Embarrassingly idiotic high camp modern noir set on Cape Cod.
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:7
Rotten:11
Average Rating:4.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on Norman Mailer's novel, this film is centered on the desperate attempts of a down-and-out writer to discover the strange truth behind a series of grisly, inexplicable mutilation murders.
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Wings Hauser, Clarence Williams
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Wings Hauser, Clarence Williams
Director: Norman Mailer
Director: Norman Mailer
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Reviews for Tough Guys Don't Dance
Neither thrilling nor horrific, the camera, plotting, dialogue and atmosphere are uniformly unconvincing: a conservatoire of false notes.
The overkill is strangely compelling and Mailer's disregard for taste and convention ensure his film is a massive but spectacular and unmissable folly.
Not the high point of the Mailer career, but it's a small, entertaining part of it.
Hard to classify; at times you laugh raucously at what's up on the screen; at others you stare dumbly, in stunned amazement.
Norman Mailer's best film, adapted from his worst novel, shows a surprising amount of cinematic savvy and style.
What is strange is that Tough Guys Don't Dance leaves me with such vivid memories of its times and places, its feelings and weathers, and yet leaves me so completely indifferent to its plot. Watching the film, I laughed a good deal.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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