Why Me?

Well, I've seen Adrenaline, anyway. And... no, that's about it.

Why Me? sort of falls between two stools: it's not shoulder-dislocatingly funny either by intention or by good old-fashioned ineptitude, which makes watching it a bit of a pointless exercise. The old jewel-thieves-in-over-their-heads caper has been done to death, and the combination of Christophers Lambert and Lloyd provides the film with a distinct reek of B-list. Neither are wacky enough to be engaging for very long: Lloyd's clearly only there for the money, and you get the impression that Lambert's actually toning down his natural dementia. He's one of the most charismatic actors around, but it's just not given the chance to shine through here. (Only one "heh heh heh" as well. Or perhaps there were more during the times I fell asleep.)

So then, Why Me?: brief moments of promise amidst the sadly overwhelming boredom and confusion. No wonder nobody's ever heard of it.

My review was written in July 1989 after watching the movie at a TImes Square screening room. (NOTE: many months passed after this advance screening before the film was released in Paris and then In the U. S.).

Caper comedy "Why Me?" is a frantic but only intermittently funny U. S. vehicle for French star Christophe Lambert. Gallic reaction should be brisk, but pic shapes as a weak entry for American audiences.

Film just opened in Paris and is due out May 4 in the U. S. Pic is a throwback to '60s-style films -not surprising since it's based on a followup novel to Donald Westlake's "The Hot Rock", which spawned the 1972 Fox film and was followed up in '74 by "Bank Shot".

With aid of rewrite, Lambert follows in the footsteps of previous pics' Robert Redford and George C. Scott as the charming con man who's an expert safecracker. Teamed with sidekick Bruno (Christopher Lloyd in a variety of wacky costumes) and girlfriend June (Kim Greist), he steals the cursed ruby, the Byzantine Fire. This sets up a film-long chase around Los Angeles for the stone, wanted by the police, other criminals, the Turkish government and a nutty gang of Armenian terrorists.

Helmer Gene Quintano has fun with the knockabout chases and slapstick (often using distorting camera angles) but this material is old hat. "A Fish Called Wanda" proved the traditional caper film isn't dead, but "Why Me?" lacks its inspired casting and hilarious bits.

Lambert isn't funny in the lead role, though his scary stunt work dangling from a skyscraper in the finale is impressive (and, again, well-suited to French audiences, being in a Jean-Paul Belmondo mold). Rest of the cast plays it overly cutesy, except for J. T. Walsh who's effective as the mean police chief.

Tech credits are first-rate, with a bouncy score by Basil Poledouris.

Christopher Lambert just happens to be in the burglary business with his future father-in-law, Christopher Lloyd. When by complete accident they steal a priceless ruby ring, all hell breaks loose, with the Turks, the police, and the local hoods, all after them. "Why Me?' is very much in the same spirit as a Woody Allen film like "Small Time Crooks", only with bigger laughs. J.T. Walsh, plays the Los Angeles Chief of Police, and has many memorable lines of deadpan humor, while Michael J. Pollard makes an appearance as a discriminating fence. One highlight is a "stoolie" who will only enter the witness protection program, if J.T. Walsh provides him with a sex change operation. The movie is so off the wall, that you can't help but like it. Recommended. - MERK

I saw this movie while I was working at a Post Production studio in Hollywood, back in 1990. I was 19 and maybe somewhat more sympathetic back then.

Post Production can get boring at times, and a lot of very dull and incompetent programming gets produced and sent through Post Houses, like the one I worked at. But this movie, even being a solid "B" flick: starts, gets moving, does it's best with what it has, and wraps up decently (as far as stories go).

From what I remember, this movie doesn't pretend to be anything but entertaining; and while other movies do that better than this one, this is a movie that can entertain you if your bored and can watch a jewel thief movie without being critical about clichés. You can tell that the producers knew how much they could get from this budget and story and I don't think this crew could've done better. Chris Lambert, Chris Lloyd, and JT Walsh... good combo, and I think they pull it off as best it could be done.

This is possibly the funniest movie of all time. I was lucky enough to find this movie in the bargain bin of a local department store, and, being a Christopher Lambert fan, bought it. When I watched it, I died laughing. This takes the cake of every other movie of his. He should do more comedies. This movie is great.