There's an old Gary Larson Far Side cartoon called "Hell's Video Store." The entire joke is that the titular store is stocked with copies of the 1987 flop Ishtar, starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman and directed by Elaine May. Larson later apologized for the cartoon when he actually saw the film and enjoyed it. That entire story seems to encapsulate the reputation of this film over the years. A massive critical and financial flop, it was for years lampooned as one of the worst films ever made. However, over the years, it has come to be seen as an unfairly maligned classic. Directors like Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright and Martin Scorsese have listed it as one of their favorites, and many critics have praised it to the moon. (Nathan Rabin's review for the AV Club salviates over the film the way a dog does to a large steak) And here I am, left to wonder, "This film? This mediocre tripe has invoked strong reactions from people?" I mean, yeah, that statement implies I didn't like it, but it's not the worst thing I've seen. It is just another forgettable comedy. I wish I could say that viewing it a second time might've given more insight, but it hasn't.
Chuck Clarke (Dustin Hoffman) and Lyle Rogers (Warren Beatty) are struggling New York musicians near the end of their line. Despite their lack of talent (which the film will remind you of constantly), the two convince agent Marty Freed (Jack Weston) to book them in a hotel in Morocco. Meanwhile, in the neighboring country of Ishtar, a map is found foretelling the coming of two messengers that will cause change in the region. The map is taken by rebel Shirra (Isabelle Adjani), who runs into Clarke when he and Rogers land at their airport. Clarke gives her his passport to help her out, which forces him to remain in Ishtar, while Rogers is forced to go back to their gig. Clarke's actions gain the attention of CIA agent Jim Harrison (Charles Grodin), who is advising the Emir (Aharon Ipalé) against leftist guerillas in the region. Harrison plans to use the two hapless musicians as pawns in this struggle, but they prove hard to control.
There's two kind of good gags in the films. Towards the middle, there's a somewhat funny gag where two CIA agents are identifying other intelligence agents. Both times, it was the only laugh I got from this film. The second is one of the songs has a funny line ("If you say you play the accordion, you can never play in a rock and roll band"). Beatty and Hoffman have decent chemistry and work well as close friends. Charles Grodin's constantly beleaguered CIA agent is kind of charming, especially at the end. The climax is fine.
The overriding problem with this film is that it isn't funny. A lot of comedies aren't funny, but this is one of those comedies that is sort of aggressive about its unfunniness. A joke doesn't land? It just keeps repeating it, no matter the diminishing returns. There are jokes about the Cold War, the region, the ugly Americans Clarke and Rogers, but again, none of those are funny. I wish I could talk about some of those gags, but that leads into another problem: because it's unfunny pretty much throughout its runtime, it's also boring. Nothing really happens until the end. I saw the movie a few days ago, and I can't really tell you anything that happens in it. It's also very easy to get distracted during that time.
This was apparently meant as an homage to the 40's Road to... films starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. I don't know how. Yeah, it's two everymen in a foreign land, but stuff happened in the Road to.. movies. Also, those were funny. If you want an actually funny, memorable homage to those films that also has Cold War themes, just watch Spies Like Us. I really don't know if you really need to see this. Maybe as a curiosity, but there really isn't much to it.
Chuck Clarke (Dustin Hoffman) and Lyle Rogers (Warren Beatty) are struggling New York musicians near the end of their line. Despite their lack of talent (which the film will remind you of constantly), the two convince agent Marty Freed (Jack Weston) to book them in a hotel in Morocco. Meanwhile, in the neighboring country of Ishtar, a map is found foretelling the coming of two messengers that will cause change in the region. The map is taken by rebel Shirra (Isabelle Adjani), who runs into Clarke when he and Rogers land at their airport. Clarke gives her his passport to help her out, which forces him to remain in Ishtar, while Rogers is forced to go back to their gig. Clarke's actions gain the attention of CIA agent Jim Harrison (Charles Grodin), who is advising the Emir (Aharon Ipalé) against leftist guerillas in the region. Harrison plans to use the two hapless musicians as pawns in this struggle, but they prove hard to control.
There's two kind of good gags in the films. Towards the middle, there's a somewhat funny gag where two CIA agents are identifying other intelligence agents. Both times, it was the only laugh I got from this film. The second is one of the songs has a funny line ("If you say you play the accordion, you can never play in a rock and roll band"). Beatty and Hoffman have decent chemistry and work well as close friends. Charles Grodin's constantly beleaguered CIA agent is kind of charming, especially at the end. The climax is fine.
The overriding problem with this film is that it isn't funny. A lot of comedies aren't funny, but this is one of those comedies that is sort of aggressive about its unfunniness. A joke doesn't land? It just keeps repeating it, no matter the diminishing returns. There are jokes about the Cold War, the region, the ugly Americans Clarke and Rogers, but again, none of those are funny. I wish I could talk about some of those gags, but that leads into another problem: because it's unfunny pretty much throughout its runtime, it's also boring. Nothing really happens until the end. I saw the movie a few days ago, and I can't really tell you anything that happens in it. It's also very easy to get distracted during that time.
This was apparently meant as an homage to the 40's Road to... films starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. I don't know how. Yeah, it's two everymen in a foreign land, but stuff happened in the Road to.. movies. Also, those were funny. If you want an actually funny, memorable homage to those films that also has Cold War themes, just watch Spies Like Us. I really don't know if you really need to see this. Maybe as a curiosity, but there really isn't much to it.
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