The Squeeze (1987)
Harry Berg is both a con artist and an actual artist -- he constructs large sculptures out of television sets -- but he is not particularly successful in either role. He owes some money, which gets him involved with Rachel Dobs, a police detective who works with a collection agency. When Harry comes into possession of a strange parcel, both the con man and the detective find themselves wrapped up in a sinister corporate plot to fix the lottery.
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Perfect cast and a good story
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Pulling off the crime drama/rom-com/suspense mix is no easy task. This one, if given a chance, is not nearly as bad as the citation its often been given. The Squeeze was prototypical of others of its time, starting with the "every guy" who suddenly gets caught in the middle of corruption and intrigue, then spends 90+ minutes doing his best to stay one step ahead of, well, death. It would be very easy to find a lot of things to critique about "Squeeze," as previous reviews have stated. But it also has a lot going for it.Michael Keaton was a hot ticket at the time, and the character was a good fit for his on-screen strengths. Harry has that somewhat cocky exterior that thinly veils a very insecure, questioning inner self, often masked by not taking himself too seriously. Its been said Jenny Wright was originally to play Rachel, and no offense to her, but after seeing this its hard to imagine a better fit for the role than Rae Dawn. She quite naturally pulls off what too many female lead characters try more forcefully, yet less successfully, to do now; she's a great combination of adorable and feisty, fun-loving, yet tough. Sure, you check your brains at the door, knowing that in reality the leads should have been dead 10 times over. But what this film most has going for it is {1} decent, believable charisma between Keaton and Chong, and {2} genuinely likable lead characters -- two things so often missing from today's movies. It has charm. It has a bit of a dark side without being overly profane or violent, so as to not take away from that charm. As a result, it keeps you interested.This was a favorite from 3 decades ago I had forgotten about, until I stumbled upon it on late night telly recently. I'm glad I did. If you're feeling nostalgic for films that had these aforementioned elements mostly missing today, and can track this one down, I think you will be too.
Sure, its cheesy. Sure, its poorly directed. And sure, its a bad movie. The script could have used more work, and the director could have used a more film classes. But Michael Keaton kills a man with a giant building shaped cigar lighter and shoots another guy with a flare gun with the aid of a US Battleship anti-aircraft cannon. And he has a Dinosaur made out of TVs in his gigantic warehouse of an apartment. Bad Ass, man. Bad ass.When you combine Batman with Commando and throw in some Ghostbusters, you get The Squeeze. Okay, thats not even close. How about mixing The Dream Team with Far Out Man and a touch of Hudson Hawk. There you go. thats The Squeeze cocktail i'm talking about.Seriously, I haven't seen this movie since i was, like, 9, so i really only remember the above-mentioned instances in the film. And the whole lottery scam thing. whatever that was about. i still love this film. it belongs up there with Robot Jox. Yes...Robot Jox.
I remember watching this years ago. It was one of several comedies Michael Keaton made in the 80's, but you can see him beginning to stretch a bit beyond his cornball comedy roles (e.g. Night Shift, Mr. Mom, Gung Ho, Johnny Dangerously). You can just see a hint of the dramatic (and dark) flair he would reveal a few years later in Beetle Juice and Batman.The movie itself is pretty contrived, although it has a great supporting cast. It was fun to see Meat Loaf (whose character is always sweaty, and carries around a battery-operated fan to keep cool) and John Davidson (who essentially plays...himself!).
THE SQUEEZE is a pathetic excuse for a film, let alone a comedy. Michael Keaton stars with Rae Dawn Chong in this awful film about a guy who gets caught up in a crime rap of some sorts. People would rather go play in the park instead of watching this pure waste of celluloid. A wasted cast and a tedious script easily makes this one of the most worthless flops in cinema history.0 out of 5