CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

darbski **SPOILERS** a lot of neat references to some of the things that news reportage as part of the Sixty's radical anti-government left action groups. Starts out as a light-hearted look at a smart private detective who's career is exactly Jake Gittis'. Dreyfus plays this part very well. Susan Anspach is a former crush whose murder changed Wine (Dreyfus) into a guy who's more than a little P.O.ed at authority, the government, the me-generation ex-hippie phonies that his ex-wife is being seduced by, and, mostly whoever killed his girl. He has to deal with all of it, and one really good scene was when he was in a prison where a brother and sister radical are in for (I believe) killing a cop in an explosion)., When Wine, asks how long they are in for, he is told "forever". When he is interviewed by the F.B.I., he sees how they have surveilled him deeply, and how they didn't care about and were disdainful of Lila, (Anspach). He verbally levels their Karma, and sets out again on his quest. He discovers what he must, tracks down the bad guy, and exacts revenge; disguised as self defense. It was neatly done. I've read the negative reviews, and I disagree. I think it is a very good movie; alternately fun and serious, with a good ending, and a character who is a good guy. These days, are there ANY good guys out there? DVDs are available, but they are expensive, so if you can get it, well... Okay. I stand corrected by myself. By God, just had the thought to find out if Amazon was gonna re-release it; they have. I ordered it. You might wanna too...

moonspinner55 Roger L. Simon adapted his own novel about how the wonderful/volatile, idealistic 1960s evolved into this cynical age, the corrupt and immoral 1970s. One-time student activist from Berkeley, now a weekend-dad working as a private eye, becomes involved in a case of political dirty pool when the liberal elect for California's governor is falsely implicated in a partnership with a fugitive radical. Star Richard Dreyfuss, one of the top actors at the time (following "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and his Oscar win for 1977's "The Goodbye Girl"), also co-produced this mystery yarn, turning it into a wan and wholly unconvincing actor's showpiece. Sporting a shaggy, curly hairstyle and a thick mustache, Dreyfuss isn't quite at home in these plastic, fake-noir surroundings--he doesn't even try to assimilate himself. Whether he's fighting with his ex-wife or romancing a former girlfriend, the actor is relying on externals and shtick (that of a raffish Jewish snookums) to take the place of a performance, something which director Jeremy Paul Kagan appears to be complicit with. Dulled-out and bland, the picture certainly isn't helped by Bill Conti's obtrusive music, nor by Frank Stanley's muddy cinematography. A minor hit, the film was soon forgotten in the wake of Dreyfuss' hot streak coming to an end. *1/2 from ****

dougdoepke Okay, the 30's had Sam Spade, the 40's had Philip Marlowe, and the 50's had Cold War PI, Mike Hammer. So why shouldn't the 60's have its iconic private dick too. His name is Moses Wine. He stands 5-5, wears glasses and exercises on a skateboard. His hard knocks' schooling is courtesy the Berkeley college of street protest and radical rhetoric, where he majored in Pinko Studies and How to Grind Up the Establishment. There are no stacked blondes in his life, only an ex-wife hitting him up for child support and two little boys he takes on cases when he can't find a sitter. He wouldn't know a fedora from a fez, a Lucky Strike from a Pall Mall, or a whiskey and soda from a scotch and water. And instead of bashing evil-doers-- such as people who call him a "liberal"-- he pickets their house. On the other hand, if things get really rough, he can put in a call to the ghetto or the radical underground or even a cop siren when a door gets grease-gunned to death. In short, Moses Wine is Mike Hammer's worst nightmare come true.In the Big Fix, Wine (Richard Dreyfuss) is on the trail of somebody, it's not always clear who. But it has something to do with sabotaging a political campaign. Turns out it's the campaign of a liberal politician, of all people, but then Wine needs the money, and besides everyone else has trimmed their hair and sold out-- so why shouldn't he. Along the way, he meets some interesting types, like the establishment barracuda (Fritz Weaver), and the movie's versions of Abbie Hoffman (F. Murray Abraham) and maybe the Symbionese Liberation Army's Bill and Emily Harris (Bloch & Grody). But my favorite is his crusty old aunt. She's sort of the stand-in for every old lefty who never gave up the labor fight. Now she spends her time in a Jewish old age home, debating the fine points of anarchist theory and telling touring politicians how things really are. So naturally, when Wine bursts into the opening refrain of the Internationale, we know where the inspiration comes from and, more importantly, where he comes from.Sure the mystery's about as clear as air quality in downtown LA. So don't expect a tidy wrap-up. But then the great Raymond Chandler figured life doesn't come in tidy packages either. Anyway, don't expect to see this one-of-a-kind at the White House any time soon or even at your local Democratic headquarters. But it is well acted and produced, with a lot of humorous touches and an approach that thankfully never gets heavy- handed. So thanks be to co-producer Dreyfuss for daring to entertain where politically correct Hollywood has long feared to tread.

berrys1178 The Big Fix is a mystery that does not answer every question that it raises, but it nails the Zeitgeist of the late 60's from a vantage point 10 years later. I have only seen it once, when it first came out and I have looked for it ever since.The story is slow to develop with Moses Wine (Dreyfuss) having trouble with seemingly every aspect of his life. We learn that he feels displaced in time, and cannot get past the radical time in his life. I and many others have had those same feelings in the 35+ years since.The sense of confusion and struggle fits exactly the feelings many of us experienced at the time. Taught to respect the police by our Greatest Generation parents, we often found that we were at the top of the police list of suspects for anything from subversion to bad manners and bad dress. The sense of alienation that I felt at the time permeates the viewing. I may have read too much of myself into it; if so, The Big Fix evoked it from my own life.Best scenes without spoiling the story: Leon Redbone's "I Wanna Be Seduced" while Moses gets ready for a date with Lila Shay (Anspach).Moses at the TV station reviewing scenes of past demonstrations; the images are shown projected on his face. No real detail is visible except the tears on his cheeks. Powerful.The reunion of old friends as they dance around the swimming pool of the house that was built by selling out the old radical values.Finally, a sense of something incomplete at the end. The mystery solved, but every question not answered. How true to life!