Set in the poorer parts of Los Angeles, an alcoholic writer (Mickey Rourke) ekes out a living by doing the occasional job but his primary vocation is drinking. He hooks up with another alcoholic (Faye Dunaway) and they spend their time getting drunk. When the posh editor (Alice Krige) of a literary magazine buys one of his stories, she also attempts to make him her lover. Written by Charles Bukowski and directed by Barbet Schroeder (REVERSAL OF FORTUNE). While the movie is well acted, I was slightly put off by the romanticism of alcoholism. While Rourke's alcoholic (based on Bukowski) considers himself a rebel and perceives his alcoholism as a badge of non conformism, I found the tawdriness of his life sad, maybe even pathetic. Rourke is good but there's a certain phoniness in his performance and his line readings often sound like he's channeling Mae West! On the other hand, Dunaway brings a nice pathos to her drunk. I felt sorry for Alice Krige because her part was so contrived that it's unplayable. With Frank Stallone, Jack Nance, Gloria Leroy and Fritz Feld.
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