Tin Men (1987)

Overrated

Admirable film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Tin Men (Barry Levinson, 1987) is a nifty examination of the American Dream, focusing on a pair of aluminum-siding salesmen in early-'60s Baltimore who engage in an escalating campaign of retribution after their Cadillacs collide. Richard Dreyfuss is a sharp-shooting huckster in a powder blue suit, Danny DeVito a down-on-his-luck nighthawk trying to stay in the game. Just as they rely on sheen and trickery to flog their wares, so the film inveigles its way in with a succession of comic episodes, before revealing itself as an incisive take on the artifice of materialism and machismo - and a compelling character piece. It flirts with the hustlers' romanticised image of themselves, but also shows the reality: they're just a bunch of fraudsters, flogging the American Dream.Tin Men is a subtle, masterfully-crafted little film, boosted by strong performances from the leads (rough edges and fluffed lines intact), nice supporting turns - including Barbara Hershey as DeVito's put-upon wife - and writer-director Barry Levinson's terrific ear for dialogue. His script is realistic but finely-honed and, years before Tarantino provided his own post-modern take on eatery conversation (and some five years after Levinson's own Diner), offers several servings of pop-culture-savvy squabbling that complement the movie's more ambitious elements.There's one excellent exchange in which DeVito tells his friends he'd never seen Dreyfuss before the crash, only to find that pal Stanley Brock won't let it lie. "You musta seen him. He hangs out with Carly Benelli, Cheese... you know, that group," he says. "Don't you remember, he was up at the Corral one night when we there... he's a good dancer. You must have seen him." Eventually DeVito tires of being told what slick moves his adversary has, retorting: "What do you want me to do, date him? What do I give a (expletive deleted) if he's a good dancer?" "I tell you, if I was a girl I would be very impressed," Brock replies. "You're not a girl and you're impressed," counters friend Jackie Gayle.Another of the film's strengths lies in its original plotting: it's almost impossible to second-guess where the story is heading, particularly in the first half. While the next hour does offer some concessions to conventionality, they're entirely in keeping with the characters' shifting mind-sets, and there's generally another trick or two up Levinson's apparently bottomless sleeve. The subplot about the Maryland Home Improvement Commission clamping down on bad practice is perfect. That's not to say the film doesn't have flaws - there are occasional lulls, and a bit more context wouldn't go amiss - but that it's welcome to find a movie so assured in its value, intelligence and razor-sharp sense of humour that the director lets you discover its qualities for yourself. A movie so well-handled that even the way busted scammers hand in their licenses is a snapshot of their characters. Levinson also makes a neat job of paraphrasing the era, with simple but effective production design, smart credits and a first-rate song score by '60s-soundalikes Fine Young Cannibals.What starts off as a lively story of obsession and revenge - a funny spin on The Duellists, if you will - ultimately ends up as something more intriguing, durable and worthwhile. And the draft drawings of my revamped house look just about good enough for Life Magazine. I'm covering the place in siding.

I saw this when it first came out, and I said to everyone- "this has one of the best soundtracks I have heard in a long while". I kept telling everyone that the song in the background-which is of course, "Good Thing" when Dreyfuss is kind of jigging thru the bar, was a great song, with a very catchy melody. So, I was not surprised at all, when the Fine Young Cannibals CD, "The Raw and the Cooked" released after this film- went all the way to the top (it contained 2 songs from this film) That said, I LOVE the storyline, the acting, Richard Dreyfuss is adorable, looks wise and character wise. I loved him in "The Goodbye Girl" but LOVED him in this! The funniest scene in my opinion involves Danny DeVito, at the buffet, I will not spoil it-but I thought it was hysterical! Barbara Hershey BEFORE she had collagen lips-is charming too. Highly recommend and I want this in my DVD collection!!!

A bit of weird film when I think about it, just about two guys having a bit of a fight but not actually doing much except seeing each other. But this is quite an interesting comedy like film. Basically Richard Dreyfuss as Bill 'BB' Babowsky and Danny DeVito as Ernest Tilley accidentally crash into each others cars. At first they both take it really seriously a say to each other that they are going to pay, literally and in the fight sense. After a little while I think they kind of forget what happened and only keep seeing each other to talk. And that's pretty much it. But besides just a tiny bit of a pointless plot it is a good film. Good!

I just plain didn't like this movie. I didn't think any of the jokes were funny and it was boring. Who wants to watch a movie about TIN salesmen? I don't think Richard Dreyfuss or Danny DeVito are that funny. Plus, it was weird when Danny DeVito's wife had an affair with Richard Dreyfuss. I can't imagine Richard Dreyfuss having a romance in ANY movie. I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me on this one, but I thought this was an awful movie. Bad comedies are the worst kinds of movies, the kind no one wants to watch. This is one of them. People who watch this movie are wasting their time. No doubt Richard Dreyfuss is a good actor, as we have seen from his Oscar for "The Goodbye Girl". I also enjoyed him in "Jaws". I just don't think comedy or romance is his vocation. As for Danny DeVito: he plays the same role each time and is good at those kinds of roles, but he's missing humor.