Lucky Stiff (2014) Reviews

• Musical 'Lucky Stiff' Belongs on Stage, Not on Screen

  stu-003292017-02-23

  As I sat through a screening of the musical "Lucky Stiff" at the Sedona International Film Festival, I kept asking myself: "Why isn't this a stage production?" The answer came afterward, in a Q&A with actress Pamela Shaw: It was. The off-Broadway production ran for 15 shows in 1988 and was reprised in London's West End in 1997. The follow-up question, then, is why make the movie? Crickets chirping. The only clue – provided by Shaw, who plays crazy boyfriend-killer Rita LaPorta in the film – is that wine might have been involved. A cast of well-known musical theater talents emotes like crazy, exactly as one would expect for actors projecting from a stage. Gaps between scenes are filled with throwback animation reminiscent of "The Pink Panther" movies from the 1960s and '70s or the theme from "Bewitched." I think the animation actually works, but "Lucky Stiff" is still a stage show that somebody decided to film. For a contrast, check out "How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song" (2012), which won the audience award at the Phoenix Film Festival. It is an example of how to do a modern musical in motion-picture format. "Lucky Stiff" is about Harry Witherspoon, a down-on-his-luck English shoe salesman played by Dominic March in his film debut. March is a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company with a couple of BBC television shows under his belt. Harry receives a telegram saying that he stands to inherit $6 million from an American uncle he never met. Of course, there is a big catch: To get the money, he must take his dead Uncle Anthony (Don Amendolia) on a dream trip to Monte Carlo. If he fails to comply with any of the detailed instructions, the money instead will go to the uncle's favorite charity. Yes, it's "Weekend at Bernie's" goes to Europe! I would have loved to see the same cast perform "Lucky Stiff" on stage. As a movie, however, it likely will be remembered as the late Dennis Farina's last film. Farina ("Law & Order," "Get Shorty") died from a pulmonary embolism in 2013. In "Lucky Stiff," Farina plays the mysterious Luigi, who always seems to turn up in key situations.

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• Delicious musical comedy throwback

  benburl2016-10-26

  This adaptation of a hit off-Broadway musical that introduced the writing team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Anastasia, etc.) is a delightful throwback to the wacky farces that came out of England in the 1960s. Set in "1970ish", it would have undoubtedly been directed by Richard Lester and starred Dudley Moore and Susannah York, with a guest appearance by Peter Sellers. Now we have the charming Dominic Marsh and Tony Award winner Nikki M. James with a strong supporting cast, including several more Tony Award winners and nominees. Clever songs, animation, a German expressionistic nightmare, film noir images all add to the fun.

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• Weekend With Bernie: the Musical

  boblipton2015-07-25

  Dominic Marsh will inherit six million dollars from his uncle if he signs an acceptance and carries out the terms of the will. He does so and discovers he must take his uncle's corpse on a trip to Monte Carlo, pursued by Nikki James (the representative of the backup heirs, a Brooklyn dog shelter) and Pamela Shaw, his uncle's lover who shot him -- accidentally. The result is a fast-paced, overplotted and mechanical musical filled with solid professionals and awful songs I don't blame the actors, nor the camera department. There is some nice camera-work and some of the actors have proved themselves adept on stage and screen. Nonetheless, the songs are almost all pure, simple character exposition, like recitative in an opera, in which the juveniles, for example, establish their positions, one liking dogs, one disliking them; other songs include them trying to cover up their feelings by finding obvious rhymes for "nice" to not discuss their lovemaking. There is one good musical number towards the end, an expressionistic nightmare song induced by alcohol and the corpse's disappearance. By then, however, I had lost interest and was hanging around the theater to see if I had guessed the plot twists. Alas, I had.

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