Remember the days when Robert de Niro going commercial was not only rare, but worth it? This, The Untouchables, Cape Fear... (After Casino he seemed to give up.) This was one of the best of the 80s buddy action films; compared to Tango and Cash and Lethal Weapon it seemed positively restrained. This can be best explained by the decision to cast Charles Grodin as the accountant instead of Robin Williams, who apparently was also considered. Williams would have been hilarious but Grodin gives a performance, not going for the easy laughs, being a very believable accountant (a little smug with his healthy lifestyle, wryly funny, clever).
The relationship between him and de Nito gives this film its emotional glue – they are an odd couple, but the treatment of it seems fresh; they never really become friends, although they learn respect. I like it how you get the sense that for all de Niro’s bluster he’s the one who would like to be Grodin’s friend genuinely whereas it isn’t the other way around (during the talk on the train its de Niro who says we probably would have been friends and Grodin is silent; also at the end you get the sense de Niro would like to get a coffee with Grodon but Grodin takes off). The other great scene is when de Niro visits his wife and daughter; the moment where the daughter offers her babysitting money to him gets me everytime. (And Martin Brest to his credit gives the scene to her.)
A sign of the times – the swearing seems like nothing down, but the amount of smoking is striking. The script is superb, a wonderful example of structure (George Gallo never had another credit like it). It does go on for a bit – maybe could have done with an action scene cut or something.
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