Stick (1985)

You won't be disappointed!

Very disappointing...

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Burt Reynolds's really made an impression with his smartly catered cop thriller "Sharky's Machine" and four years later he churn out another directorial crime outing. Maybe not as effective and complete, but still acceptable time filler. The story is penned by the reliable Elmore Leonard, who has a knack for building crime and character interactions within a busy framework. That's were I found it to peter out at times, as there seems too be so much going on and from that it can get a little distracted. It starts off strong, but then it goes wayward and stalls too often. Reynolds' sober direction seemed rather uneven in trying to balance out the explosively grimy moments with the uneasy comic relief. The film was more character driven (likeable relationships are struck or quick fuses erupt) and held together by its plot developments, but the script just didn't bite hard enough and its ending is quite lousy. Gladly the performances stand-up; namely that of the support cast. Where the bad guys are truly vile. Dar Robinson (who's mainly a stuntman) is magnificently threatening as the albino hired killer. A true scene stealer. While he hands out some nasty punishment and the gravel voice strikes fear. Alone just looking at him is frightening enough. Charles Durning playing a scummy low-life crook sticks out with his loud, bright Hawaiian shirts, feathered hair and wild bushy eyebrows. It's hard to take your eyes off either one. Leading the way in the bad guys is a dashing Castulo Guerra. You know the man with the power… the one you don't want to get on the wrong side of. To go with that, he's quite spiritual, but with a mean-streak. Burt Reynolds' character finds himself stuck in the middle of this trio when after getting out of prison he joins a buddy on job involving some of Miami's lowlife criminals. However it's a set-up, where his friend is killed and he is soon targeted. So he seeks payback, but on the other side of the coin he wants to go straight so he can catch up with daughter. Reynolds plays it with that laconically tough shade and knowing attitude, letting his charm carry him along. His weapon of choice seems to be his smartarse lines… physical wise gasoline or matches… that you only get disappointed when he can't get a hold of one of these objects. The next best thing was death by scorpion. Another scene stealer would be George Segal as a cheerfully naïve millionaire that loves the company of criminals. Some sequences with him were priceless. Also showing up is Candice Bergen (the love interest), Jose Perez and Alex Rocco. Clunky, but amusing.

Just saw this last night for the first time ever and it really brought back memories of South Florida in the early to mid eighties. The same memories when I saw Paul Newman's "Harry & Son" also filmed nearby in Fort Lauderdale. The soundtrack in "Stick" is the precursor for "Miami Vice" the series. Once Burt shaves off the bear he even conveys that Sonny Crockett feel and hey! he's rooming w/ his own black buddy. The Grove Tower condo building is the one and same used in the classic 80's Wham! music video with the closing shot being George Michael standing on the top-floor balcony lamenting his lost love (or something).Having lived in Miami during the filming of "Stick" there are some funny lapses I noticed like when the Albino follows Burt as they drive East on the causeway, but then they're at Miami Jai-Alai which is located West of the causeway. Or earlier in the movie when Burt and his Boricua friend drive to meet Moxie one second they're at Nurty's in Fort Liquordale and then the next second in Coconut Grove (the two places are twenty-five miles apart). Regarding the movie: it's story is all right, nothing ground-breaking, but a good Elmore Leonard expose of the assorted types dealing drugs and living large in the 1980's South Florida.It's a shame George Segal wasn't part of a last act twist, but the villain Burt goes up against was pretty creepy himself. The character of Stick's daughter Katie could have had some impact in the last scenes, but she wasn't written that way. Durning as Moxie is a hoot! The red eyebrows and red wig are too funny! The rest of the Spanish-speaking cast gives good support to the story and a strong sense of "place." Burt's direction is seamless and professional. Trivia note: in 1989 BOTH George Segal and Candice Bergen premiered new series on TV. Segal's was "Murphy's Law" and if you blink you missed it. Bergen's ... well, if you don't remember the iconic status her protagonist reached during the '92 presidential race (courtesy of Dan Quayle) then you must have blinked for eight years worth of time.

I know that many people have mixed feelings about this story. Once I saw a comedian on the cable comedy channel using 'stick' to slam in his act, of the worst Burt Reynolds movies ever. But I contend, even so with Burt at the helm of this 'ship', that the story was told by a master at story creating and telling. He (Leonard) has not liked almost all the adaptations to the screen from his books with the exception of 'Get Shorty' which, well...how do you beat that one??? At any rate, the story I liked, there was enough to keep me 'into it'. Even though I like a lot of different movies, I don't like every movie I see. This was a right-cut for Burt Reynolds I thought. He pulled the character off, in the manner in which he does, in 'waves'. He's had mono-tone performances and out and out wild ones too. Whatever the critics think or say, there was a great cast and the location was perfect as well. I can live with this Burt-directed story from 1985, heck why not, it was the eighties.

Burt Reynolds for the "Miami Vice" generation!Even though pretty faithfully adapted from Elmore Leonard's book (by no less that Leonard himself!), Burt foregoes the good ol' boy routine to play the mean, tough, down and dirty characters like he did in "The Longest Yard", "Sharkey's Machine" and "White Lightning". But even though he did everything but sweep the sets afterwards, Burt just doesn't convince as a career criminal trying to settle a score from a drug deal that killed his friend.Everyone is grim, nasty and vile (stunt-man/actor Dar Robinson comes off best as hit-man Moki - true enough to say he has the best scene!) and with Burt as the lesser of, say, a dozen evils, SHOULD show at least some charisma in the part. But all he does is glower, grimace, threaten and shoot guns. Even love interest Bergen is pretty bland as she plays a character that suggests what would have happened if she never had any "Carnal Knowledge".The only one who comes off good is Segal, who plays a loud, crass, banjo-playing millionaire who hires Stick (Reynolds) for protection, little knowing he is just a cog in a serpentine plot to get back at drug mack Nestor (Guerra). Segal even goes as far as telling the "What's-the-last-thing-to-go-through-a-bug's-mind-before-he-hits-a-windshield" joke. (Punch-line? Go ask your Dad).The worst fate, though, is held for Reynolds steadfast Durning, who has to play a druggie that would look more at home at the circus (Charlie, orange-red hair is NOT your style). How does he intimidate people, by daring them not to laugh??In the end, you just can't help but figure what Michael Mann could have done with something like this. Well, Leonard's stuff is getting made and remade all the time now. Who knows, maybe in a few years....Three stars, one for the effort, one for Robinson's last scene and one for Murphy, whose career survived to do better things (hello, "Murphy Brown"!).Don't get stuck with "Stick".