Grace Quigley (1985)

An elderly widow (Katharine Hepburn) has become increasingly dissatisfied with life. When she sees a professional hit man (Nick Nolte) kill her landlord (Harris Laskawy), she decides to hire him to kill her! Directed by Anthony Harvey (THE LION IN WINTER), this black comedy has a one joke premise that never takes flight. I can't begin to guess what prompted Hepburn to take on this role. Did she have an urge to ride on the back of a motorcycle with Nolte or slip and slide in the backseat of a slapstick car chase? Or perhaps the morbid subject matter appealed to her. The film depicts a grim picture of old age and assumes elderly people are so depressed that they want out of life. Perhaps it might have made for a dark drama but as a comedy, it's a fizzle. I watched the theatrical cut but an extended version (7 more minutes) exists and is presumably better. With Elizabeth Wilson, Walter Abel, Kit Le Fever and William Duell.