Post by Eddie Love on Jul 16, 2011 10:17:31 GMT -5
At the height of his superstardom, Burt Reynolds attempted a change of pace trading in his Trans-am and Coors for a Rolls Royce and champagne in the caper ROUGH CUT. Despite the talent who assembled for the picture and possibly because of its rumored troubled production, the vehicle didn’t transport the star into the new direction he wanted. His fan base didn’t really tag along for this ride. It’s a mixed bag, but as a calling card for star turns that never materialized, it’s a tantalizing tease.
Released in 1981, the plot feels more like something from the days of swingin’ 60s London capers or perhaps even earlier. The movie’s about a lovely English jewel thief who’s blackmailed by Scotland Yard into keeping tabs on -- and romancing -- the ex-pat American one dogged Chief Inspector is certain has his eye on a massive diamond heist.
Legendary Broadway showman David Merrick produced the film and apparently hired (and fired…and later re-hired) legendary director Don Siegel while simply firing legendary screenwriter Larry Gelbart just the one time. Someone else is credited with the script, but Burt has lots of pithy one-liners that sound like pure Gelbart. (Asked at one point about his parents, Burt deadpans, “They died before I was born.”)
The main thrust of the light-hearted film seems to posit Burt in a role akin to Cary Grant in TO CATCH A THIEF. Indeed, when we first hear Burt he’s doing a Grant impression. (Later in the film he does Gable and Bogey and an Arab sheik he acknowledges is lifted from Peter Sellers.) He’s effortlessly funny and loose through the whole movie getting plenty of mileage out of some quick-witted banter in the script. And in keeping with the star’s physicality, in the opening scenes we also see him doing a kind of fire-pole descent from the upper storey of stately home that's one shot and all him.
As the femme fatale Lesley-Anne Down shares some potent chemistry with Burt, but I was distracted by how alarmingly skinny she looked in this. Reynolds’ antagonist at Scotland Yard is played by another star often accused of being more entertaining off-screen than on: David Niven. Unlike other pictures from the period in his career you don’t need to worry that he’ll break a hip in any action scenes.
As game and high-energy as Burt is, I wish the film kept pace with him. For a Siegel film, it’s oddly sluggish and easily twenty minutes too long. Elements of the heist that’s central to the story itself are only introduced in the last half-hour and are preceded by a few too many repetitive scenes of Burt’s courting Down. Though the action skips from England to the continent, there isn’t much location work and too many drab interior scenes give this the feel of a TV movie at times. Also, the film ends with a final twist that may just leave you scratching your head.
The whole enterprise strives a bit too hard to affect a studied level of sophistication that feels dated for the times. For instance, there’s scoring by Nelson Riddle based on Duke Ellington themes that, while fun, only serves to make the proceedings come off as more square than elegant. The filmmakers seem set more on evoking bygone entertainments rather than making something fresh. It’s similar to the movie star imitations Burt does. They’re fine, amusing moments, but Burt’s the real deal in his own right and deserves to take center stage in a vehicle that feels less hand-me-down.
I guess the conclusion is to say that audiences didn’t want to see Burt in this type of role, but I think that’s too easy. If ROUGH CUT had been a little, leaner and tighter with a more contemporary feel that better showcased the star instead of trying to replicate vehicles past of other marquee names, I think it may have registered better. And I believe Reynolds at his best came better damn close to being on par with the greats. He had his stuntman atheticism coupled with a wise-ass’ mastery of the one-liner that was killer when served by the material. (Plus when there is a climactic car chase in this -- Burt's not driving!)
True, ROUGH CUT comes closer than some other Burt pictures to putting this all on display. I think it just needed to go further to re-brand the man.