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
Director: Norman Mailer
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Reviews for Tough Guys Don't Dance
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 C- |
Embarrassingly idiotic high camp modern noir set on Cape Cod. Full Review |
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Click to read the article Full Review |
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Neither thrilling nor horrific, the camera, plotting, dialogue and atmosphere are uniformly unconvincing: a conservatoire of false notes. Full Review |
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 4/5 |
A juicy cult classic.
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3/5 |
Strange and self-indulgent, but oddly entertaining.
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2/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
No review available.
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2/5 |
No review available.
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1/5 |
Ponderous and absurd, like the novel. As a stand-in for Mailer, O'Neal is limp.
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1/5 |
No review available.
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The overkill is strangely compelling and Mailer's disregard for taste and convention ensure his film is a massive but spectacular and unmissable folly. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Not the high point of the Mailer career, but it's a small, entertaining part of it. Full Review |
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2/5 |
It’s a mystery, and not an overly compelling one. Full Review |
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2/5 |
No review available.
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3/5 |
No review available.
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2/5 |
No review available.
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Hard to classify; at times you laugh raucously at what's up on the screen; at others you stare dumbly, in stunned amazement. Full Review |
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Norman Mailer's best film, adapted from his worst novel, shows a surprising amount of cinematic savvy and style. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
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. Full Review |
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