"Pink Cadillac" was one of Clint Eastwood's few flops. Not only did the film do poorly in the box office, but critics hated it. Was all this really merited or was the film actually much better? Well, after watching about 90% of it, I must say that the hatred is, in this case earned. Why only 90%? Because I disliked the film and characters so much I couldn't make myself finish the movie...and that is very rare for me.
Eastwood plays Tommy Nowak, a skip tracer. This is a person who works for a bail bondsman in order to track down folks who ran away to avoid prosecution...thus leaving the bondsman with a huge debt. He's really good at what he does and is very clever in order to catch these people...which is why what he does with Lu Ann McGuinn (Bernadette Peters) makes very little sense. In her case, for once, her tears and request for his help after she's captured makes little sense--especially since she is on the run from the law AND already lied to him and escaped from him already. However, the pair go off on an adventure to see her baby before she is turned in...and along the way the sleaze-bag husband and his Neo-Nazi friends show up and Nowak must contend with them.
There are two huge problems with the film. First, Nowak's character is very inconsistent and makes little sense. Second, and most importantly, there really is no chemistry between him and Lou Ann. These are problems and good writing wouldn't have let such glaring problems get into the script. Overall, a dopey film which tries, in vain, to be a comedy but just comes off as forced and disappointing.
Eastwood plays Tommy Nowak, a skip tracer. This is a person who works for a bail bondsman in order to track down folks who ran away to avoid prosecution...thus leaving the bondsman with a huge debt. He's really good at what he does and is very clever in order to catch these people...which is why what he does with Lu Ann McGuinn (Bernadette Peters) makes very little sense. In her case, for once, her tears and request for his help after she's captured makes little sense--especially since she is on the run from the law AND already lied to him and escaped from him already. However, the pair go off on an adventure to see her baby before she is turned in...and along the way the sleaze-bag husband and his Neo-Nazi friends show up and Nowak must contend with them.
There are two huge problems with the film. First, Nowak's character is very inconsistent and makes little sense. Second, and most importantly, there really is no chemistry between him and Lou Ann. These are problems and good writing wouldn't have let such glaring problems get into the script. Overall, a dopey film which tries, in vain, to be a comedy but just comes off as forced and disappointing.