Does he point at someone?: Amazingly.......NO! I thought he was gonna, but no.
Best Line: "It would seem to the British government that Cascara is the dot above the "i" in Shit!"
Water..........bottled water.......a most 1980s subject for a film, no? Lord knows what fee Mr Caine received for this film, but I don't think it could have been more than a drop in the vast ocean of his wealth.
We got the man acting as the Governor of Cascara (cue Bromhead accent and mannerisms), a long forgotten British colonial backwater out in the Carribean, a benevolent governor who seems to have gone troppo and is a weed farmer in his spare time. Dastardly American big business with drilling rights return to the island and strike gold, liquid gold!
.............no, not oil. WATER! Perrier Water to be exact with an added laxative property. Yep, this is the sort of concept we're dealing with here. As the various factions begin to squabble over who owns what, local rebel forces attempt an uprising and larger scale governments get involved, its up to our Mickey to be the one who has to pour oil on these troubled waters (sorry).
I'm sure that in 1985 this must have been very topical, what with the Falklands being recent news, Thatcher impersonations and poking all manner of fun at various establishment figures, but in reality it all falls a bit flat and loses its fizz (sorry). In some ways it reminds me of Carlton Brown of the F.O. a film which covers the same sort of topics, but does it a lot better and in a less obvious manner.
Also, Caines wife in this film is so annoying and grating that they really should have thrown her into the sea at some point.
So, a reasonable nothing of a film really. This one does what it aims to do, but theres much better out there. I designate it a rating of Highland Spring
Right, interesting details:
1 - The music. We got chirpy upbeat reggae throughout this baby..........by EDDY GRANT no less!
2 - This film is an absolutely overflowing (sorry) with character actors doing their thing.
We got Leonard Rossiter as an uptight stiff arsed governmental figure. (alas, no Cinzano.)
Fulton Mackay as a dishelleved drunken stoner priest
The wonderful Fred Gwynne as a good ol' boy Texas oil baron.
Billy Connolly, no less, as a singing rebel revolutionary. His characters trait of singing all his lines gets pretty tired, pretty bloody quickly, let me tell you.
4- Eventually, this all leads up to a plea to the UN in the form of a protest song being hollered out by the Big Yin. Not the best way of appealing for help, frankly, but what can you do?
Even the people he's supposed to be appealing on behalf of know this is a bloody terrible song and idea, but what can they........wait who's tha........???
.....wha????
How did they get in there????
Cue sans Macca happy ending
Outfit of the film. Hmmmm, theres a lot of snazzy troppo shirts being worn by Snr Caine. But the hat takes it.
Does he point at someone?: Yes, with a flipper no less.
Best line: "make love to me" "I'm 20 years older than you!" "28." "..........25?" Two things first of all: 1 - This film is a wrong un. Just think about these statements - "The first time I kissed you, it was at your christening" or "I used to have such a crush on your Father" ".............me too" (spoken by his daughter!!) before heading in. 2 - Caines floating disembodied head and collar in that poster above. It would be fair, and I don't think Mike would disagree with this, to say that Caine was slumming it on a regular basis at this point in his career. Had he slummed it any further in this film, he might as well have filmed it in the Favela. The script must have read decently enough, being rather snappy with the one liners, but this doesn't translate too well onto the screen. The film purports to be a bright comedy of errors for the family to chuckle along to............or is it the unwitting document of something else? We open with scenes of harrowing nightmarish figures, writhing in pastel turmoil, the product of mental torment, perhaps brought by the effects of a neon sleeping environ?
Then cut to a figure - nervous looking. rambling. confessional.
The tale then unfolds of Caines "unwilling" seduction by his best friends daughter on a family trip to Rio in a time of marital stress and the wife not being around. UNWILLING
UNWILLING
UNWILLING
"I am not someone who hangs around schoolyards in a raincoat!"
He's innocent. He fell into it. He tried to stop it from continuing! CONFESS.
CONFESS
Along the way, theres some wonderful showdown between the two fathers, forced into sharing a bed for the night and full of mutual loathing.
GIMME SOME!
GIMME HALF!!!
Random grooving bongo dudes
And.......er.........gentlemen being shaved in the street.
Outfit of the film. Caine seeks professional help (rightly!) and is correctly dressed for the ceremony.
The global terrorist threat of ISIS has forced Michael Caine to change his name by deed poll.
His new name? Michael Caine.
Allow us to explain. The actor, born Maurice Micklewhite, told The Sun that increased airport security was causing him delays because his passport bore his birth name.
“I changed my name when all the stuff started with ISIS,” he explained.
“An airport security guard would say ‘Hi Michael Caine,’ and suddenly I’d give him a passport with a different name on it. I could stand there for an hour. So I changed my name.”
Doing an Accent?: No, except when he says "Goddamn"
Accent for whole film?: No. Hair: No
Does he point at someone?: Yes. Repeatedly.
Best line: "I've never understood why you need a stair machine WHEN WE HAVE STAIRS!?!" Gonna come out straight on this one............I love this film. First watched it in the late 90s when returning home from the pub (classic scenario!) and looking for something to watch on the telly. "Ah, a Caine. Never heard of it. 1990. Lets give it a go" and ended up 100% enjoying it all the way through. Then didn't watch it for another 15 years before having a Xmas drink and talking Caine (We at Mount Mickelwhite prefer to talk Caine whilst indulging in a libation), rewatched and it stood up to The Test. Our Maurice plays "Graham Marshall" a man who has made his way up the corporate ladder (a world where you never need a light for yr fat cigar), has the wife, has the house, is a nice chap and is all set to get the promotion he's wanted for a while. Except...........he's bored and dissatisfied with his life and shallow people around him, remembering when he was younger, on his way up and loving his life. When he is passed over for a younger man, promotion wise, and accidentally kills a tramp in the NY subway and gets away with it, the feeling of power from that is revitalising, so he decides to have a clear out of obstacles in the way of the things he wants and stopping him being where he wants to be. ITS YUPPIE KILLIN' TIME. (He also thinks he's a wizard.) Theres a nice touch in the film being narrated by Caine as though the story was being told after its happened, so we follow his path with explanation of why he does what he does. It works really well and we all end up rooting for good ol' Mike..............in spite of him being a killer and therefore a "bad man". Great acting from Mauzzer to make this character humane, likeable and honest. Even when plotting to brutally murder people. The Good Stuff 1 - The music. Gary Changs soundtrack is a sort of upbeat double bass led Xylophone midi jazz affair. Very nice, very NY, VERY 1990. Except......theres a naggingly insistent string motif that plays a lot..............What is that?.............What does that remind me of?............. 2 - The Rants. Of Which There Are Many and Varied.
3 - The Jack Carter Stare. Get on the end of that and you won't see a tomorrow.
4 - This recommendation in the trailer.
Good enough for me! 5 - Out with his new boss who got the job instead of him, on a "no hard feelings" weekend.
"cuts along at a jolly clip too, doesn't she?"
"She jolly well does!"
Mike...........you end him. you end him GOOD. You have my full support. I'll even lend an alibi. 6 - Theres a smart little moment where Caine walks into the office after chatting with his friend George on the journey in about all sorts of stuff. The instant they leave the lift onto their floor, he switches into work mode, starts talking shop and addressing the days issues. Nice little touch that is recognisable for anyone who works in an office environment (as I do, sadly. Not started bumping em off yet though) where you leave the job in the entrance on the way in and out. Outfit of the film: Lots of sharp business suits. Difficult choice as they are all a bit samey. Probably this number, making the lift look a bit regal
See this film! Its on tha 'tube right now in full. Don't buy the DVD I've got at its really dark n crappy looking. Still, at £1 I can't complain too much.
