Disappointing 80s comedy considering the talent involved. Whoopi Goldberg is contacted over a computer and finds herself helping a British spy in this comic action thriller that if it were a better film could have been a modern day "North by Northwest" or even a fun contemporary like "The Man with One Red Shoe," but instead it's a dull story that's only made watchable by a talented cast. That cast includes Jonathan Pryce, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman, Michael McKean, Jim Belushi, Paxton Whitehead, Tracey Ullman, Garry Marshall, Carol Kane (looking the most normal and most conventionally attractive I've ever seen her), Annie Potts, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jeroen Krabbé, Jamey Sheridan, Stephen Collins, and John Wood (you know, Falken from 'WarGames"). To top off the disappointment factor, this was the directorial debut of Penny Marshall, who'd go on to direct classics like "Big," "A League of Their Own," and "Awakenings." And there's even a nicely 80s score by Thomas Newman. This talent manages to make this dull and unfunny script watchable, but just barely (and the script was by several talented writers who's credits include "Die Hard," "48 Hrs," "The Larry Sanders Show", "Private Benjamin," "Father of the Bride," and even "Gladiator" and "Amistad." Who knows what happened to this movie?
Review of Jumpin' Jack Flash
