Against All Odds

Loosely based on a 1947 film noir, "Out of the Past," Taylor Hackford's "Against All Odds" has strong performances in all but the most critical role. Jessie, a confused disoriented heiress, is the romantic obsession of two men and the crux of the film's action. However, Rachel Ward fails to convince that Jessie could obsess anyone with her flat delivery and phoned-in performance. Jessie runs off to Mexico to snorkel and shop, and her gangster boyfriend hires an injured football player to find her. Sending a handsome hunky athlete off to find your girlfriend at the beach is not an inspired idea, and both the expected and the unexpected ensue. The twisted convoluted tale occasionally meanders, and the pacing falters at times. However, when the sweaty romantic scenes are over, the plot manages to re-energize and re-capture attention towards the fade out. Despite her physical beauty, Ward is the black hole at the film's center. However, her two co-stars are more captivating. James Woods can play slimy gangsters in his sleep, and his Jake Wise is appropriately chilling and creepy, which makes Jessie's attraction to him even less convincing. Evidently Jake had a brain fart when he decided to hire Terry Brogan to search for the girl who deserted him, because Jake and Terry are worlds apart in the looks and charm departments. Jeff Bridges's athletic Terry, who has history with Jake, is unwittingly drawn into a vortex of corruption during his search for Jessie. Although always watchable, Jeff Bridges has had better and more demanding roles than an injured jock playing private eye. Despite a decent script adapted by Eric Hughes from Daniel Mainwaring's original, the film's central mystery is why Jake and Terry would be hopelessly drawn to a shallow drifter like Jessie. Ward received top billing over Bridges and Woods, another mystery as baffling as any in the plot. Experienced veterans provide solid supporting performances, led by a still-handsome Richard Widmark, who, at age 70, remained a commanding presence. In a nod to film buffs, Jane Greer, star of the 1947 version, appears as Ward's cold distant mother. Location work in the Mayan temples of Mexico's Yucatan is travel-log appealing, and the end credits feature an Oscar-nominated title song by Phil Collins. An exciting car race through Los Angeles traffic is thrilling, if pointlessly reckless. Although "Against All Odds" runs more than 20 minutes longer than the 1947 original, Bridges and especially Woods are compelling enough to hold attention even when the tricky plot wanders.

This movie doesn't have a lot to offer outside some scenic shots of the Mexican coast and Rachel Ward's semi-* "coast". Everybody in the cast does a workmanlike job and are appropriately cast but the movie had a lot of problems for me. First and foremost, I didn't care for Rachel Ward in this movie. Why are all the characters so obsessed with her? For a start, I don't think she looks all that good. Her hairstyle was awful and her costumes throughout the movie were baggy and unsexy. On top of that, she seems to be very physically awkward---no sexy, slithering walk as you might expect from some femme fatale in a movie. Yes, she gets all hot and bothered with Jeff Bridges in the Mayan temple but the camera just teases---was there ever such a major sex scene in a movie which didn't show more of the lead actress? There were a lot of problems for me with the plot. Ward is from Australia and doesn't make any pretense of trying to use an American accent. The explanation? Her character's father is a late British actor so I guess she inherited her accent (but didn't she grow up in the USA? Why would anyone who grew up in the USA have an Australian accent?). Her character has no redeeming qualities--a troubled rich girl, a former drug addict, a thief. All she seems able to do is maniupulate people and satisfy men in bed. Alright, maybe that is enough! She's not even the villainess in this movie.

This is a solid, well balanced suspense thriller. The plot is intricate and nicely weaved, the acting is excellent, dialogue is tight. Since it's based on a film of the noir era (which I haven't seen yet) it adopts a lot of those traits but appropriates them for an era that's a little freer with sexual expression. Like Body Heat, and a few others of the '80s, it's always interesting to see that genre developed. The characters are nicely fleshed out; all have tangible motivations and all evoke a degree of sympathy form the viewer, which is hard to do. Some of it hits you as a little over the top, especially a few of the locations and the dated score, and it won't change your life, but overall it's a well executed film.

1. Boy gets girl. This has to happen at the end of reel (or act) three. In Against All Odds, however, Jeff Bridges lays Rachel Ward towards the end of reel one, and throughout most of reel two. Result: the film is at sea during reel three because all the dramatic tension has been dispelled. The writer has not taken care to make the Bridges/Ward relationship convincing or meaningful beyond raw sexual attraction in a fabulous setting, so when they characters return to their troubled lives in Los Angeles, it is not credible that Bridges is passionately in love with Ward to the point where he will take incredible risks to get her back (which he actually doesn't). The narrative thrust of the plot is thus crippled within 30 minutes and this team of film-makers did not have the wit to retrieve it. Five points, nevertheless, for the photography of Mexico and Rachel Ward.

Loosely based on Out Of The Past, this updating brings some new elements, many of which work, a few of which don't. Neat use of Jane Greer, heroine of the first film, as heroine's mother. So many new twists and turns, knowing the original will not spoil this thriller's conclusion. Only thing as per usual with Taylor Hackford, the film goes on a bit too long, but most of it is so good, you won't mind.

I expected a cringefest, but actually ended up liking this movie a lot. Befitting its era, it has a sleazy "Miami Vice" atmosphere, complete with Porsches, Ferraris, casual jackets, big hair and a great soundtrack including a live show by the one and only Kid Creole. But there's more. Nice location shoots in Mexico - Cozumel, Tulum and Chichen Itza. Jeff Bridges and James Woods, who play fairly complex characters well. A dark script that delivers some good moments, especially during the final 30 minutes. Yes, it's a B-movie, and at times it feels like a protracted episode of Knight Rider, the A-Team or the aforementioned Miami Vice. But is that a bad thing? If you're looking for a real 80s experience, find "Against All Odds" on VHS, pop it in your VCR and soak it in.

Parts of "Against All Odds" are absolutely magnificent. The Mexican location photography is terrific. Rachel Ward looks great as does Jeff Bridges. The chemistry between them is mostly believable. I liked James Wood's smarmy, pompous, character. Alex Karras seemed miscast, as did Richard Widmark. The story piles on a thickening plot that occasionally wanders off course, and is probably more complex than necessary. No police are involved, and bodies too conveniently disappear. The ending seems especially forced, with an outcome that is less than satisfying. The film is beautiful, however the characters are mostly unlikeable, including Rachel Ward's. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this partially flawed movie. - MERK