Cadillac Man is a 1990 American black comedy film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Robin Williams and Tim Robbins.
| Cadillac Man | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roger Donaldson |
| Written by | Ken Friedman |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Gribble |
| Edited by | Richard Francis-Bruce |
| Music by | J. Peter Robinson |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million[2] |
| Box office | $27.6 million (US)[3] |
The plot of the film centers on car salesman Joey O'Brien (Williams), whose life is consumed by turmoil, which all comes to a head when his dealership is taken hostage by Larry (Robbins), a love-crazed motorcyclist.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed $27.6 million against its $15 million budget.[2][3]
Plot
editQueens car salesman Joey O'Brien must deal with the ever-increasing pressures in his life: he has an ex-wife demanding alimony, a daughter who is missing, a married mistress and a single mistress who are both desperately in love with him, and a two-day deadline to either sell twelve cars or lose his job. In addition, he has an outstanding loan from a Mafia don; a loan that he must either quickly repay or lose his life.
On the day of the big dealership car sale (and the final day of O'Brien's deadline), the car dealership is taken hostage by Larry, a motorcyclist toting an AK-47 who believes that his wife is cheating on him. Joey manages to talk Larry out of doing any harm, by claiming that he is the one who is sleeping with Larry's wife. As police surround the dealership, Joey and Larry begin to bond, and Joey convinces Larry to give himself up.
Not realizing that Larry's gun is not loaded, the police wound him after most of the hostages have already been released. Joey promises to remain with him while he recovers, and confesses that he had never actually slept with Larry's wife. The crisis resolves all of Joey's problems: his mistresses learn of each other and dump him, his daughter returns, his job is secure, the Mafia don (whose son was among the hostages) forgives his debt, and he begins to reconcile with his ex-wife.
Cast
edit- Robin Williams as Joey O'Brien
- Tim Robbins as Larry
- Pamela Reed as Tina
- Annabella Sciorra as Donna
- Fran Drescher as Joy Munchack
- Zack Norman as Harry Munchack
- Lori Petty as Lila
- Paul Guilfoyle as Jack "Little Jack" Turgeon
- Bill Nelson as Jack "Big Jack" Turgeon
- Eddie Jones as Benny
- Mimi Cecchini as Ma
- Tristine Skyler as Lisa
- Judith Hoag as Molly
- Lauren Tom as Dim sum waitress
- Anthony Powers as Captain Mason
- Bill Nunn as Grave Digger
- Paul Herman as Tony DiPino
- Erik King as Davey
- Richard Panebianco as Frankie DiPino
- Gary Howard Klar as Detective Walters
- Elaine Stritch as Widow
- Jack Mulcahy as S.W.A.T. Team Officer
Production
editTo prepare for his role in the film, Williams spent time in car dealerships in Queens, New York.[4]
Release
editThe film opened at number 2 at the box office on May 18, 1990, behind Bird on a Wire.[3] Its total worldwide gross was $27,627,310.[5]
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 58%, based on 12 reviews.[6] Metacritic gives it a score of 50 out of 100, based on 21 critic reviews.[7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a "B−" grade on scale of A+ to F.[8]
Chicago Sun-Times critic, Roger Ebert, had mixed feelings about the film, giving it a two stars out of four, stating, "My problems with Cadillac Man were probably inspired more by false expectations than by anything on the screen, and maybe if Robbins had come crashing in through the window in the first scene I would have liked it more."[9]
Variety thought that the film had "the distinction of being the loudest film of 1990 and one of the worst".[10]
References
edit- ^ "Cadillac Man (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 6, 1990. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ a b "Powergrid: Cadillac Man". TheWrap.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Cadillac Man (1990)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ Rosenthal, Donna (May 9, 1990). "'Cadillac Man' Finds a New Life". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "'Recall' Totally Outdistances 'Future' in Box-Office Race Movies". Los Angeles Times. June 5, 1990. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ "Cadillac Man". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Cadillac Man". Metacritic.
- ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (May 18, 1990). "Cadillac Man (1990) Review". Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ "Film Reviews: Cadillac Man". Variety. May 16, 1990. p. 26.
