"You read 'Treasure Island,' didn't ya?"
TODAY'S RETRO-REVIEW: 1987's "Hot Pursuit," starring the always lovable John Cusack, who sandwiched this flick between 1986's subpar "One Crazy Summer" and signature performances in 1988's "Eight Men Out" and "Tapeheads." Written and directed by Steven Lisberger, who is credited for the story on 1982's "Tron."
THE PLOT: Prep school student Danny (Cusack) is forced to miss spring break with his girlfriend Lori (Wendy Gazelle) to make up a chemistry test. When his teacher lets him off the hook, Danny races to the Caribbean to catch up to Lori and her family, who are in more danger than anyone could have imagined.
MAYBE YOU REMEMBER: Robert Loggia as the salty sailor "Mac," who kidnaps the drunken and despondent Cusack and then helps him on his quest.
SURELY YOU CAN'T FORGET: Ben Stiller makes his feature film debut in "Hot Pursuit" as the deckhand turned pirate. And he's joined for the first time by his father, Jerry Stiller.
THE TUNES: No soundtrack was released -- probably because there are only two songs in the movie: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Nylons and "Lessons in Love" by Level 42.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID: "From its slow, painful start to its ridiculous, not to mention improbable, ending, Hot Pursuit is tortuously boring." -- Terri Clark, Apollo Movie Guide.
WHY WE LOVE IT ANYWAY: He may not have the greatest dialog to work with, but Cusack's physical comedy is at its very best in "Hot Pursuit." And despite the ups and downs, it's nowhere near the lows of "Must Love Dogs" or "America's Sweethearts" either. Loyal female fans will still feel their hearts flutter when John is on the screen, while guys will enjoy the gymnastic prowess of actress Wendy Gazelle (whose other notable screen appearances were in "The Net" and "The In Crowd.")
TOP 5 LINES FROM HOT PURSUIT:
5. "The name is Dan. They call me ... Mr. Determined."
4. "Row 10, Seat C. Don't you want to see where you were conceived?"
3. "Don't forget the first rule of sailing: Never p--s into the wind."
2. "Some of us drink from the fountain of knowledge. Others gargle."
1. "You read 'Treasure Island,' didn't you? ... You'll do."
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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Hey, I LOVE "One Crazy Summer!" ... Subpar?? Maybe Super, but never Subpar!
Posted by: chase | April 14, 2008 at 09:29 AM
How can you not love "Must Love Dogs"? Right up there with "Serendipity" as light romantic comedy/date flick. (When I get to sit beside my wife of 29 years and enjoy a flick and each other.)
Plus it's got Diane Lane, who makes 50+ year old guys have heart palpitations.
See ya.
Posted by: Greg Jones | April 14, 2008 at 10:53 AM
I actually paid cash money to see One Crazy Summer (from "Savage" Steve Holland who also brought us Better Off Dead) and it wasn't horrible. Not great either. Best scene was Bobcat Goldthwait dressed in a Godzilla costume destroying a scale model of some buildings. Fun stuff. Not the worst movie of his career. Serendipity comes close though.
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | April 14, 2008 at 11:08 AM
"Serendipity" was pretty bad. And I'm not sure why I didn't like "One Crazy Summer" -- because normally Savage Steve Holland is money in the bank. Too many odd side characters, I guess.
Posted by: Spears | April 14, 2008 at 11:26 AM
I have to admit that 'Hot Pursuit' is one of few Cusack movies that I have only seen once, and I didn't like it. I might have to watch it again.
I too liked One Crazy Summer... call me crazy.
Posted by: Bassnote | April 14, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I'm not sure how well "Hot Pursuit" holds up these days -- I'll confess that. If someone watched it for the first time now, they'd probably think "el bombo."
But Cusack is always worth a second chance.
Posted by: Spears | April 14, 2008 at 11:57 AM
I don't think I ever saw Hot Pursuit. Not sure I am compelled now or not, but yeah, pretty much anything with the "Cuz" is worth watching. Of recent vintage I can recommend "Identity". The twist ending is a little toooooo twisty, but still a load of fun trying to figure it all out.
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | April 14, 2008 at 12:07 PM
I don't think I ever saw "Hot Pursuit" -- not that I remember anyway. Which is a fact that speaks volumes, apparently, about the quality of this movie.
However, I keep reading the movie title with Roscoe P. Coltrane's voice in my head. Tell me that's not a little bit disconcerting...
(PS: Serendipity was indeed most meh. Must Love Dogs was slightly better, even with the considerable charms of Mr. Cusack, Diane Lane and Christopher "Cap'n Von Trapp" Plummer.)
Posted by: jane | April 14, 2008 at 03:22 PM
I don't recall viewing this flick. I'm Cusack lover, but there have been a couple of his slightly more recent films I could do without. Mainly, "America's Sweethearts" and "Must Love Dogs." "Serendipity" didn't bother me nearly as much as either of those.
"High Fidelity" ranks quite high on my Cusack-O-meter.
Posted by: Marissa | April 14, 2008 at 07:55 PM
the sure thing is still my favorite cusack film. i dont remember how many times i watched it back in the day, but it was a lot.
Posted by: chad | April 14, 2008 at 08:59 PM
Hey! Lisberger directed TRON, too!
Also, the main female character in Tron is Lora, and here it's Lori. Weird.
Posted by: Pages | April 14, 2008 at 09:14 PM
Basically, this is one of those movies that you never really paid to see at the movie, but you got to see over and over and over again on HBO during the middle of the day and/or weekends when they would play it. It is also a good background movie...you have it on, you're kinda watching it, but you never really get into it. You just glance over at the tube every once in a while to see if there is an gratuitous nudity; which there wasn't...I think?
Posted by: Rob Bass | April 14, 2008 at 09:43 PM