Hudson Hawk (1991)

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nTitle: Hudson Hawk (1991)

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nDirector: Michael Lehman

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nCast: Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie McDowell, Sarah Bernhard, Richard E. Grant, James Coburn

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nSometimes we like a movie even though everybody else thinks itsncrap, and Hudson Hawk is one of those movies for me. Lambasted by critics whennit was first released, Hudson Hawk was deemed “unspeakably awful” by RollingnStone magazine and “implausible” by AMC Film Critic; to that I say “where’snyour sense of humor people?” Yeah it’s silly and over the top, but when wasnthat a sin? Last time I checked there’s room in the universe for films like this;nin fact, sometimes it’s exactly what I need to watch. Bruce Willis was part ofnthe group of writers that were responsible for the film; that’s right mynfriends, Bruce Willis partially concocted the story for this film. The film was such a horrendous flop that Willis never dabbled in the script department of any film ever again. The thing isnthat I perfectly get what Bruce Willis wanted to convey with Hudson Hawk, I getnthe vibe, I get the style of comedy, I get the tone of the flick, what I don’tnget is why other people don’t find it as entertaining as I do! Really thisnmovie is tons of fun!

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nEddie Hawkins a.k.a. ‘Hudson Hawk’ is a master thief who hasnjust gotten out of jail. He’s done his time, it’s over, he’s out. Problem isnthat he is such a great burglar that the minute he steps out of jail, he isnimmediately offered an irresistible job to steal a famous work of art from annauction house. The piece? None other than Davinci’s ‘Sforza’. And so the tale unfolds,nsoon Hudson Hawk learns that the ones who want to steal these famous works ofnart are the head honchos of a corporation known as Mayflower Industries; a corporationnrun by two genuine whackos know as Darwin and Minerva Mayflower, a husband andnwife duo who want nothing more than to destroy the very economical foundationsnof society! So once Hudson Hawk realizes what the deal is, of course, he has tonstop these two power hungry megalomaniacs.

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nSo Hudson Hawk is the kind of movie that doesn’t really carenmuch for logic and reason, it simply wants to be fast paced, tell a couple of jokesnand one liners along the way, maybe put a smile on your face and finallynentertain ya. This isn’t Shakespeare and it never tries to be; this is a heistnmovie tinted with a little bit of adventure and  sprayed with a little bit of gangster film shenanigansnfor good measure. You see, Hudson Hawks best buddy is a guy called Tommy FivenTone, the owner of a bar where gangster go to talk shop, eat and drink. Cool partnis that Tommy Five Tone is played by Danny Aiello and what says “gangster movie”nmore than Danny Aiello right? There’s a group of actors out there who alwaysnend up in gangster movies because they have that Italian gangster face andnAiello is one of them. So anyways,  TommynFive Tone runs this bar, but on the side he sometimes organizes a heist or two,nand Hudson Hawk is his right hand man. Here’s an element of the film that letsnyou know how lighthearted it is: Tommy and Hawk pull off their heists whilensinging Bing Crosby and Paul Anka songs! They actually time their heists tonhowever long the song lasts. The chemistry between these two characters is onenof the elements that keeps the movie entertaining, the one liners, the jokes,nthe funny back and forth. Listen carefully; the subtle word play is hilariousnon this one. I mean, one of the crime families in the film is named The MarionBrothers! 

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nCalling this movie implausible, as a critic called it isnsimply stupid, because plausibility is not something I look for in a movie likenHudson Hawk, in fact, in this kind of tongue in cheek movie, plausibility is thenlast thing on the list. On this kind of movie you get the complete opposite,nwhich is why I enjoy the elements in Hudson Hawks that border on fantasy, Inlike the over the topness. I like seeing Willis pulling off a heist whilensinging ‘Swinging on a Star’. I like how the fights and the action where pullednoff in a cartoonish fashion, it at times feels like you’re watching a ThreenStooges short. And speaking of over the top, out of all the performances,nSara Bernhard’s ‘Minerva Mayflower’ stands out as the most over the topncharacter of all! Bernhard has been a comedian for many years, even performingnto sell out crowds in Broadway. I remember her the most from her role in MartinnScorsese’s  The King of Comedy (1983), anfilm in which she played opposite Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis. On this onenshe is loud, intimidating and larger than life. It is obvious she relishednplaying the lead villain. As a suggestion, if you feel like checking out the specialnfeatures, check out this really funny featurette in which Bernhard explains hownshe loved playing Minerva, its hilarious!

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nThe film was directednby Michael Lehmann, the same director behind such films as Heathers (1988) Airheadsn(1994) and Meet The Applegates (1990), here he does a good job, in my opinionnthe film has slick production values, they even shot some scenes in Rome whichnwas pretty cool. Unfortunately for Lehman, Hudson Hawk was shot down from thenskies, it was a bomb, probably because it was a very misunderstood film. It wasnmarketed as an action adventure film, and so people were probably expectingnsomething along the lines of what they’d seen Willis successfully pull off innDie Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990) and so that probably caught people offnguard. They weren’t expecting a goofy, cartoonish action/comedy, heist movie, theynwanted more of John McClain! Instead they got John McClain via The Three Stooges, not a bad combo if you forget all about expectations!   

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nJust how cartoonish was this film you ask? Well,nduring some of the fights you’ll hear cartoon sounds, just like you’d hear innthose old Warner Bros. cartoons that’s how cartoonish this movie was! The fights?nVery slapstick in nature, usually, the main characters will be in peril, butneverything turns out good in the end, it’s that kind of movie. I say that ifnthey had marketed the film for what it was, it wouldn’t have disappointed audiencesnand it might have had a chance. When released in theaters, it was marketed withnthe tagline “Catch the Adventure, Catch the Excitement, Catch the Hawk!” whichnsuggests it’s a full blown action flick. Yet, after the film tanked, they switchednthe word “Adventure” for “Laughter” for the films Home Video release, but bynthen it was too late. My take on it is that audiences don’t like to be lied too.nI’ve seen this happen with many other movies, the first one that comes to mindnis Nicholas Cage’s Vampires Kiss (1989) which was marketed as a comedy, but wasnactually a dark, weird film. Lesson for Hollywood: don’t lie to your audiencenjust to get their butts in the theater, your film will suffer for it. Now here’snThe Film Connoisseur telling it like it is, now you know what kind of movienHudson Hawk is, go check it out, you’ll more than likely have a good time.

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nRating:  3 ½ out of 5

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