La guerra de los vendedores

I grew up with characters like Dreyfus and DeVito, hustlers out there selling anything. Somewhere between 1963 and the time the film came out, they disappeared from our streets, only to move into six story office buildings that dot the suburbs of Northeastern cities. Now they spend their time on the phone, trying to interest prospects that new windows will surely cut their fuel bills.

I came to realize this great truth one day in 1988 when I went to rent a car and was told to come to Executive Plaza 5, Suite 414. As I walked the halls, all I could see in open offices were the Tin Men of 1963 at it again.

The movie crackles and sets off sparks. You don't know who to root for, and for good reason. This is not a buddy movie, but I suspect a remembrance by Levinson of people he knew growing up.

I have never quite understood why this flick has not achieved more critical and popular acclaim. I rate it a 9, which is very high for me (10s are reserved for a handful of all time classics). Beyond the great acting, super dialogue, and tremendous comedy -- which everyone seems to recognize -- there is also a very serious movie inside. Of course, as everyone says, it's an interesting slice of Americana: Baltimore in the early 1960s (before the flood). And on that basis alone, Tin Men is a great film. Few movies have ever given such an accurate portrayal of a particular time and place in America as well as this one.

But the movie is more than that. Tin Men is a story in which the historical tension between America's atavistic entrepreneurial spirit (as exemplified by the "tin men") and the regulatory forces of the state (as exemplified by the "investigating commission") are at an important crossroads. From the start it's obvious that the tin men have no chance and will lose this fight. It's a passing of a way of life. Much in the tradition of other great American works of art that examine the trade of salesman (Death of a Salesman, etc.), Tin Men is an indepth (and very funny) portrait of their psychological and social world. Their world outlook is now dying and there is a touch of wistfulness about that passage in the film. Are we as viewers supposed to be sad about it too? Or should we be happy? After all, the life of a tin man was hard and brutal (as well as free): witness the death of one of them to a heart attack.

On the other hand, is this way of life genuinely dying or just metamorphisizing? The ending was excellent because it brought ambiguity to that question. When DeVito and Dreyfus spot a new business opportunity: Volkswagens, we realize these "tin men" are irrepressible! They won't be stopped despite the new regulatory environment of the modern world. For my money, this movie is Barry Levinson's best by far. (Excellent soundtrack by Fine Young Cannibals, as well.)

Few films can be laugh-out-loud funny and ultimately as touching and deep as this film. Most people remember the dialogue, seemingly ad-libbed during the diner scenes by the cast (Danny DeVito, Jackie Gayle, Bruno Kirby)--and that looks like the same diner that Barry Levinson used for his first movie. But the characters and their quirks are totally fleshed out before the conflict (DeVito's stiff neck, Dreyfuss's ladies' man schtick), making for a few truly hilarious lines and scenes (Gayle talking to DeVito about what a great dancer Dreyfuss is comes to mind). The movie really has a sad story underneath about very unhappy people who delight in the misfortunes of others, until Barbara Hershey's character realizes what's going on. All of these characters and story points climax in a rather sweet and yes, believable final sequence. This movie came out during a spate of late '80s blockbusters and never really found its audience, I think. But it is one of the few late '80s movies I rewatch every couple of years and find more to appreciate with each viewing. I would rank it as Levinson's best film.

Rival aluminum-siding salesman declare war in another of director Levinson's returns to his hometown Baltimore, with Dreyfuss and DeVito playing the two feuding parties who constantly try to one up one another in a series of silly and childish gags. That's where the film falters, but it is in the charming performance of Hershey where the film is successful. Considering she's the only character with morals in the entire piece, she's the one you care for and root for. (An especially wonderful scene with DeVito on the porch when the IRS has taken his house.) Dreyfuss and DeVito, with exception to the silly gags the writers engaged their characters in, are in fine form, as always. Stand out performances from Mahoney as a real "tin man," and comedien Jackie Gayle, who has a fixation with knocking "Bonanza," are excellent.

You can tell when you are watching a movie made by Barry Levinson. Diner, Tin Men and Rain Man all have a similar touch, even though they are different movies, they are made by the same artist. In Tin Men, the audience is treated to a comedy, and is rewarded with a hidden drama. Much like Diner and Rainman, the movie has its comical moments. Still, this is a story about people and a drama that they live. The comedy is the teaspoon of sugar that helps the drama go down. DeVito and Dreyfuss are nothing short of great. The supporting cast in Tin Men is just as good. You forget that you are watching a movie at times. The movie is at times up lifting as well as thoughtful with a strong ending that makes the rest of the movie great. A hidden gem / comedy. This is one of those movies that you can not go wrong with.