(5 shouts out of 5)
Wow. Having been born in 1984, I was obviously not old enough at the tender age of 8 to either enjoy, appreciate or let alone understand this movie at the time it came out. I think I was really into Casper movies when I was 8 years old so you might be able to understand why this one was a bit over my head.
I usually like to rip on old movies because they don`t withstand the test of time, aren`t universally applicable or use outdated language and themes that alienate contemporary audiences. This movie, thankfully, did none of that. I`ll admit that in the beginning, it was a little slow and somewhat confusing as to what was going on. This is probably because I hadn`t seen any trailers or heard a synopsis before viewing. Are they policeman? Are the leads actually witnesses? Why the fuck are they so serious? Why are they saying "fuck" so often? Isn`t it 1992? (Trivia - the word "fuck" or any form of it was uttered a total of 138 times in this movie.) Kudos to you, Alec Baldwin and Al Pacino.
Luckily, I soon caught on and was hooked as soon as Alec Baldwin started his very impressive but somewhat typecasted speech as the ballbreaker who threatens all of the salesman with unemployment. Really good speech. I had thought that after this speech, the whole movie would be about all of them scrambling to be the top salesman and the hijinks that would ensue but I was happily corrected. The rest of the movie was just as intense, serious and loud as that first diatribe. I would have loved to been at the auditions for this movie.
Director: Can you yell?
Applicant: Yes.
Director: Can you yell loudly and curse?
Applicant: Yes.
Director: Can you smoke cigarettes after you yell?
Applicant: Yes.
Director: Do you have a suit to wear while yelling?
Applicant: Yes.
Director: You`re hired.
Honestly, if I were an ESL student watching this movie as a representation of American cinema, I would believe that all American movies consist of a lot of yelling and cursing, followed by serious heart-to-hearts with strange one-sided conversations in between. I know this movie was based on a Mamet play but still, I would be really confused and ruined for all future movies.
All the actors in this movie do a great job, especially Lemon, Pacino and Harris, respectively. I understand that Alec Baldwin`s tough-guy motivation speech at the beginning of the movie is one of the more memorable moments but I`m suspicious that`s only because it`s the first big rant of the film. Once the salesmen are set on their task, you see the real action start. Lemon transforms from a tired old man who wants to go home into a dazzling, charming and affluent businessman in the blink of an eye once his clients answer his call. He delivers his manipulative speeches with such ease and fluidity that you really do believe he had been doing this for years.
Pacino, on the other hand, goes a completely different route. It`s not obvious at the beginning of the story, because he seems to be out with a friend having a drink. He`s doing most of the talking, about lots of vague topics, seemingly unconnected to the story at all, just slowly gaining the confidence of the guy he appears to have met at the bar. But then after cutting to his scene about 3 or 4 times, we finally see him set out a brochure in front his acquaintance, showing us just how much dedication he had put into this one sales pitch and how deep he had to get into the mark`s psyche in order to make this sale. It`s a very interesting and dark look at how sales are made and it made me very glad I don`t work in retail anymore. I remember the pain of getting berated by bosses when I couldn`t sell alcoholic mixed drinks to senior citizens during my Sunday afternoon shift at a Pennsylvania steakhouse. If I had even an ounce of the charm that Pacino embodied in this film, the grannies would`ve been backing their Cadillacs into trees every weekend. Unfortunately, I do not have that suave air about me nor do I like wearing suits. And that`s where I am in life right now.
If you haven`t already, see this movie. You should probably wear a suit while you`re watching it.
Bill you structured your review very well. I am proud of you.
ReplyDeleteI was actually shown that speech in college once, at a fraternal function. You wouldn't know anything about that, but apparently I don't either, because I don't remember much about the speech.
On the queu bitch.