It is apparent that director Bobby Houston's interest in savaging the made to be lampooned denizens of the modern art community is a primary consideration for this film set along trendy Gallery Row on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. However, the production wants those components necessary for consideration as full-formed satire, instead opting for its strongest emphasis upon a plot full of holes with characters who generate only a moderate amount of interest. Adam Ant portrays James Callendar, owner of a gallery where business is languishing due to the success of his competitors who have covenants with more significant artists. Callendar believes that the output by these artisans has heightened value because the painters are deceased, whereby he becomes resolved to discover an individual who is both talented and alive, but who will then conveniently die after his canvases gain wide acceptance, consequently greatly increasing their worth. Introduced at this point is Sam Brown (David Packer) who is aesthetically endowed but totally disinterested in selling his works, thus presenting a prime opportunity for Callendar who must yet overcome the barrier of Brown's being above ground. The situation becomes more complex when Callendar's assistant and lover Catherine, played very well by Talia Balsam, begins an amorous relationship with the reticent painter. Some witty segments are confronted with slack direction and, although one wishes to admire the film, nearly all scenes lack that skillful editing needed for logical narrative continuity. This shortcoming opposes the development of character essential for a projected black comedy, one notable example being when Brown, initially scripted as being extremely shy and non-communicative with adults, abruptly shifts into a condition of volubility. Acting honours go to Balsam, whose comedic timing suggests what the picture might have been with crisper direction, while there are scintillas of barbed humour upon occasion, although too seldom to allow the movie to rise above a sluggish condition.
