Hudson Hawk - Der Meisterdieb

I'm torn on HUDSON HAWK. After watching it, part of me went, "What the hell was that?" But another part suggested that maybe I wasn't hip enough to "get" what it was trying to do. Part of me thought it was a completely ridiculous waste of time. Part of me thought it was just good, clean fun.

Though certainly not for everybody, there are enough redeeming qualities in HUDSON HAWK to avert its dismissal as a multimillion-dollar turkey. Bruce Willis is Eddie "Hudson Hawk" Hawkins, a cat burglar intent on retiring but who is forced to steal Da Vinci works of art for a (gasp!) world domination plot. Along for the ride are Tommy Five-Tone (Danny Aiello), mysterious nun Anna Baragli (Andie MacDowell) and conniving bad guy George Kaplan (recognize that name?) played by the late James Coburn.

The plot sounds like it could have made for a good DIE HARD-style caper, but director Michael Lehmann had other ideas. As he reveals in the DVD version's audio commentary, HUDSON HAWK was meant first and foremost as a comedy. Trouble is, it was promoted more as a Bruce Willis action blockbuster. Audiences were left scratching their heads as their favorite tough guy engaged in Stooge-like slapstick, sipped cappuccino and, most astoundingly, crooning Crosby classics.

Not that mistaken expectations are the only thing wrong here. Indeed HUDSON HAWK is simply too silly for its own good. The gags frequently fall flat, nearly embarrassing the talented performers involved. The plot is overly convoluted, and Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard as the villainous Mayflowers are a bit hard to take. At its lowest points, you'll be astounded something like this could receive a theatrical release.

To get the most out of HUDSON HAWK, go in with an open mind. It's unlike anything you've seen before -- in both good and bad ways.

A movie that I've never understood the critics' response against. Yes, it's primarily a Bruce Willis ego-trip. Who cares? It's a _fun_ Bruce Willis ego-trip. He smirks, smartmouths, struts, sings, and strides through every scene. But he still doesn't manage to steal the thunder of Danny Aiello, James Coburn and his band of covert agents, and Sandra Bernhard and Richard Grant in a truly bizarre series of sequences as eccentric (to put it mildly) billionaires. Andie MacDowell doesn't make much of a romantic lead, but even she gets a goofball sequence when she starts speaking in Dolphin-ish.

This was one of the first films that I saw when I came back from the Persian Gulf War. It is listed as among the biggest money losers of all time and when it came out it generated some of the most scathing reviews of all time. When Bruce Willis made The Last Boy Scout later that year, one reviewer said "He gets punched in the mouth so many times, he must feel like he's still reading reviews of Hudson Hawk" Willis wrote the story for this film, so I'm sure this must have particularly hurt him, this film put his career in the toilet before Pulp Fiction revived it. I don't think the film was all that bad myself, even though it wasn't Citizen Kane and wont go down in history as a classic I am at least hoping that it might generate a cult following. At least it attempts to be original, you have to give it credit for that. So many movies these days are just rip offs. Willis gives an engaging performance as the cappachino-drinking, wise-cracking cat burglar who is forced to pull off one last hiest. I really laughed at the scene where he and Danny Aiello pull off that robbery while doing such a wonderful rendition of "Would You Like To Swing On A Star". Aiello is a great actor as is Andie McDowell and James Coburn who also give great supporting performances. Coburn has a lot of fun spoofing his tough guy image. It sort of reminds me of In Like Flynt. My best advice is leave your brain at the beginning of the movie and just have a good time. Yes this film wont cure cancer or anything like that, but its still a lot of fun if you just give it a chance.

Hudson Hawk has the dubious distinction of being the final film produced by TriStar Pictures prior to their being bought out by the Sony Corporation and merged with Columbia Pictures.

Plot In A Paragraph: Hudson Hawk, the worlds greatest cat burglar, has just been released from prison in New York. He is immediately blackmailed in to stealing some of Da Vinci's finest work in order to aid a world domination plot.

Bruce Willis gives one of his worst performances as Eddie Hawkins/Hudson Hawk, likewise Danny Aiello is not up to his usual standard as Tommy Hawks best mate, Andie MacDowell is very blah as Anna, Hawks love interest. David Caruso and Frank Stallone are both fine in their supporting roles. However Sandra Bernhard and Richard E. Grant are simply awful. Cringeworthy bad. They ruin EVERY scene they are in.

The movie doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, a slapstick comedy or an action adventure, and sadly ends up being neither.

One thing I did like was a running joke in the movie that has Hudson and his partner Tommy (Aiello) singing songs concurrently but separately, to time and synchronize their exploits. Willis-Aiello duets of Bing Crosby's "Swinging on a Star" and Paul Anka's "Side by Side" are a bit of fun in an otherwise mixed bag.

Is this a great movie? Not really. Will I absolutely stop and watch it if I happen to see it's on? Yes, I will. It's truly an oddball comedy, most definitely not every joke works, but its manic energy and silliness still manage to crack me up.

The real credit, for me, goes to the movie's two ridiculous scene-chewing villains, Minerva and Darwin Mayflower who pretty well have to be seen to be believed. If you looked up over the top in a dictionary I think you could possibly see a picture of them, and yet they're played with such conviction and flair that I love every scene they're in. For me, without them, the movie wouldn't be anywhere near as fun.