Thursday, December 09, 2021

Movie review - "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988) **1/2

 I remember hearing about this film when it came out and wanting Coppola to have a hit but also not being excited by the idea: an engineer who wants to make a car and does and then goes bankrupt. That's fun because...?

Look, I get it. The 30s Capra-esque style. The rat-tat dialogue, Jeff Bridges channelling James Stewart, the courtroom finale. I love that George Lucas backed it. It's just... I don't know, I didn't care. I would've cared if it was actually about Coppola making movies instead of it being subtext. It's meant to be him - this big time family man who is always optimistic, trying

There's a strong cast - Martin Landau as a financier, Christian Slater as Tucker Jnr. Joan Allen is The Wife. Elias Koteas as a designer. Frederick Forrest as another engineer. Dean Stockwell as Howard Hughes.

I just didn't care. Maybe because it was about cars. Or maybe 1930s style films belong in that decade. There was an authenticity with those faces which doesn't convey. They were contemporary films- this is looking back. Maybe it doesn't work for me.

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