Forgive me if I get a bit nostalgic this week, as I finish out my summer of movies effort.
Today was our last graded event. I have my last brief. Well, I gave it twice, but still, it’s done.
I settled in tonight with Ruthless People, a classic black comedy from the god-awful 80′s. 1986, to be exact. The era of leggings and spandex skirts, of big hair and Miami Vice. And the 80′s — the high point in Zucker Brothers films — Airplane, Top Secret, Naked Gun, and all that good stuff coming to a pinnacle in American high society.
Pretty good cast — Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater. Not outstanding, but pretty good. DeVito and Midler play a rich wealthy couple far from being in love, Midler as the daughter of the big boss, and DeVito as the little sh*t who marries her to get ahead in business, only to really gain nothing. Reinhold and Slater play a couple down on their luck and desperate, who kidnap Midler to demand a ransom – that DeVito doesn’t want to pay. He’s rather they go ahead and kill her.
Though dated and basking in the glory of 80′s fashion, it’s really funny. This is a watch-once-a-year kind of movie. Good story, good plot, good twists, good jokes — but the real treasure is in the fashion.
