Nadine

It's Austin, Texas, 1954, and Jeff Bridges's biggest ambition is a gaudy neon to top-off his tacky, no-business, beer bar, while estranged wife and apprentice hairdresser Kim Basinger sends her "art photos" to Playboy magazine. Obviously they're made for each other. Meanwhile, her sleazo photographer turns up dead and they're on the run. It's delightful madcap as they bumble their way through a series of misadventures. Their subtly affectionate sniping reminds me of a bad grammar version of Nick and Nora Charles in the uptown Thin Man series. Surprisingly, the California born Bridges has the "good ol' boy" drawl down pat, while even the usually snooty Basinger manages a convincing honky-tonk queen. Good period detail without the distractive sounds of Golden Oldies. -- With a delightfully arch Rip Torn as the slyly superior villain. It's amazing how these little gems keep getting produced with little or no recognition. All in all, great escapist fare for a slow evening at home.

If watched in 1987 "Nadine" could be labeled as one terrible movie which only wasted time, energy, money and a good cast on a loose plot. But when one watches this now, one must see it in a different light. It's far from being bad. It's very cool actually. Take two attractive actors, make them as an unusual pair in between loving and hating each other, trying to survive dangerous people and thrilling situations, then you have a movie. And quite a short one (78 minutes).

What prevents "Nadine" of being found good by viewers relates in seeing who's involved in it and why they're stuck with such a heavily clichéd, flawed picture. Why Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger would star in something like this, playing loud, talky, cheap characters who try to be smarter than smartness itself? Or why Academy Award winner Robert Benton would go forward in writing and directing such a strange project? The conclusion reached was that this was a way of doing something fun, a child's play. Hollywood indulging itself with plenty of fun in the making and hoping people notice that and perhaps enjoy it for what it is. In this department, as being a fun work, it succeeds despite the pros and cons. Today it's easier to make things like this and with better results ("Ocean's Eleven" is a living proof of this, a movie made among friends, very easy and it became quite profitable, going with two more sequels).

How come no one notices that in this film? It's not trying to convey messages or have a higher purpose, it's just a small entertainment, fine. It's the kind of story presented time and time again in countless pictures: Nadine (Basinger) testifies a murder, then she gets chased by people involved in it who want something she might have taken out from the victim, something that belongs to them. Endangered and with nothing better to do, she contacts her soon to be ex-husband (Bridges), a lousy bar owner drowned in debts and misunderstandings, who's desperately for divorcing his wife to marry his new girl (Glenne Headly) as fast as possible. Fun thing about this is seeing the story made in the 1950's, for whatever reasons.

Basinger and Bridges make a very exciting couple, they're pretty good together. Hearing their accents might be a problem to many, I think it's quite hilarious at parts. Not much of an intelligent, brilliantly written comedy, it just goes in presenting goofy situations and bright action sequences (final shootout is the best and also the bit with the snakes in the room). Final analysis: it never gets great as it could be and even gets weary in such short running time but it's an amusing film, well acted by everyone involved, and with a nice soundtrack. Let go of everything and just enjoy the show. It manages to save the day. 6/10

This is a very cute comedy caper movie. Kim Basinger is perfect as the ditsy West Texas small town girl, and Jeff Bridges is great as her even dumber husband. Rip Torn is also good as the villain. Plot is pretty simple, but fun. I've shared this with several others in the 35+ year old class, and they all enjoyed it. Very good chemistry between the leads.

Robert Benton wrote and directed this daffy comedy about a Texas manicurist in 1950s Austin who enlists the aid of her estranged husband to help her retrieve some sexy photographs she had taken by a unscrupulous shutterbug; swiping blueprints for a new highway instead, the bickering couple are chased by both the police and a crooked kingpin who's out for blood. Sassy talk and gumshun are the highlights of this pleasant whiff of an idea--sort of an old-fashioned throwback to the cinema's second-feature--but it runs out of steam after an hour or so. Kim Basinger gets to show off her squirrelly side which is very appealing, and Jeff Bridges is a good match for her, but the ramifications of an early murder, the contents of the file, and the plot elements with the gun-toting villains, Bridges' new girlfriend, and Basinger's secret "condition" are not immediately captivating. Didn't Benton realize that the central relationship alone was more engaging than the chases and the overlong shoot-out finale in a junkyard? He was trying for a breezy screwball effect, but this approach is only successful in setting up the story. The rest is irrelevant. ** from ****

Okay, so this movie didn't do great when it came out in the late eighties. I think it was because it was set in another era. But I happen to think this is one of those movies that once you've seen it, it stays with you. The plot is predictable, the action is a little on the slow side, and it veers off funny a few times. However, that being said, Kim Basinger single handedly MAKES this movie. Don't get me wrong Jeff Bridges does a great job too, but it's Nadine that gives the movie it's spark and it's wittiest moments. Basinger is picture perfect because YES, she is beautiful, but she REALLy inhabits the dialogue and her character. She acts beautifully and really seems to be having a great time. My favorite two scenes are when Vernon and Nadine are driving to the photography studio and later when they are alone in his trailer. The scene in the car is all about dialogue and establishing who these two are to each other and it's done amazingly well in a short time. Basinger's dialect alone will make you laugh. "I don't know Vernon, she look a little on the chubby side to be Pecan Queen" and "You know me Vernon, they don't bother me, I don't bother them". She's referring to her spark plugs. I don't know why, but I LOVE her in this scene. It's just seems effortless. And the scene in his trailer, where they are too close for comfort and it starts rekindling that old flame. Chemistry is amazing in this scene, like they can barely exist near each other.

I highly recommend watching this some night, where you don't have to be up doing laundry or dusting your knick knacks. Pop some popcorn and give this one a chance.