Grace Quigleys letzte Chance

Grace Quigley (Katharine Hepburn) is a struggling senior living in New York City. She witnesses a professional hit performed by hitman Seymour Flint (Nick Nolte). She hides in his car. She had tried to commit suicide and sees him as a solution. She comes up with the idea to 'help' other suicidal seniors.

This is supposed to be a black comedy. It's in here somewhere. The characters are definitely oddballs coming out of left field. It's not actually funny and I don't know if it's actually fun. It has the underlying layer of sadness. I'm just not sure if this dark premise is a fun one.

Grace Quigley (Katherine Hepburn), an elderly woman, witnesses a hit man, Seymour Flint (Nick Nolte), in action. She finds that he has dropped his wallet and learns his identity. She then blackmails him into killing her, since she is elderly and has no reason to live but lacks the courage to take her own life. However he quickly develops a fondness for her, as a surrogate mother and so can not kill her. Instead they start assisting in the suicides of friends of Grace who no longer wish to live. The film is black comedy at its best and is one of my favourite films. The characters are likable and, wierdly, we end up rooting for them to die. Nolte's role as a sentimental hit man and his relationship with Grace are particularly amusing. This film is not for those who have a strong repugnant feeling against suicide but if you enjoy the bizarre, then you may very well like this film. If you do, then you could also like Harold and Maude.

This film has an offbeat premise, and many offbeat characters. The last theatrical release of Kate's career is neither a fitting nor typical valedictory -- and in that way, perhaps it is a fitting testimonial to Hepburn's career --- unconventional and poignant while always entertaining. Although the laughs are uneven and the subject matter may offend some, I found it entertaining and interesting.

The best two scenes in the film in my view are where Katherine Hepburn is standing up for herself in the face of scoundrels. The first, a mean spirited landlord and the second, a sneaky and avaricious taxi driver. These scenes have passion and spark. The rest of the film was a rather hum drum and occasionally bleak dark comedy/farce.

The concept has the bare bones of a very funny dark comedy, but the execution was not terribly successful here because the dialogue and action is not witty enough.

For a witty dark comedy that is not a million miles away in terms of its theme, I would suggest Throw Moma from the Train.

I read in one of the reviews that the two leads did not get on and that reviewer considered that this didn't show in the film. I think it did show, as the scenes with Hepburn and Nolte appeared rather forced to me.

The coming together of such disparate talents as Katherine Hepburn, director Anthony Harvey and the dreaded team of Cannon supremos Golan & Globus yields certainly the most idiosyncratic treatment of assisted suicide since Edward G. Robinson went to meet his maker in 'Soylent Green' in this project long nurtured by Miss Hepburn which heats up the old chestnut about a citizen hiring a professional hitman to provide his services.

Miss Hepburn and Nick Nolte certainly make strange bedfellows as the client and her employee with quirky contributions from Walter Abel, Kip Le Fever, William Duell and Elizabeth Wilson.