Worthy Of A Shot

Today's movie (and am I finally settling on a single subject in having to say that?) is the Bruce Willis flop "Hudson Hawk". Willis plays the titular character, a skilled cat burglar who has recently emerged from a lengthy prison sentence with hopes of living an honest life. He talks of getting a job, though he apparently owns half of an upscale bar. Unfortunately, that's not to be, as a confusing mix of nefarious individuals and organizations puts him up to stealing a series of Leonardo Da Vinci creations.

This is one of those movies that people have made out to be a terrible film on an epic scale as far back as I can remember. A fellow film school student made a short about a Hudson Hawk Fans Anonymous group, because this was one of those "guilty pleasures" if it was a pleasure at all. I don't believe in guilty pleasures, so I'll just say that I actually liked this movie. God knows it doesn't make a ton of sense, but that's not everything for a movie.

It has this chaotic structure and energy that I rather enjoy. It's overloaded with fun characters (of which it's hard to say that Willis himself is one all the time), including a variety of colorful villains who I feel actually each get the oxygen they need to breath over the course of this film's running time. There's James Coburn, Sandra Bernhardt, David Caruso and plenty more. They were mostly good fun, and mostly fit the film's rather crazy style.

The good guys are arguably the weak link. Willis is fine, I guess. Danny Aiello is fine too. Andie MacDowall is not great. It was no surprise to learn that she was the third choice to play an Italian nun after two women who could actually convincingly do so. Still, the movie is a good time, and I even like the probably superfluous bits with Da Vinci and a story book being read by William Conrad. I'd say you ought to give it a fair chance.