Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins

RAFFERTY AND THE GOLD DUST TWINS has become something of a cult movie if you go by the comments on this website. I can understand to a degree its appeal: it's as of the 1970s as wood paneling and disco, it's about an aimless loser finding an unconventional family with a wannabe singer and her surly teenage companion, and most importantly, its heart is in the right place. But as with a lot of cult movies, this is only going to appeal to some and it really didn't click for me.

I appreciate what the movie is trying to do more than how it does it, if that makes sense. I found the characters mostly uninteresting and their contrived, predictable misadventures even less so. The episodes mostly failed to make me laugh or they came off as filler to make sure the movie was longer than 60 minutes. The direction is flat and unengaged too, which does not help.

Alan Arkin gave life to a great deal of misfits and outcasts at this point in his career, but I cannot call Rafferty one of the more memorable ones. He has some fine moments, but he never came off like a fleshed out individual and even after he decides to help out his two female associates, he still seems aimless, like he's just tagging along for the ride. Now perhaps that is the point, but if so, it's still not interesting to watch. Sally Kellerman outright annoyed me with her character's spaceyness and weird stoner vibes (is she supposed to come off that way?). Mackenzie Phillips is the only one who leaves an impression, even if she's playing a stereotypical teenage rebel. She had a lot of moments that touched me and I think she sold her character's loneliness better than anyone else.

I'm just baffled. I really wanted to like this, but I was left cold. Then again, that's just the nature of cult movies: you can't like 'em all, even if you're a cult afficionado like me.

"Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins" is a character study, loaded with great character actors. It is also unpredictable, with occasional bursts of outrageous humor. Alan Arkin plays a hard drinking, totally inept, and burned out driving instructor. Sally Kellerman, is a wannabe country singer, accompanied by Mackenzie Phillips, a fifteen year old hustler. These three hit the road for New Orleans, scamming and thieving along the way. The colorful characters they encounter include Alex Rocco as a Las Vegas nut job, Charles Martin Smith as a soldier who gets scammed, and Harry Dean Stanton as a one legged veteran who gets hustled at pool. Also, there is a rather unexpected ending to this road trip of broken dreams. - MERK

Combine the personalities of Sally Kellerman and Mackenzie Phillips, one a mellow dreamer, the other a gun-toting schemer, and you have Kellerman's entire character from the previous years' road movie, SLITHER, making her passive, affable performance seem like she's merely along for the ride, leaving all the edginess to her other/better half...

And basically making Alan Arkin's Rafferty, a boozing ex-Marine/DMV instructor kidnapped by the pair, along for the ride's ride as RAFFTERY AND THE GOLD DUST TWINS goes from scene to scene/town to town gathering mossy strangers along the way...

From victimized gas station attendants to Las Vegas con man Alex Rocco to irate Arizona rancher John McClliam to Texas barfly Harry Dean Stanton and young soldier Charles Martin Smith (sharing a terrific motel scene with AMERICAN GRAFFITI alumni Phillips), they all merely serve witness to the eclectic trio who find predictable camaraderie along the breezy trip...

Although Arkin lacks initial reluctance: Seconds after Phillips sticks a gun to his head (and even fires it off OVER his head), saccharine elevator music lazily orchestrates a wide shot of the freeway like a TV-production, which this often resembles a grungy and freewheeling version of...

Actually a good thing since RAFFERTY has nothing to lose or gain to either educate or annoy an audience, which refers to both the character and the movie -- one worth watching over and over for that reason alone: Lethargy on wheels can be infectious.

I suspected this might not be a good movie since Pauline "Hates Everything Popular" Kael gave it a good review. Still, I gave it a chance, much to my regret. Though it's ostensibly a comedy, there is not one single laugh here - in fact, the movie often seems afraid of trying to generate any humor. None of the three leads is likable - Phillips is annoying, Kellerman bland, and Arkin is so boring it's no wonder we see his character asleep several times in the movie. To top it off, the movie is pretty much plotless, with the movie going whatever way it feels like, with no point in sight. This probably wouldn't have mattered had the movie been funny - but it isn't.

This film has one of Louis Prima's last appearances. (He took ill in 1975). Louis can be seen in the Casino scenes along with longtime backups,Sam Butera and the Witnesses. They perform excerpts of "When Your Lover has Gone", "Che la Luna" and "Got you Under my Skin". Although the sequence is short and peppered with dialog,the old Prima magic shines thru. By this time,Louis was working with Sam and the Witnesses only. Keely Smith had been gone since 1961 and Gia Maione,Louis' singing partner and wife was only appearing with the group occaisinly The film is so-so,but worth staying with to enjoy Louis,Sam and the Band.