Sunburn, coup de soleil

In 1979's strangely toned "Sunburn" insurance investigator Charles Grodin hires Farrah Fawcett to pose as his wife while he probes a dodgy death in Acapulco. There they're drawn into a bland plot involving blackmail & the mob with the likes of Joan Collins, Art Carney & Seymour Cassel. Director Richard C Sarafian and writers John Daly, Stephen Oliver & James Booth may have thought they had the best of both the mystery thriller & jaunty rom-com genres - but ended up falling between the two as neither funny nor tense: just pretty lame & pointless. What it DOES having going for it in retrospect though is its nostalgic Seventies feel - but that's not enough. Disappointing fare.

A forgettable easygoing romp in the rich tourist section of Mexico, this movie was hamstrung from the beginning with its insurance scam plot - not an exciting prospect. Grodin is the maverick investigator whom the head of the insurance company wants on the job even though he caused them some problems in the past. Grodin plays this sort of slack jawed throughout, to the point of annoyance. Farrah joins up as his make believe wife. This was Farrah in her prime, just post the silly Angels TV show and before she got into serious actress mode. It's her middle film in the 'S' trio - all of which bombed. She & Grodin are incompatible, in more ways than one, and the fact she does end up in bed with him feeds the fantasies of many a middle-aged males. Art Carney's a private eye employed by Grodin; he brings in the usual feisty old man humor. Joan Collins shows up as a rich, horny wife. A lot of the scenes are plain stupid, such as Grodin dressing up in a night prowler outfit for no reason, other than to appear stupid. But, since all of this takes place in hot weather, Farrah usually wears something skimpy. There's also a fairly exciting car chase in the last third, including a run-in with a bull - some of those shots looked very realistic, to the detriment of the bull.

I remember being very upset when Farrah left TV and started making movies. It was before VCRS and DVDS so once she was gone there was no way to see her every week. The movies that she made once she left didn't help with getting your Farrah fix. She still looked beautiful, but they didn't capture her personality the way her TV show was able to. This is a starring role for Farrah Fawcett (her second film after leaving Charlie's Angels) but it is Joan Collins who turns out to be the sexier of the two and who steals the film despite her small role. Charles Grodin is seriously miscast and makes the film hard to watch. Luckily the scenery is beautiful and so are the two women. This was the movie that made me realize how sexy Joan Collins really is. Watch her vamp it up in her Pre-Dynasty days.

It's not "Citizen Cane" nor is it suppose to be, but I will always love this movie. Definitely makes me think of the late 70s, with it's visuals and "neat-o" soundtrack with cool songs by Wings and 10cc. I seen it on Showtime in about 1981 and have loved it ever since. I also remember that I just about flipped when it played "With a little luck" at the end. Charles Grodin is hilarious and Farrah is stunning. Joan Collins is kind of a hot cougar as well, if you are into horny old winos, which I must be. It'd make a great triple feature of late 70s light entertainment and music with "Xanadu" and "FM". Perfect movie to watch on an air conditioned hot summer day.

Charles Grodin plays a insurance investigator and Farrah Fawcett poses as his wife to solve murder. Art Carney is added for comedic relief to keep the movie rolling. Grodin is little serious as the usual roles that play in other movies. This is not Fawcett best role, but will show her acting ability in later movies as The Burning Bed and Extermities. Its not the best movie, but I like for the adventurous plot.