8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE (1986)

In a neat bit of unplanned symmetry, Hal Ashby began and ended his directing career with a Bridges brother.  Beau in THE LANDLORD/’70 and here with Jeff.*  But it’s the only neat thing in a contentious shoot that saw Ashby ankle after principle photography/before post production.  What knucklehead producer fires one of the top editors in the biz just when his insight is most needed?  (Hence the incomprehensible mess that passes for a climatic shoot-out finale.)  But the film was probably doomed from the start.  Note the title from Lawrence Block’s novel.  A reference to the population of NYC on a film that moves location to L.A.  The two credited scripters, Oliver Stone & R. Lance Hill (hiding as ‘David Lee Henry’), almost certainly have less to do with final script & dialogue than Robert Towne, called in for a complete rewrite, and from the actors Ashby encouraged to freely ad-lib.  No wonder the plot‘s such a tough nut to crack.  Not for Bridges’ detective-for-hire, but for the audience.  At heart, a rather simple murder mystery: alcoholic ex-cop Jeff Bridges blows an easy freelance gig when a scared hooker he’s escorting out of town is kidnapped & killed.  Turns out he’s stumbled into serious romance & serious trouble between hooker madame Rosanna Arquette and young drug lord Andy Garcia, the sharp shark behind all the bad news.  Surprisingly watchable in spite of missing pieces, Ashby’s laidback laissez-faire way with actors could produce magic, along with tactile 1986 vibe from cinematographer Stephen H. Burum and a hard-to-take score by James Newton Howard.  Musically gruesome, but accurate to the period.  A catastrophic flop on release, but lower expectations and take a chance.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  Ever wonder just exactly what people mean by ‘Movie Star Hair?’  Watch Bridges casually run his hand thru his disorganized mane only to see it fall, without a cut,  perfectly in place as if someone spent 45 minutes working for that perfect glam disheveled look.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Go Alpha to Omega on Ashby with THE LANDLORD/’70 as second feature.  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-landlord-1970.html