Bruce Willis’ star power rose quite a bit with the release of Die Hard, but strangely it was his supporting role in Bonfire of the Vanities that seemed to give him the clout he needed to do his own rewrites on the action thriller he was working on at the time, Hudson Hawk. Through his vision, this film became goofier and very Looney Tunes-esque. Unfortunately, the marketing stuck with the action side of Willis and the film flopped in the States. But it’s a quirky film that found its audience over time and became a bit of a cult classic. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we start up a new round of our guilty pleasure series for the new year and look at one of Pete’s guilty pleasures, Michael Lehmann’s 1991 film Hudson Hawk.
We talk about why Pete has this on his guilty pleasures list and what Andy thought of it. We look at the backstory and what went into getting it made. We discuss the marketing for the film and ponder if a different approach may have allowed for a successful release. We chat about the over-the-top antics of the rest of the cast but principally Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard as the Mayflowers. We touch on Dante Spinotti’s look and Chris Lebenzon’s & Michael Tronick’s editing of the film and what they brought to it, paired with Lehmann. And we debate the tonal shifts in the film between goofy, bonkers comedy and surprising moments of strong violence.
It’s a strange little film that many people don’t click with but some people – like us – really enjoy. We have a great time talking about it on this week’s show, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins.
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