Mike Nichols directs John Travolta, Emma Thompson and Adrian Lester in this satirical drama based on the Clinton election campaign / scandals where all the names have been changed to protect the obvious.

Doesn’t come to life as a comedy then lurches into hard tragedy at a late point that stretches the patience. Travolta is well cast as the “Bill” caricature but feels under exploited. Kathy Bates is the only player who gives more than she gets in a strangely toothless project – she lands the more barbed jokes and then does all the heavy lifting when things get VERY weighty. A weird, atonal big budget release.

5

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Ron Underwood directs Billy Crystal, Jack Palance and Bruno Kirby in this comedy western where three middle-aged friends go on an adventure holiday so they can get to be cowboys for a fortnight.

Witty, colourful and surprisingly rousing. There are some big and convincing stunt sequences involving the stars and cattle played for thrills as much as laughs. This was a favourite of mine as a kid that lived up to fond memories on rewatch. Crystal (“HELLOOOOO!”) fills even the already funny scenes with relentless bonus patter. The man is a joke machine. His chemistry with Kirby and Daniel Stern is rich. The only negative is everyone gets a bittersweet, moment of self-realisation monologue in the second act… and they do start to feel formulaic once you notice the trend. This mid-level Hollywood release was the fifth most successful film at the 1991 box office and it is still so crowd pleasing and smart thirty years later, you can easily see why!

8

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/