The Color of Money

Near excellent sequel to "The Hustler" which returns Paul Newman (finally in an Oscar-winning role) as the old wise former hustler who decides to take young jerk Tom Cruise and his hot, but shady girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in her Oscar-nominated role) on the road to take advantage of all pool table challengers. Newman's reprise of his greatest role is truly something to experience. He is at the top of his career in this one, playing a quiet and complicated role of a man who has been tortured by time, loss and missed dreams of total success. Martin Scorsese's subtle and focused direction stays on task throughout and he lets his three outstanding leads do the bulk of the work. Not quite as good as "The Hustler" due to a weaker screenplay and less suspense, but still a very memorable cinematic experience. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

25 years after Paul Newman starred as "Fast" Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961), he reprised his role and teamed up with another legend in Martin Scorsese to bring us The Color of Money (1986). Undoubtedly stylish and entertaining, it seems to lack the depth and atmospheric feel of "The Hustler". Cruise gives an honest but not terribly likeable performance as Vincent Lauria and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio does well with what she's given. I think the problem was some of the performances came off slightly cartoonish, though I suppose it's difficult to fully recapture the realism and magic that we had with "The Hustler", far and away one of the greatest films of the '60s. Scorsese takes a different approach here and allows his art of a filmmaker to shine through during the pool scenes, which are handled fairly artistically through innovative angles and shots (no pun intended). It's most certainly got style but the substance just wasn't what it could have been given where it's come from.

"The Color Of Money" continues the story of pool player/hustler 'Fast Eddie' Felson (Paul Newman). He's 25 years old, and 25 years wiser as he's spent that time watching pool hustles and schemes and selling wine after his 'early' retirement from pool playing in the original.

But now he's got a new excitement and energy to the game, as he meets Vincent (Tom Cruise), a young, cocky but talented fresh player who's not well known around the low-level pool rooms Eddie has been frequenting. Eddie and Vincent's girlfriend, Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) see Vincent as a cash cow. Indeed, everybody uses everyone, and we're never quite sure the relationship between the three. That's the beauty of it.

Scorsese's never been more refined yet quietly flashy, dealing with a traditional 'old' Hollywood tale of a mentor and protege as small time hustlers playing each other and getting played. The film is an underrated gem, truly downplayed in Scorsese's overall filmography.

Definitely recommended.

The Color of Money (1986)

The reputation of this films rides partly on its director, a mainstream Martin Scorsese, and on the previous film it bounces off of (and makes vague reference to), The Hustler. Key to both films is the astonishing Paul Newman, who holds his end of the stick and then some. The rest of the cast is purely in canned and competent support roles, or in semi-star roles by two young actors with some screen presence but no great subtle skill to match Newman's.

I'm speaking not only of Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, who is forced to play the slightly tough, slightly sexy, generally submissive girlfriend, but also of Tom Cruise, who is brilliant at being "flakey" partly because he is in real life, from all accounts. You give Scorsese credit here for using the young actor in a role that matches his natural persona, in contrast to others, including Spielberg, who seem to make more of the actor than there is, and a certain falseness gets in the way. But this film uses the awkwardness and naive, boyish qualities of Cruise as a sudden pool shark really well.

What holds it all back? I think basically plot. I mean, it's fun to see the big hustle at play, and to get stung once or twice when things aren't what they seem. But we sort of know going in that that's the general plan, and then it happens. And it takes a long time happening...there are no (no) complications here, beyond pool and hustling. The romances, for what they are worth, a completely thin, and didn't have to be. The settings, all these great (great) poolhalls and small town joints are terrific, populated a little too perfectly by locals of all different stripes. The camera-work makes some fairly cinema verite footage make sense in the scenes, but not with either edge or lyricism.

This all sounds a little like I'm working hard to point out the flaws, and I must go back to where I started about Newman, and the basic strength of the aging pool player facing a change in his personal scenery. It's a canned affair overall. Well done, sure, but without the richness of the best of Scorsese's work, or the best of Hollywood, for that matter, including the preceding The Hustler, which you might see in a pairing with this one.

The Color of Money is a slick sequel to The Hustler where Paul Newman as a much younger man paid the price for hustling pool. Now, twenty some years later, his Fast Eddie Felson is driving around in a big fancy Cadillac selling liquor and stake-horsing younger pool players. One day, while romancing his bartender girlfriend, his young protégé (John Tuturro) gets whipped by this cocky kid named Vincent. Eddie Felson is immediately drawn to the flaky, loud-mouthed kid with the name "Vince" stenciled on his tee shirt. After some arm twisting and manipulating, Eddie, Vincent, and Vincent's streetwise girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are making their way to Atlantic City where a 9 Ball pool tournament awaits. Along they way Eddie tries to teach them how to hustle pool. This will be a problem because of course the cocky youngster won't do as he's told. He has a gift and knows it. It is simply impossible for him to hold back and let someone beat him. Even when it could lead to a bigger payoff down the road. His girlfriend Carmen also seems to see both Vincent and Eddie as a way to make money for herself. She is clearly a woman with motives all her own. Of course this will all lead up to a climatic match in Atlantic City between the old master and the young protégé, won't it? Well, it appears to for a moment, until we learn that what we saw wasn't really what it appeared to be.

And that's the part of the film that seemed to really irk Roger Ebert in his review. He was expecting a masterpiece of a film for no other reason than Martin Scorcese is the director. But the film isn't a masterpiece. Its simply a very good film with some great performances, great music, and some gritty and authentic-looking locations. Who is the better pool player is the last thing this film is about. This is a film about people using other people. Be it for money, inspiration, comfort, you name it. Newman plays Felson here as a gruff, seasoned man who thinks he knows everything about the game, and those who play it. He finds out as the film moves along that is not always the case. Sometimes these younger players have new tricks up their sleeves, and if you let your guard down, they will hustle even the smartest old timer. There is a classic scene where Eddie, after a few too many drinks, allows a chubby and apparently dim-witted Forest Whitaker to take him for hundreds of dollars. The film is full of scenes that end in ways you don't quite expect.

This is one of those movies where above all else, the casting was almost perfect. Newman is as watchable as ever. Mastrantonio steals a few scenes. Cruise is annoying of course, but he was supposed to be. Still, he looks kind of weak compared to the other actors. Great support from Helen Shaver and Bill Cobbs, too. Watch closely for an appearance from music icon Iggy Pop. During a montage, Cruise hustles him and then steals a shot of booze right out of his hand! The cinematography from Michael Ballhaus is great as always. In fact its too good! Some of the camera shots just look too stylish for such a film. Maybe that was Scorcese's way of trying to liven up a picture with so little violence! Overall, The Color of Money is worth your time. 8 of 10 stars.

The Hound