Homer and Eddie

I am a real big fan of both Whoopi Goldberg and James Belushi. However I was real disappointed in this movie. I guess I won't discuss it and ruin it for someone else. I would love the opportunity to rip this movie to shreds, I really hated it. anyone finding the reason to like this movie- please email me!!! Maybe you can show me something I missed. I felt Whoopi's character was overly violent and harsh. I felt the guy who walks through the background of several scenes ( I won't reveal anything there) belonged in an avant garde film, foreign film, anywhere but there. The script,... well, I won't go on. Comments welcome.

This is not a film with a script that Konchalovsky wrote--it is by an unknown Patrick Cirillo. (For the uninitiated, Konchalovsky's scripts include the early works of Tarkovsky, his classmate in film school.) There are a few distinct Konchalovsky sequences--the appearance of Jesus-like characters carrying a wooden cross on the empty streets of California viewed twice by the Whoopi Goldberg character of Eddie. This is the best performance of Ms Goldberg that I have seen to date. Two, the original music is by Eduard Artemyev, the composer of Tarkovsky's classic films "Solaris" and "Stalker" and a host of Konchalovsky's own works. The Hungarian maestro Lojas Koltai is the cinematographer--famous for his contribution to the works of the Italian director Tornatore and the Hungarian Istvan Szabo. For cineastes, there is a cameo by Karen Black as a madam of a US brothel. More importantly, the film is a sad tale of how the rich and poor alike in the US, disown their own family members with disabilities. That is a touch of the real Konchalovsky.

This is easily the "craziest" Road Movie ever made - and one of the best. It's funny, tragic, dramatic and intelligent. Konchalovsky's composition is without any flaws - you'll find no plot holes or boring sequences destroying the flow of the story. The soundtrack supports the atmosphere of the movie perfectly. James Belushi stars as Homer, a retarded man, who goes on a long journey to see his dying father. Right at the start he's being robbed of all his cash and has to sleep in a car cemetery. There he meets the criminal Eddie, played by Whoopi Goldberg, who's slowly dying of a brain tumor. This tumor is the reason for several violent outbreaks. Eddie escorts Homer and arranges the first sexual contact for him - with a monstrous prostitute. This results in one of the most charming and funny "sex scenes" I've ever seen, beaten only by the priceless dancing scenes with Homer and Eddie at the pier. I've never seen one of the two acting better. But don't miss the guest appearances of Anne Ramsey, Karen Black and Jesus! And be warned: even though this film is full of funny, charming and lovable scenes it has also its violent parts.

If you liked "Harold & Maude" and "Gilbert Grape" this is a film for you!

Let's see: a foul mouthed, violent murderer, thief, escaped mental patient dying from an inoperable brain tumor (Goldberg)is driving a witless, infantile, drooling wanderer who has severe and permanent brain damage (Belushi) home to see his ashamed, abusive father who completely disowned him years earlier. Sounds like a fun road trip picture, doesn't it?

Not even close. This movie was so vile that most theater chains passed on it, and those that didn't yanked it from their screens in less than a week.

It is not funny, even in the context of a black comedy. It is violent, disturbing, foul and completely off the entertainment meter in the negative values. I have yet to see this on any retail or rental shelf, or any cable or TV station, even during the graveyard hell populated by Psychic Fraud Network and Ronco Commercials.

Don't hitch a ride with these two. Your sense of humor may be permanently hijacked.

I don't know what all the dissing is for! This is a great film, although I would've picked different music for the soundtrack. Entertaining...funny...heart and soul. What more could you ask for? Whoopi's best performance next to The Color Purple...