It would be possible to feel we were getting more than a comedy-thriller if we could feel we were getting at least that. A simple nonstop pursuit -- of a spacey emerald smuggler and a Good Samaritan astrophysicist by a team of Middle Eastern hit men, among others -- produces little comedy and littler thrills. But it allows director John Landis to cover a lot of social and geographical ground, all around Los Angeles. The best stopping place is a small apartment decorated down to the last inch with Elvis Presley memorabilia. (The punchline, when the occupant turns up, is that he's a professional Elvis impersonator.) Mostly, however, it's a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous itinerary: Hollywood movie studio, Rodeo Drive gambling emporium, Westwood penthouse, Malibu beachhouse, Beverly Hills mansion, and other temples of conspicuous consumption. But Landis has nothing really to say about these places, other than an inarticulate, touristic oohing, ahhing, and tsk-tsking. That is, he doesn't really integrate them with plot and character. You do not get to know the inhabitants of these places, and you do not get the idea Landis knows them either. Or maybe he just prefers to keep things to himself. A whole gang of fellow movie directors, for example, has been enlisted into cameo roles, and while a line like "Scanners seem to check out" will help identify the director of Scanners, and an "Amy" name-tag on the coffee-shop waitress will help identify Amy Heckerling, this remains a rather private form of amusement. Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer. (1985) — Duncan Shepherd
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