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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 443140" data-attributes="member: 23">Cadillac Man (1990) <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNjk0NzQyODQ0OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzM2NjgyNA%40%40._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=226d76c249a64fc922e183488cb0f6db2fd50f9734e8b7b2831df22bf8f62db0" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 660px" /> If memory serves, this was a recommendation from Prime after I added Falling Down to my watch list. I haven't seen the latter, but from its reputation I would say it's a logical pairing, with both having that "day from hell" thing going on.Curiously, according to Amazon's description this is set "in 1970s New York".  I'm not sure where they pulled this from, since there  is no period setting (at least, not by the standards of the day. In 2026 it's something of a time capsule).It would be a stretch to describe myself as a big fan of Robin Williams, but this feels like the perfect vehicle (pun not entirely attended) for him. He's surrounded by actors who can match his energy while (somewhat paradoxically) reining him in. There are occasionally some big performances, but there's a naturalism which grounds it. It helps that New York is a character, as it's a place where some of the larger than life characters feel perfectly at home and, if anything, expected.Tim Robbins - as I've no doubt mentioned before - I always conflated during this era with Bruce Greenwood, Sam Neill and probably another actor or two. His character, Larry,  spends the most time with Wiliams's Joey. At times I found myself a little irritated with how easily Joey took control of the situation and  influenced Larry and, despite it being established that Joey is a convincing salesman first and foremost,  feel it could have been sold better in this particular situation. Still, the screen chemistry is good, and the negotiation scenes where Joey, gun pressed between his shoulder blades, manically relays the hostage taker's message to "go away" are hilarious. I especially enjoyed the little detail of him giving the "time out" signal to them as the pair shuffles backwards into the showroom.The rest of the cast is pretty solid with everyone being the right level of sleazy, pushy, weary or demanding. Lauren Tom was a standout as the dim sum waitress (it's a little mind-blowing that she can be so funny here, while her thankless Friends role a few years later was written so blandly. At least she was better serviced in Futurama). Inexplicably, I instantly recognised Fran Dresher's name from The Nanny (it must have gone in by osmosis from spending so much time around these parts), and I was curious to get my first look at her, hoping it might pull me towards a series I haven't watched. I did check out a few clips afterwards, but only to see if she used the same voice there which would dash any hope of me watching. Funny how Lauren and Fran use a similar register, but the timbre of one works for me while the other grates like a gratey thing.I didn't recognise Elaine Stritch as the widow in the opening scene. In fairness, she did wear a dark veil for most of her scene.I appreciated the film's early scenes, which spent a great deal of time establishing its characters, dynamics and settings, just following Joey round as he went about his weekend. It would have been great (if impossible) to watch this without knowing a thing about the film's premise, because there was really no sense of where it was going for the first third of the film. This groundwork really paid off when it hit the fan. I also applauded the genuine sense of jeopardy. It felt as though anything could happen, and the ending could go several ways.Outrageous as the whole thing seems, this is a film that can really only work when played by people who are not only funny but also good dramatic actors. And work it does.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?