VividSimon Simply Perfect

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

elevenangrymen THE FILM: John Huston is in his late 70s. He isn't what you'd normally call hot stuff. Richard Condon wrote a book about the mob, it was a comedy. Condon decided he would make his story into a film, so he approached Huston, despite Huston not having made a comedy in some time. Huston went through an impressive roll call of names for the various parts, but he made his mind up in the end with Jack Nicholson playing Brooklyn mobster Charley and Kathleen Turner playing the seductive Irene.Huston even cast his daughter Anjelica in the juicy part of Maerose. The film was not expected to perform well, but it became such a massive sleeper hit that when it came out on VHS, it was still in theatres. Critics loved it, and it nabbed Huston his last Oscar nomination for Best Director, at the young age of 78, a record that stands even today. So it would make sense for this film to be regarded as a classic these days, right?Wrong.THE PLOT: Charley Partanna is born into the mafia, so when he becomes of age he becomes a contract killer for the Prizzi's, one of the most famous of the New York mafia families. At a family wedding, he notices the beautiful Irene Walker. He is immediately smitten, but he loses her and can't find her. Afterwards he gets a call from her, she's in California and she wants to meet him. The next day Charley flies out and they fall immediately in love, and so does she.He flies back home bursting with happiness, and he gets an assignment. Someone stole money from the Prizzi's casino in Vegas, and they aren't happy. It was a husband and wife job, apparently and they are in California, so Charley flies back out. There he shoots the husband, and then waits for the wife to come home. The wife is Irene, and she gives him the money, only there is half of it missing. In doubt over weather to kill or kiss her, Charley flies back to New York (again), and consults his former fiancée, after they have sex on the carpet.Charley decides to kiss her, and flies (seriously, they use the same airplane each time, it's really annoying) back to California and marries Irene. From there, the newlyweds go back to New York (guess the method of transportation) and begin to work on a new job. It turns out that Irene is a contract killer and she and Charley plan to kidnap a bank manager for ransom, only they are forced to shoot a cops wife, turns everyone against them, even each other.THE CRITICISM:I really wanted to like this movie, but I think you can tell by my annoyance over the constant air travel (seriously, it's like an ad for United) that I didn't love this film. I didn't hate it though, because Nicholson is just so entertaining while trying to pull off a Brooklyn accent, though it almost works. It is a black comedy, but I did not laugh once or cringe. I sat there and saw the movie.Above, I wrote that this film has mostly been forgotten, and that is true. it was apparently a big hit in the 80s and I can see why. But it has been partially forgotten. Maybe because 1985 was such a weak year for film, this was regarded as good enough. Nicholson looks a little old, but he and Turner had sufficient box office appeal to pull it off. I had been told that this film was amazing and really bad. Personally I did not enjoy it, but it was entertaining enough.With the performances, Nicholson is so completely over the top that his Charley Partanna almost works, the accent is enough to make me smile, but unfortunately for a two hour long film, a smile is not enough. Kathleen Turner certainly has an abundance of sex appeal, but I found Irene to be incredibly similar to Turner's work in the outstanding Body Heat. She had me confused about whether she was a hero or villain, up until the last few minutes I did not know. Some would sat this helped the performance, but I personally just found it confusing.Anjelica Huston won an Oscar for her work as Maerose Prizzi, but like I said above, it must have been a weak year. Huston was good, but again I couldn't figure out weather she was good or evil. It just ended up confusing me. The rest of the cast does good work, but nothing jumps out. The cinematography can feel rather old school at some parts, but I guess that's just the way Huston interpreted the story. Alex North's score can feel clawing at some points, but the covers of popular Italian music can be entertaining.I felt as if the film was Huston taking a break. It certainly didn't feature any amazing shots or scenes, I cannot comprehend the film's multiple Oscar nominations, it seems to me like a really average film. That is not to say that it wasn't entertaining, Nicholson was enough to save the film from mediocrity. The end result is not the boring film it might have been without Nicholson's presence and Anjelica certainly injects life into her scenes, but in the end, despite the wicked satire of the plot the film never really goes anywhere you want it to and you are left feeling empty.But I guess that's better than nothing.Prizzi's Honor, 1985, Starring: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner and Anjelica Huston. Directed by John Huston, 6.5/10 (C+)(This review is part of an ongoing project to watch and review every John Huston movie. You can view this and other reviews at http://everyjohnhustonmovie.blogspot.ca/)

eyesour Many years ago --- it must have been in about 1986 --- my sister told me that she and her husband walked out of this film before the end. They hadn't seen the jokes, I suppose, and felt an ever-increasing sense of nausea and distaste. The tale is certainly sick, and it must have been a great deal more fun to make than it is to watch. It could also be seen as a multi-barbed satirical attack on all three parts of "The Godfather", mercilessly mocking the ethos of that second (after Shawshank) most loved and praised of all iconic American masterpieces, portraying the society of the US to the rest of the world. Instead of secreting cotton wool in his cheek pouches, like Brando, Nicholson tucks a roll under his upper lip, making him look even dumber than he's acting.Most reviews here agree that this is all just taking the mickey, and for that reason it may merit moving up a couple of rating notches. However, it still isn't that good. I couldn't really understand the plot, with all its intricate insurance angles, but that didn't matter much, as it was mainly about caricaturing a well-known stereotypical group which nobody wants to get on the wrong side of.Perhaps the story repels to some extent because there isn't a single sympathetic or likable character in the entire cast. Was this why so many stars appear to have turned down offers to play various parts ? Every character looks upon taking other people's lives as just another job, an unimportant happening, which is all in the day's work, not worth a second thought. Only a relatively mild reservation about offing one's wife. Money is the most important commodity in the business world: it's business, just business. No hard feelings.There is one special feature of this movie which elevates it into unusual memorability, and that is the performance of William Hickey as the Grandfather, Godfather, Don. In 1985 this actor, born 1927, was only 58 ! I do not believe I have ever seen a more convincingly undead Zombie, aged at least 200, than Hickey delivers. Perhaps he was sustained, in common with all vampires, by the blood of his victims.I see Hickey's act has been noticed by several others. 4/10.

Michael Neumann This tongue-in-cheek fairy tale of true love between hired assassins is more demanding than it should have been, almost certainly requiring a second viewing just to unravel Richard Condon's convoluted plot. Jack Nicholson portrays a dim-witted pet hit man for the Prizzi crime family; his rival/paramour is Kathleen Turner, and the scenario demands a heroic suspension of disbelief to accept either star in their role. Both were obviously chosen for their marquee appeal, but it's the supporting cast that makes the film worthwhile, including William Hickey as the frail Prizzi patriarch and Angelica Huston as his scheming granddaughter (the former earned an Oscar nomination; the latter won the award). Director John Huston, for all his acknowledged talents, shows no special gift here for black comedy, and the cold-blooded conclusion may leave viewers with a bitter aftertaste.

Nick Damian After watching this movie, I was really hoping for a nice awesome tight ending...NOT! Well, I didn't pay for it and I didn't lose out.Very long, drawn out and even boring.Jack Nicholson always has to overdo his characters - and once again, he does this over the top.Kathleen Turner - who is fantastic in almost everything has little to offer in here, because her charter is so flat and uninspiring.Whatever little she has, she makes the best of, and there isn't much for her to work with.Really nothing here that was worth me sitting in a chair for over an hour and rather quite a boring package.Like this review, it just is...and like this review is just as exciting.