Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins

Alan Arkin plays a California driving instructor who is so bored with his job that he falls asleep in his student's car; getting kidnapped by two nuts like Sally Kellerman and Mackenzie Phillips is really just what he needs. Kellerman has done solid work in films such as "MASH" and "Slither", but she is truly remarkable here as a little girl in a woman's body, convinced she has musical potential and that street urchin Phillips can help her realize her dream of becoming a professional singer (she believes the best in everybody). Phillips is tough and guarded, but lets her walls down in surprising ways (at one point, Arkin sneaks a little kick at her and she kicks back--she's enjoying a grown up's closeness for the first time). As Rafferty, Arkin is wonderfully flexible and warm; alienated and confused, he isn't even hopeful enough to get a decent car (the one he does drive seems glued together). The friendship that develops between these three people is funny and touching. It probably catches them by surprise, yet the characters don't acknowledge their new bond (by discussing it, they may burst the balloon). I didn't care for a padded sequence mid-movie that has Arkin's brakes going out (the three leads "walk to town", only they're in the middle of nowhere), but I did love many scenes: Kellerman singing in a Tucson roadhouse; her visit to her father, an embittered cowboy who wants nothing to do with his daughter; Arkin desperately trying to hang onto his friends; Phillips nearly selling herself to buy Arkin a cowboy hat (the only present she's ever bought for anybody). An underrated, warm-hearted movie, "Rafferty" is a lost gem awaiting rediscovery. ***1/2 from ****

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.

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.

"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

Not bad, not bad at all. Alan Arkin, an actor whose screen persona has been nearly as eccentric as Elliott Gould's, stars as a none too bright driving instructor abducted by a pair of oddball runaways, well played by the underrated Sally Kellerman and the even less appreciated MacKenzie Phillips. They endure each other's company, and along the journey (this is one of those "road" movies) become accomplices in what seems to be their mutual desire to escape from society's norms. I may be reading more into this film that what the writer has written, but it's an entertaining endeavor, mainly due to the cast.