Nadine

Robert Benton wrote and directed this daffy comedy about a Texas manicurist in 1950s Austin who enlists the aid of her estranged husband to help her retrieve some sexy photographs she had taken by a unscrupulous shutterbug; swiping blueprints for a new highway instead, the bickering couple are chased by both the police and a crooked kingpin who's out for blood. Sassy talk and gumshun are the highlights of this pleasant whiff of an idea--sort of an old-fashioned throwback to the cinema's second-feature--but it runs out of steam after an hour or so. Kim Basinger gets to show off her squirrelly side which is very appealing, and Jeff Bridges is a good match for her, but the ramifications of an early murder, the contents of the file, and the plot elements with the gun-toting villains, Bridges' new girlfriend, and Basinger's secret "condition" are not immediately captivating. Didn't Benton realize that the central relationship alone was more engaging than the chases and the overlong shoot-out finale in a junkyard? He was trying for a breezy screwball effect, but this approach is only successful in setting up the story. The rest is irrelevant. ** from ****

It's Austin, Texas, 1954, and Jeff Bridges's biggest ambition is a gaudy neon to top-off his tacky, no-business, beer bar, while estranged wife and apprentice hairdresser Kim Basinger sends her "art photos" to Playboy magazine. Obviously they're made for each other. Meanwhile, her sleazo photographer turns up dead and they're on the run. It's delightful madcap as they bumble their way through a series of misadventures. Their subtly affectionate sniping reminds me of a bad grammar version of Nick and Nora Charles in the uptown Thin Man series. Surprisingly, the California born Bridges has the "good ol' boy" drawl down pat, while even the usually snooty Basinger manages a convincing honky-tonk queen. Good period detail without the distractive sounds of Golden Oldies. -- With a delightfully arch Rip Torn as the slyly superior villain. It's amazing how these little gems keep getting produced with little or no recognition. All in all, great escapist fare for a slow evening at home.

I'm not sure where I was in 1987 when this film came out, but I saw it for the first time tonight, and I'd never heard of it. I found it highly entertaining.

Kim Basinger is Nadine, a pregnant, soon to be divorced woman living in small-town Texas in 1954. She posed for some "art studies" and wants to get them back from the sleazy photographer (Jerry Stiller) who told her that he knew Hugh Hefner. She's very insistent, so he lets her into his studio, even though he has an appointment coming, and sticks her in the back room. When he opens the door with what seems to be her file, he falls over, dead from a knife in the back. Nadine grabs her file and gets out of there. When she arrives home, the file has maps of an area of town in it. She lies to her ex-husband (Jeff Bridges) so that he will return to the studio with her; soon, they're on the run from the police - and the owner of the maps (Rip Torn).

This is a funny, fast-moving comedy with excellent performances from Bridges, Basinger, Torn, Stiller, Glenne Headley as Bridges' girlfriend, and Gwen Verdon, who plays Nadine's boss. Written and directed by Robert Benton, "Nadine" is a small film and an enjoyable one. Recommended.

In 1954, in Austin, Texas, the sexy Nadine Hightower (Kim Basinger) pays a visit to the photographer Raymond Escobar (Jerry Stiller) begging him to retrieve the photos he took from her since she believed that he would show them to Hugh Hefner. He gives an envelope to her mistakenly with the plans of the route of a new road instead and while she is waiting to leave his office, he is murdered bu his client. Nadine becomes the prime suspect and when her ex-husband Vernon Hightower (Jeff Bridges) visits her asking to sign the divorce papers, he sees the documents and realizes that they are valuable. While Vernon wants to make money with the documents, the powerful criminal Buford Pope (Rip Torn) chases Nadine and Vernon to retrieve the plans.

"Nadine" is an entertaining romantic adventure, with Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges showing a great chemistry. Maybe the best thing in this movie is the chance to see Kim Basinger in the top of her beauty and sensuality. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Nadine - Um Amor a Prova de Balas" ("Nadine – A Bullet Proof Love")

Okay, so this movie didn't do great when it came out in the late eighties. I think it was because it was set in another era. But I happen to think this is one of those movies that once you've seen it, it stays with you. The plot is predictable, the action is a little on the slow side, and it veers off funny a few times. However, that being said, Kim Basinger single handedly MAKES this movie. Don't get me wrong Jeff Bridges does a great job too, but it's Nadine that gives the movie it's spark and it's wittiest moments. Basinger is picture perfect because YES, she is beautiful, but she REALLy inhabits the dialogue and her character. She acts beautifully and really seems to be having a great time. My favorite two scenes are when Vernon and Nadine are driving to the photography studio and later when they are alone in his trailer. The scene in the car is all about dialogue and establishing who these two are to each other and it's done amazingly well in a short time. Basinger's dialect alone will make you laugh. "I don't know Vernon, she look a little on the chubby side to be Pecan Queen" and "You know me Vernon, they don't bother me, I don't bother them". She's referring to her spark plugs. I don't know why, but I LOVE her in this scene. It's just seems effortless. And the scene in his trailer, where they are too close for comfort and it starts rekindling that old flame. Chemistry is amazing in this scene, like they can barely exist near each other.

I highly recommend watching this some night, where you don't have to be up doing laundry or dusting your knick knacks. Pop some popcorn and give this one a chance.