Never on Tuesday

The film was pretty good. It is nowhere near the potential the Adam Rifkin shows in his later works for instance Detroit rock city. Which was one of my favorite movies of all time. But this is One of Rifkin's first movies and he didn't really have much time to grow as a director or writer yet so all in all it was a funny and good film.

unpretentious and unassuming, you may easily miss seeing this movie for one that is. but don't. stick around for a bit and be drawn in to this movie. it ebbs and flows into an unusual panorama that makes a story good. it is like your favorite short story, basically a small chapter in a book of life; what happens before or after is inconsequential. this movie is one i remember years after i saw it, perhaps so shall you.

My review was written in July 1989 after watching the film on Paramount video cassette.

The talent and beauty of Claudia Christian is showcased in "Never on Tuesday", an unreleased 1987 vanity production that should give Paramount Home Video sleeper possibilities due to the presence of several big-name guest stars.

As in his more recent pic, "Tale of Two Sisters", also toplining Christian, filmmaker Adam Rifkin shows great potential in his handling of varied film techniques. Unfortunately, his experimental approach has no extant audience; he might have done better to start with conventional features before plunging into uncharted waters.

Here he sets himself the insurmountable goal of making a static road movie. Andrew Lauer and Pete Berg are two Ohio youths driving to California to meet those fabled west coast beauties. Pic is barely underway when they recklessly crash into Christian's Volkswagen, stranding the three of them in the middle of nowhere.

Passersby refuse to give the hapless trio a lift and Christian announces in the second reel: "I'm a lesbian", thwarting the lecherous intent of our heroes. Rifkin manages to create some variety (and wish-fulfillment sexiness) with frequent fantasy sequences, but it is the periodic visits of quirky, uncredited cameo performers that keep the film going.

Standup comic Gilbert Gottfried pops up with his usual shouting routine to sell the folks something, but won't give them a ride. Charlie Sheen has the best guest spot as a violent ex-con who robs the trio at knifepoint -he plays it for real. Brother Emilio Estevez makes a brief appearance and his "Breakfast Club" co-star Judd Nelson is too hammy as a mustachioed cop to get any laughs.

Golden oldies on the soundtrack make the film easy to take, but Rifkin's bittersweet ending is unsatisfying.

This movie doesn't feature many Rifkin signatures - you won't see many of the classic shots so prominent in "Invisible Maniac" or "Detroit Rock City", but there are a couple 'fantasy" sequences that are definite Rifkin shots.

Beyond the Adam Rifkin appeal, the movie wasn't that bad. In fact, the main detraction is the cameos. There are three main ones and they are so obviously written in just to have a cameo that it ruins the flow of the movie. Charlie Sheen's is great, Nicolas Cage's is OK (although his appearance is worth the price of the movie).

The whole feel of the movie has that 80's sexuality to it - the would-be sexual adventurers discovering the true meaning of relationships.

It looks good (considering there's only one location in the whole film) and the soundtrack is not bad. It's an enjoyable bit of 80's cinema that's great for watching while you dust your room or something.

And it's a must for the Rifkin fan!

Great cast - Claudia Christian at her sexiest, Peter Berg at his dumbest and Andrew Lauer at his most endearing. A handful of surprise guest stars add to the fun. The desert location is fine and the soundtrack cleverly intertwined with the action. A must see..