Why You Should Give the Movie Ishtar a Chance

Do you pay attention to movie critics? If they say a movie is really good do you feel compelled to rush out and see it? Or, alternatively, if they say a movie is an utter waste of time do you bypass it? No? You say that the critics are all a bunch of snobs who only praise independent movies with no action, no romance and no stars? You never listen to critics?

Oh yes you do. And I can prove it. Okay, raise your hand if you've seen the movie Ishtar? Um, one...two...three. Ah, five of you. And why haven't the rest of you seen Ishtar? Because you heard it's one of the worst movies ever; a huge Mel Gibson sized turkey; a Doug Flutie Hail Mary bomb? And who exactly did you hear this from? Hardly anybody went to the theater to see it and it's never become a post-theatrical video resurrection case like A Christmas Story. You haven't seen Ishtar because you DO pay attention to critics; like the critics who slaughtered Ishtar when it came out.

You have no idea what you've been missing. Ishtar stars Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as two really pathetic wannabe singers. If it had been made with two unknowns on a shoestring budget, the critics would have been falling all over themselves telling you how amazingly funny and clever Ishtar was. Instead it was written by two of the biggest movie stars of the past quarter century and directed by one of the funniest women of the 20^th century, Elaine May, while giving one of the most respected European actresses of the time, Isabelle Adjani, her first big Hollywood break. For some reason, this use of major talent was considered a crime by critics.

There are many reasons that Ishtar is worth a rent; although at this time it is not available on Netflix. For one thing, there's the songs. As I indicated, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty play two wannabe singer/songwriters and the songs they write are simply extraordinarily funny. In fact, the opening of the movie is a montage that recounts the creation of what may be their masterpiece, "Telling the Truth (Can be Dangerous Business)."

Oh, is that brilliant!

Throughout the course of the movie, Hoffman and Beatty sing a variety of songs, some written by them (actually by Elaine May and/or Paul Williams), and others such standards as "Little Darlin'" and "That's Amore." Even when singing the standards, the performances are hilarious. Again, had this movie been made by unknowns, at least one of the original songs would have garnered an Oscar nomination.

Another big reason to watch Ishtar is for the performances of Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. What makes it so amusing is how the traditional expectations of these two actors are subverted. While Warren Beatty may very well be the very model of a Hollywood lothario, Dustin Hoffman has always carried with him a little bit of the nebbish, the guy that girls look over in order to get to guys like Beatty. Well, here the situation is reversed; Hoffman is the ladies man and Beatty is the geeky one. This makes for some terrific scenes. And Hoffman is also quite hilarious in his singing scenes. Beatty really comes alive once the two head off to the Middle East. (Don't ask, just enjoy). I can still start laughing out loud just from the memory of Beatty's experiences with his blind camel. And when the two get lost in the desert, it's the funniest sequence involving that cliché since Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion.

Then there's Charles Grodin's supporting performance. Back in the 70s and 80s Charles Grodin may well have been the best supporting comic actor in movies. He was always dependable, always capable of turning in a high quality and hilarious performance. And he's right on target here as a manipulative CIA agent. As for Isabelle Adjani, well, she's not really given a whole lot to do, but her introduction to the Beatty character is one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

I saw this movie in a theater when it first came out. (You see, I didn't listen to the critics that time around; though I certainly have at others.) Despite the critical thwacking that the movie took, the theater was between a third and a half full, pretty good for an opening day of a movie that took such a drubbing. (Compare that to the fact that my wife and I composed exactly two-thirds of the entire audience when we went to see Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.). And the theater was filled with laughter. It was clear that most of the people in that cinema considered Ishtar to be anything but a disaster.

Word of mouth might have saved Ishtar, because most people I know who have actually seen it have enjoyed it. Maybe not to the degree I do, but they still find it funny. But the power of the critics this time around was just too great. And so Ishtar died a horrible, flaming death, destined to be relegated to the arena reserved for such turkeys as Heaven's Gate, The Postman, and Battlefield Earth. There is a huge difference, however, between those films and Ishtar. While Ishtar was an expensive movie to make and returned a paltry gross like those disasters, Ishtar is also a very entertaining film, unlike those movies. So if your video store does happen to carry a copy of Ishtar-until it finally makes it Netflix-do yourself a favor and pick it up. At least see for yourself whether what you've heard is really true or not.