Director: Elaine May
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin
Have I Seen It Before: Never. There was a solid bet that I (and you, and the rest of America) was never going to see it. Then I go and create a podcast about the absolute worst that cinema has to offer, and it would appear that Ms. May and I were on a collision course for years.
Did I Like It: Well, no. It’s reputation is mostly well-earned. It’s a comedy that is all-too-often not terribly funny. More than that, I struggle to find a movie that is this interested in actively annoying its audience for most of its first act. There have been plenty of movies about bad artists before. Ed Wood (1994) immediately comes to mind, but the movie does the work to make us like the people involved, and even Wood’s bad art has its charms. Chuck (Hoffman, mildly mis-cast) and Lyle (Beatty, wildly, unnervingly mis-cast) are such an aggravating stage presence, the entire first act of the film feels like it goes on forever. This movie introduced me to a headache, and left that headache largely un-diminished.
And, yet. (And there is quite a bit of “yet”). May’s quip that if everyone who said they hated Ishtar had actually seen Ishtar, then May would be a rich woman does hold up. There are laughs to be found here. While Beatty never before or since appeared more lost amid a film (him claiming women don’t like him has all the anatomy of a joke, but only leads to eye-rolling) Hoffman is occasionally able to rise above the Coca-Cola-infused studio politics and occasionally illicit a chuckle. The supporting cast is well-filled, with Grodin and Carol Kane providing welcome appearances. The cinematography is well-done, with the New York scenes and the Moroccan desert scenes more nimbly changing the scale of the lensing better than most films which attempt to shift tones.
May might have grown into a skilled director. One wishes she had been given chances that weren’t weighed down with so much baggage.
At least more people should watch it and try to make May a rich woman.