Ishtar

Ishtar_480P_retran

Ishtar

Ishtar

I remember back in late 1987 I was watching an episode of my favorite TV show "The Golden Girls". In this particular episode the four girls (Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia) were sitting in the kitchen talking about the meaning of life. Then Sophia steps into the conversation and delivers a truly hilarious speech. Here is exactly what she said: "Let me tell you girls the three most important things I learned about life. Number one: hold fast to your friends. Number two: there's no such thing as security. And number three: don't go see "Ishtar". Whoof!" Sophia had the right idea. That series of dialogue is 10 times funnier than anything you'll see in "Ishtar", which is not only one of the worst movies ever made, but one of the biggest box office bombs in movie history. What Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty were doing in a movie as bad as this is anybody's guess. 1/2* (out of four)

There really are no words to describe the greatness that is Ishtar. All I can say is this: go out and see it RIGHT NOW. Yes, that's right, NOW. It's a touching and heartfelt tale of two friends trying to make it in the cold, harsh, cutthroat world of music and entertainment, with only each other to depend on. Accompanied by the genius acting skills of Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman, this tragic story will make you laugh, cry, and love every minute of it. Telling the truth is a dangerous business, honest and popular don't go hand in hand. If you admit you can play the accordion, they'll never hire you in a rock-and-roll band. BUT WE CAN SIIIIIING OUR HEARTS OUT!!!

I believe the big comedy of this year was Crocodile Dundee. As far as I can remember, that movie had one good laugh in it and you could get that for free from the previews. Ishtar, on the other hand, had me laughing hysterically for the first half hour and then continually snickering throughout. The songs are funnier than anything in SpinalTap and the acting is among the best comedic acting from these two admittedly huge comic talents. Give me Ishtar over Rain Man or Bugsy any day. And don't ever try to sell me a blind camel!

The people who rip this movie for being boring and expensive don't understand what its really about. the film has terrible songs featured in it BUT THAT IS THE POINT! the songs are so terrible that they are ridiculously funny. the film's stars, beatty and Hoffman display an incredible talent at being morons, considering at the time they were both sex symbols revered as the coolest of cool. the film is a very funny and witty adaptation of ROAD TO RIO with bing crosby and bob hope. i loved this movie, and you should to if you don't take it seriously. p.s. And about it being overpriced, it cost $40 million, a large sum for the time yes, but 50 FIRST DATES with Adam Sandler cost more that $40 million. $51 exactly.

There is so much talent involved in this movie, what happened? The cast and crew have a combined lifetime 61 Oscar nominations and 16 wins. How could this not be a better movie? It is well produced, the cinematography and costumes are fine and well done. The main flaws are the poorly written screenplay, the paper thin plot and the lack of spark from the main stars. It's not without some funny moments, but they are too scarce. The humor wears thin in less than an hour and it becomes a challenge to stay interested in the plot. The lovely Isabelle Adjani is wasted. Charles Grodin does score in a supporting role and outshines the rest of the cast.

It has been a long long time since I watched this movie and one might say that it is somewhat unfair that I post a review of it without having seen it recently. Then again, I do not need to have a lobotomy to know it is a bad idea and I do not wish to lose any more time to this abysmal movie. I was only motivated to post after reading the inordinate number of glowing reviews about this drek. This film has no redeeming qualities at all. I cannot even ascribe to the view that it is so bad that it is funny. A comedy should provoke laughter or at least a small giggle: the best I could manage was a groan.

It constantly amazes me that some consider Ishtar as one of the worst movies ever. It is not citizen Kane nor was it meant to be. It made me chuckle, grin and laugh out loud. Silly me, I thought that was what a comedy was supposed to do. I have heard others criticize the music, *HELLO* it was supposed to be bad. If you want great music listen to Mozart. If you are amused by farce listen to the words from the songs in Ishtar. They make me smile just thinking about them now. I think the thing that really stuck with me about this movie was the fact that Hoffman and Beatty really seemed to be having a good time making it and it shows. If you don't watch many comedies or are easily swayed by others comments, don't bother watching this movie. If you have a sense of humor and can think for yourself, do not rent this movie... Buy it.