After killing an unarmed man in a drug bust, a cop (Jeff Bridges in an uneven performance, his drunk scenes are awful) resigns from the force and becomes an alcoholic, destroying his marriage in the process and eventually leading him to join Alcoholics Anonymous. When a hooker (Alexandra Paul) comes to him for help in escaping the prostitution life, what at first seems like a chance at redemption leads him down a dark path involving drugs and murder. The last film of director Hal Ashby is a far cry from the days of
BEING THERE and
SHAMPOO. It seems nobody was happy with the finished product. Ashby was fired after the film wrapped and had nothing to do with the post editing process. Co-screenwriter Oliver Stone wanted his name taken off the credits (it wasn't) because Ashby threw out his script and reputedly had the cast improvise (it sure sounds like it). After all that, you'd think the film would be a hideous mess. Well, it
is a mess but an entertaining one in spite of the erratic acting and writing. The film is pure 80s in look and feel especially the James Newton Howard synthesizer underscore. With Andy Garcia in his star making role (he seems to be channeling Pacino from
SCARFACE), Rosanna Arquette and Randy Brooks.
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