who Got Away and gets it made, and cuts it so tight, getting the pacing perfect, that it runs four reels instead of six, a good half an hour short, for a feature film, causing him trouble with the philistines in the front office, who wrest his movie from him, causing him to go over the top, come the rest of the way unhinged, lose it.

He wasn't wrapped all that tight to begin with. But there is development, progress, advancement, inexorable dark strange weirdnesses, but with light twists. As you'd expect from Charles Willeford.

The film was shot in color but lit for black and white, then printed in black and white on title stock. Whatever that means. I don't understand the technology.

This caused Devor some problems with distribution, he reports. No matter. The fame of this movie will spread by word-of-mouth, and it will be kept alive by its devoted fans, as Willeford's novels have been.

I think Willeford would have gotten a kick out of this movie. The scenes in the gay bar, Hudson picking up the Salvation Army captain, are a stitch. Dancing with his ballerina mother, who shows us her tits. Even the young Richard Hudson at the pool, where the woman who is interested in him, in the water, in a swimming suit, is not interested in him, on dry land, on his newsboy bicycle.

The bitter truck driver and his tired wife, the young girl with the dog, the helpful Good Samaritan, who is beaten by the mob...his stepfather, his stepsister, the studio boss, the secretary he sends back to the typing pool...Hudson alone in the flickering screening room, with his movie--these are images that stick in one's head.

The retired master sergeant, with his chart, showing sales going down.

I am reminded, not of the early Coen Brothers, but of the early Fellini.

Bravo.

Take a second look...

[duskwind · 10/10 · 15 March 2000]

If you saw The Woman Chaser at the NY Film Fest or Sundance, take a second look. I saw it at SXSW in Austin, Tx this last Sunday night and I loved it. You've probably seen the reviews from previous film fests, but the version that played in Austin is not what the reviewers in NY or at Sundance saw. It was outstanding! I have not seen any version but this one, but from other reviews I know what at least one of the cuts was (good decision, by the way). I happen to really like a good bad guy and Warburton made a GREAT bad guy. Just see it. You'll understand. Oh, and if you're reading this Joe, it was great to see you! And yeah, I'm waiting for the director's cut DVD to come out...

Quirky film that improves with repeated viewings.

[plbear · 9/10 · 13 March 2001]

I first saw this movie in a theater, and I thought it was an amusing, if somewhat uneven film. I enjoyed Patrick Warburton's performance, but felt that the movie didn't hold together that well.

I was lucky enough to score a VHS copy recently, and I've watched the movie a few more times, and I've enjoyed it more each time.

Maybe it's because I have a better idea of what to expect. I find more humor in it, and am able to enjoy it more as the satire which I now think it was intended to be.

It's still odd and quirky, and the title really doesn't seem to fit the content of the movie very well (I read somewhere that it was originally supposed to be called "The Director", which would be more fitting), but it's fun to watch.

Plus, it's got a whole lot of shirtless Patrick Warburton, which is definitely a good thing!!

Great film!

[inframan · 9/10 · 6 August 2001]

I first heard of Charles Willeford when Miami Blues came out. I read that book & found it fantastic. I thought the movie of Miami Blues was a minor masterpiece. I began to work backwards in Willeford's novels & got to this one which I found, like much of his earliest work, very bizarre. A used car salesman who dances a ballet with his mother. This film has captured that quality perfectly, treating it with utmost respect & love & lots of very well-tempered humor. Every detail of this film works perfectly, the acting, lighting, music, quality of sound, even, or especially, the perfect pitch of B-movie voices. Less lethal than Jim Thompson, less schematic than James M. Cain, more resourceful than David Goodis, Charles Willeford now has had two well-deserved minor film masterpieces made of his work.

The story of a man with a purpose in life, a man called Richard Hudson.

[freejazzman · 10/10 · 16 July 2002]

In the movie Richard compares himself to a child, a child with dreams. His lack of responsibility does not stop him from achieving these dreams: in fact they probably help him. If you read a short summary of the story you might get the idea that Richard is a loser but he is anything but that, Richard is a winner. Watch the movie if you like movies that have a good story and are creatively different.

Fantastic film noir with black comedy (very minor spoilers)

[darqueguy · 10/10 · 13 September 2000]

`The Woman Chaser' stars Patrick Warburton (best known as Puddy on `Seinfeld' and soon to be known as The Tick) as Richard Hudson, a womanizing, egomaniacal used-car salesman who realizes one day that his life is empty. Nothing but meaningless affairs and deals with people he deems to be mindless sheep. He has a burning desire to create, but realizes that he lacks any of the artistic skills necessary to reach that achievement…until he decides to make a movie. `I can do that,' he thinks to himself in a voice of grim self-confidence. He comes up with a title…'The Man Who Got Away'…and a plot. The scene where he pitches the idea to his stepfather (Paul Malevich), a washed-up film producer whose contacts Richard needs to bring his film to life, is worth the price of admission alone. Without giving too much away, the stepfather's contacts pay off and the film goes into production. What follows is another behind-the-scenes look at the studio system, although this one plays much closer to `Barton Fink' than to something like `The Player.' The final scene is a fun and quirky twist-ending that, while not trying to out-`Sixth Sense' anybody, brings the film's hilarious narrative to a natural conclusion.

With enough exposure, this film will help Warburton shed the Puddy image that everybody knows him for. His performance as Richard is an excellent piece of work, combining hard-boiled tough-guy dialogue with deadpan humor and the occasional bombastic outburst that helps shed light on the depths of Richard's obsession with his project. He's nicely supported by a cast of mostly unknowns, all of whom bring strong work to the table.

The real star of this picture though, in my opinion, is director Robinson Devor, working from a pulp novel by Charles Willeford. In a time when a critic from the Peoria Times-Gazette can see something like `The Watcher' and label it film noir, Devor expertly recreates the feel and the mood of the noir films of the fifties and sixties (it doesn't hurt that the film is set in the sixties), at the same time bringing in a black, perverse sense of comedy that could only be done in a film today. `The Woman Chaser' also contains the best use of black-and-white film (which also supports the noir elements) since `Ed Wood.' The quirky feel of the story and performances are supported by the latin jazz soundtrack, containing such luminaries as Les Baxter, Martin Denny, Dave Brubeck, Yma Sumac and the great, Tito Puente. When all is said and done, all of these elements combined to make this one of the better movie-going experiences I've had in recent memory.

So, in closing, if you want to watch an artistic and entertaining piece of work, go see `The Woman Chaser.' You won't be disappointed.

Compelling dark humor

[chadfs · 10/10 · 13 August 2005]

i was lucky enough to be watching one of the independent film channels when this movie was being shown for about a month straight. I must have watched it at least four times. Patrick Warburton is the master of deadpan. Just seeing his name made me watch. It is definitely one of the most compelling movies to be seen if you like dark humor. I can't recall whether it was in black and white, but if that is what you get a chance to see don't miss out thinking you need color. some of the best entertainment unfortunately is not in color. I have been waiting for at least six months to see this on TV again but to no avail. once you see it, you can't get it out of your head. It's that unusual and good.

Bizarre fun

[brazilnathan · 9/10 · 17 February 2001]

If you enjoy the bizarre, drug-fueled rantings of Hunter S. Thompson, you'll like this movie. Definitely the funniest thing that I've seen this year. Patrick Warburton's deadpan delivery is absolutely perfect! Have you ever seen a short film and enjoyed it so much that you wish it were the length of a regular film? It's like that. :-)

Great film. True to the book. Excellent direction.

[mhaller · 10/10 · 25 July 2000]

This black and white noir is funny, interesting and well directed. The cinematography is excellent. On a $800,000 budget, this is a very impressive piece of work. I hope Rob Devor makes more films.

Great job.

Original, edgy dark comedy. A must see for fans of the absurd.

[MesaHead · 10/10 · 27 October 2005]

Dark, edgy comedy explores the lengths people will go to to maintain the 'integrity' of their creative visions. The title is a little misleading. Who is chasing who? I wonder if Willeford wrote the original novel for his own reasons but threw in the sex and gave it a sleazy title just to sell it (ever heard of an author named Kilgore Trout?) It is more a film about making films and the borderline personalities who do so. An intelligent film, it poses some deep existential questions then delivers the most absurd answers. Patrick Warburton is perfectly suited to the Fruedian film noir style of this flick. Those who appreciate dark comedy, theater of the absurd, and David Lynch flicks (although this is not as extreme or as eccentric as Lynch's films) will appreciate "Woman Chaser." This is one of the most intelligent and original films I have seen. It's on my top ten list and it's not going anywhere.

Pulpy Fiction

[george.schmidt · 28 April 2004]

THE WOMAN CHASER (2000) *** Patrick Warburton gives a deadpan perfect turn as a scruple-less used car salesman in this

pitch perfect valentine to B movies and does so with great elan in

adapting pulp fiction author Charles Willeford's novel of noir to

fruition. Warburton's Richard Hudson is a sleaze with barely a

conscience yet defines his purpose in life of expressing himself by

directing a genre film he's written that ultimately mirrors his own

path of self-destruction. Blackly funny with incredible production

design and black & white cinematography that captures all-too-well the dank world of LA circa 1950s with its cocktail

lounge décor and sleek looking cars and costumes. Indie

filmmaker Robinson Devor makes an impressive debut with some

clever commentary on the duplicitous nature of Hollywood.

One of the Best Films Ever

[joshuajoshjoshua · 10/10 · 26 June 2015]

The perfect role for the hilarious Warburton. Although being the perfect uncaring asshole, there's something so compelling about his insane, single-minded drive to make a film and not compromise it that you will fall in love with this movie. The film he wants to make is so hilariously dark and bleak that it makes for incredible entertainment.

This is damn near the best film I've ever seen. It captures the '50s filming style (and satirizes '50s attitudes of the self-made man hilariously) better than any '90s film ever did.

This film played at festivals, aired at weird times on channels like Cinemax and Showtime for a while (sometimes colorized, which was super odd). So, I'm sure it's developed a cult following among critics and people who just happened upon it and were like "holy hell this has no business being that good!" But I always hoped and prayed more people saw it, because it's one of the best things I ever saw. Even the camera work is brilliant in places. And it's Warburton's best role ever -- and that's saying a lot because he's an underrated actor as it is.

Funny off-beat film with great performances!

[Skinshark · 10/10 · 19 January 2004]

Beautiful looking film and a fun story. It's hard to find deadpan humor with a dash of off-beat to really make things stick. Patrick Warburton's performance is excellent. His dominating presence leaves you in awe as he tackles the various sides of his character. I'm left with a sense of nostalgia when I watch this film. Especially with the use of black and white coupled with the set locations.

I just wished both Patrick and Robinson could get bigger projects through the gristmill of Hollywood.

A great film about 20th Century Man's impulsiveness and insanity

[PimpinAinttEasy · 9/10 · 9 February 2016]

Dear Robinson Devor, thanks for making a movie based on a Charles Willeford novel. Willeford is one of my favorite writers.

The film has one of the most interesting plots ever for a crime thriller. A crooked, arrogant and vicious car salesman who is really good at his job panics at a meeting of aspiring young reps. He realizes that he is wasting his life in the 9 to 5 grind. It dawns on him that we are on this planet to be creative. So he writes a script with help from his step-father and decides to direct a film. But when his edited film fails to meet the 6 reel 90 minute length standard, the studio tries to interfere in the future of the film. The crazed car salesman/movie director embarks on a rampage of destruction.

I think there is more to this film than a man trying to escape his mundane life. It is also about 20th century man's impulsive behavior without thinking about the consequences. It is also about how we are all basically mad. I mean, I found myself laughing and cheering on some of the actions of the main character. I could totally identify with him. Like Willeford himself said - "I had a hunch that madness was a predominant theme and a normal condition for Americans living in the second half of this century." Your film was visually arresting - full of directorial flourishes characterized by slow motions and weird camera angles and lighting. Visually, it was quite similar to noir films. I loved the way you filmed the scene in the swimming pool.

The film was also pretty true to the book though you did exclude two scenes of violence. You also played with the structure a little bit.

I liked what another IMDb user said about the actors - they did not look like actors. They came across as real people. This is so true. Square jawed Patrick Warburton could walk into a Russ Meyer film. His acting in the ballet dance sequence was terrific.

I hope Criterion or Arrow puts out a Blu Ray of this terrific film.

And I hope you make more films, Robinson Devor.

Best Regards, Pimpin.

(9/10)

"Putty" From Seinfeld in Hilarious Hollywood-Noir!

[crose-1 · 30 January 2001]

Patrick Warburton, famous for playing dim-witted mechanic David Putty on TV's "Seinfeld," expands his comedic and dramatic range in this witty, black-comedy satire of the movie biz. The high-contrast black & white cinematography accentuate the retro look and feel of this very funny film. Warburton plays a slick-talking, womanizing cad who talks his way first into the used car business and then into writing and directing a movie (the two industries apparently requiring similar levels of BS-artistry.)

With his burly body, Warburton is a welcome throw-back to the leading men of classic film noir Hollywood. He does a wonderful job of keeping a straight face while delivering some of the most original and hilarious dialogue I've seen in quite a while. While the film has some very dark undercurrents, they are so tongue-in-cheek and true to the main character that they make his Icarus-like fate all the more believable and satisfying.

Warburton is a gem; he effortlessly breaks the one-dimensional mold of his Seinfeld role. His razor-sharp delivery of the pitch for his movie-within-a-movie ("The Man Who Got Away") is destined to make this flick a staple of the cult-classic and employee-picks shelf at good movie stores for years.

The Woman Chaser flies off the tracks a bit towards the last reel, but this is only because it's been taking so many risks. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded with one of the most original and funny movies I've seen in several years.

unique not just as a film-noir but as a piece of movie-movie lore

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 29 September 2009]

The Woman Chaser stars Patrick Warburton in a performance that could be called uncanny. He's deadpan in his delivery of lines, as well as his demeanor, but that doesn't mean he's just completely flat-toned. As Richard Hudson, a car salesman who has a lot of money but is bored to death who decides to make a movie called "The Man Who Got Away", Warburton finds one of his richest characters to play through, and it's a performance that is quite funny, really dark, wretchedly tragic, and sometimes a little awkward (see how casual he is about commenting on his mother's beauty - including her breasts). It's he who the director, Robinson Devor, uses as his anchor for the film, and it was a creative and interesting choice. We usually see him in a supporting role or as a guy like Putty on Seinfeld. Here, he fits so well you'd swear he somehow beat out Glenn Ford and Robert Mitchum at the audition (it if were the 50's that is).

It's a kind of weird- sometimes very weird- 'spoof' on film-noirs, particularly those set in the 1950s, and it also skewers the art of film-making. Hudson wants to make this film, and has a way of talking people into anything that gets him a 150 grand budget almost without even trying. We see him, narrating in a soulful and tragi-comic voice, how he goes from being at the top of his game as a sudden 'artist' to realizing the greed in others and betrayal in his own father/producer. Devor shoots the film as a black and white waking-nightmare (albeit shot in color, which really fooled me), and you get sucked into it much the same way you do The Man Who Wasn't There or even Ed Wood as contemporary filmed throwbacks to the mood its after and the subject matter.

And it is funny, sometimes in ways that will just throw you completely off guard (one of my favorites is how he gets a particularly bad actress to play a scene by coaching her lines during a break - while having rough sex at the same time - and throwing her right into the scene immediately after, her face priceless), and other times in little moments that will hit more with film buffs than anyone else. There's even some Godardian deconstruction, however not quite as smart or biting, in how Richard keeps breaking the narrative of the film (par for the course in this story) and speaks to the audience while in front of a film camera spinning away on the reels. We don't sympathize with this character, but that's the point, and runs both as a great comment on its style of film and how film is made in general.

One of the most curious things I should mention is the film within the film, the title 'The Man Who Got Away' also a very personal reference to its maker. We see Richard describe this scenario to us- directly to us, even as he's pitching it to his father- and we can see some of the things he's describing. We suspect even then it could never get made, not in the 1950s, or at least never released. What makes it so fascinating is how little Devor shows us of what was filmed for the movie, a really bitter screed on a truck driver who runs over a little girl and dies in his big getaway. I wanted to see more of it, but maybe that too is part of the construct of the Woman Chaser. We don't need to see the art Hudson is making - he's living through it, however poorly or an odd man-child, enthralled by TS Elliot to tears and strong enough to possibly kick someone's ass.

It's a should-have-been sleeper that you can only find on limited-release VHS, but it's worth it.

"What's more unusual than Santa Clause selling used cars in August?"

[morrison-dylan-fan · 9/10 · 27 February 2016]

With a poll taking place on IMDb's Classic Film board for the best titles of 1999,I started looking round for left-field movies to view.Reading a great post on IMDb's Film Noir board,I found out that Patrick Warburton (known for his distinctive voice over work on Family Guy & the quirky Disney movie The Emperor's New Groove) had actually starred in a 1999 Neo-Noir!,which led to me getting ready to meet the woman chaser.

The plot:

Being a master in all the tricks of the trade,used cars salesmen Richard Hudson decides to set up his own used car showroom.Making good cash with his smooth business skills,Hudson begins thinking about fulfilling his dream of making a film.Wanting to give all the attention to his debut film,Hudson passes the business over to the assistant manager.Pulling his washed up,ol' faithful directing father-in-law Leo,Hudson gets his foot in the door at a studio,who with Leo's help agree to fund Hudson's "vision" Writing and directing the film himself,Hudson rigidly sticks to "his vision",and soon finds himself trying to stop the studio from editing his vision to destruction.

View on the film:

Selling Hudson's "vision" in pin-stripe B&W backed with a smooth Jazz and Blues soundtrack, (which has caused the original cut to be stuck in royalties issues for years)writer/director Robinson Devor gives the film a wonderfully peculiar Neo-Noir atmosphere, with gliding tracking shots in Hudson's car setting off stylish close-ups held in left- field angles,which give Hudson's adventures in the Hollywood "dream factory" a darkly comedic,acid-tongue Film Noir mood.Keeping his excellent adaptation rooted in Charles Willeford 50's LA pulp novel, Devor wraps the movie in a deliciously jet-black comedic wit,with the rich narration revealing Hudson's determination to be an "auteur" and destroy anyone that tries to stop his vision from being seen.

Whilst firing sharp one liners across the screen, Devor tightly threads an explosive,self-destructive Film Noir streak round Hudson,who holds onto to ridged beliefs which stop Hudson from seeing the "development hell" that he and his project is sinking into.Joined by a fantastic supporting cast with "lived in" faces that go from Ernie Vincent's thunderous studio head to Marilyn Rising's flirty stepsister Becky, Patrick Warburton gives a fabulously chiselled performance as Hudson, thanks to Warburton being able to deliver a dead-pan line with real-precision,whilst keeping Hudson's Film Noir rage bubbling away,which spills over as Hudson's nitrate dream vision is lit up.