1987 Directed by Elaine May
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.
Warren Beatty Dustin Hoffman Isabelle Adjani Charles Grodin Jack Weston Tess Harper Carol Kane Aharon Ipalé Cristine Rose Matt Frewer Alex Hyde-White Warren Clarke David Margulies Rose Arrick Julie Garfield Robert V. Girolami Herb Gardner Fred Melamed Bill Moor Dylan Baker Arthur Brauss Haluk Bilginer
dear Ishtar,
I love you. I hope one day everyone else does too.
Sincerely,
willow
there are two movies that have been my personal cultural resets during quarantine. the first is My Night at Maud's, which revived my cinephilia when it felt so unfocused and muddled by anxiety. the second is this film, which was just PURE JOY. remember...literally laughing out loud at movies? i had forgotten. elaine may... a genius, period, but here, maybe the best showcase of her comedic genius? (hard to say, all her movies are so good.) so many punchlines have me REELING ("who is shirra assel smap?" / "it takes a lot of nerve to have nothing at your age"); but it's not just in the writing — the comedic reveal via mise en scene is also *chefs kiss.* like when…
"Why didn't you try to recruit me as a communist? Wasn't I good enough?"
The last time I tried to watch this movie back in 2002, it took me several nights to get through it and I hated it. Today, I laughed my ass off. It’s tempting to pretend my opinion hasn’t changed; telling the truth can be dangerous business.
"And now, a song dedicated to a lovely lady of the Left."
For years, my film school professors have warned us that this is the worst movie ever made.
Fuck them is all I'm saying.
By now it’s established fact that the CIA had countless newspaper reporters on their payroll, or would use these journalists to pump out fake stories about left wing governments in exchange for scoops. What are the chances that they took a quick walk down the hallway to the arts section and asked the film critics nicely to tank a movie that makes them look this bad?
To paraphrase a comment I saw on a MUBI post about this film, BURN AFTER READING for the Reagan era.
