Strange Hearts

I wasn't expecting much at the start of watching this low budget comedy, but found myself liking both the plot and the players. The film is launched under three names, "Strange hearts", "Road to riches" and "Rat in a can". It's more of a drama than a comedy, and stars well known actors Robert Forster, Kip Pardue, Rose McGowan and Harry Hamlin.

Young Henry, a Texan carpenter, is a lucky naive honest guy, able to charm everyone. In addition to that he's a lucky one. As audience a a game show he meets up with the quite more unhappy and unlucky scam artist Jack Waters, which has a female scam artist and show girl companion, Moira. Henry doesn't really understand they are pulling his leg, and Jack sees every opportunity to exploit him and his wallet. After charming audience at a game show, Henry is asked to take over as a game show host, and the show is on. Telling more will spoil.

The film is easy entertainment, but has a cult side to it which I like. Not your average stupid American comedy, but a charming one, due to the charming two leading guys. Forster is good as the slick con artist, and Pardue is elegant naive charmer. Rose McGowan I haven't seen better since the Grindhouse movies if Rodriguez and Tarantino, "Planet Terror" and "Death proof". (Haven't seen her TV-series "Nip/Tuck" and "Charmed" though.) Forster is loved both by David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino, and the reasons are obvious after watching this, and Pardue delivers once again a great role here. This film has a certain feel of Lynch, and that is something likable as well.

Some animal protectors will be put of on an idea of Jack's with a rat in a soda can, but remember that this is film. Production value is good, but the clue to the liking is that the good actors are making this a charming gem with good entertainment value. A little possible future cult movie, due to the actors.

This is a film which easily could have been overdone, and also a film which could have been so much more. Charming anyway.

I read the review as posted by another person in regards to this movie, and I felt it wasn't giving Strange Hearts, Road to Riches ... or whatever it's called, the proper justice. (Which makes me think, why do people ever make up multiple titles to a movie. Whenever I think of that I think of the movie White Water Summer; save yourself some time and don't look it up folks, Kevin Bacon will probably thank you).

Anyway, I know my opinion may be a little biased considering I just got done watching the movie, but I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. Robert Forester did such a good job in this movie it actually made me come here and write a review for the first time. I don't want to build the movie up or anything, but it was a nice character movie.

Be it as it may that it did have unrealistic parts, but the direction was great and very original. It had many great moments to keep my attention. Like at the beginning when Forester's character gets screwed on a $100,000 dollar pyramid rip-off and he swears himself off the set. Apparently it only takes two seconds and two guesses to get "air propulsion", but it takes ten seconds and more than the obvious hints of birds and airplanes to make a clod guess "things that fly"(yeah, I'd be really angry too).

Sure, Rose McGowan could have used a couple of stripper classes or two, and if I hadn't already seen her naked I'd wonder if she had silver dollar nipples with the size of those boobie tassels she was wearing. However, I must say it was a good movie I enjoyed watching. I'm not going to buy it or anything, but if you're up at eleven o'clock at night and you happen to see it on, It's well worth your time. Especially to find out just what Forester's character will do with that empty soda can.

The biggest star in this vehicle was Harry Hamlin, playing a character named Dan Smith, so that shows you how important that role was.

Robert Forster, looking like a poor man's Alec Baldwin, plays Jack Waters, a middle-aged man who is a contestant on the live (on the air) game show "Road to Riches". He thinks he's going to win $50,000. He doesn't. He's so enraged he begins cursing and has to be physically restrained and led from the set. Strangely enough, despite this fact, and the fact he later destroys property--as well as making threats--he is never barred from the studio. That is just one example of the lack of believability in this film.

The next character to enter the non-plot of this storyline is young Henry Fields played by Kip Pardue. Henry, new in town, is the poster child for naive yokel.

Henry & Jack fall into conversation outside the studio and hook up.

Jack takes Henry to a strip joint, where Henry sees Moira Kennedy(our third character--played by Rose McGowan), on stage, performing what is supposed to be an erotic, exotic Asian dance. What actually happened is, the girl came out and did a little wriggling and weaving that lasted maybe five minutes and was nothing exceptional.

Moira is a friend of Jack's, so she's conveniently handy from then on.

Nothing of much interest happens throughout the rest of the film. There's some kind of offer made by Dan Smith to Jack to screw over Henry for an undisclosed amount of money. Why Dan would make this offer was never clear.

Eventually we have both men up for grabs by the unexceptional Moira. There's balding Jack, a loser old enough to be her grandfather, and Henry, another loser, dumber than dirt. Gosh! Golly! Gee-willikers Folks!--which one will she chose!? I know I didn't care.

1 star

"Road to Riches" is a lightly romantic dramedy about a down-on-his-luck middle aged professional game show contestant (Forster) who harbors affection for a beautiful stripper (McGowan) and befriends a fresh-faced naive young interloper from Texas (Pardue) - a sort of poor man's Joe Buck (Midnight Cowboy) - until both men find themselves competing for the same woman. A B-flick at best, this little indie is rough around the edges showing signs of low budgetness and a lack of attention to detail with plot parts which don't dovetail well. However, when all is said and done, the film's good naturedness, poignant crescendo, and feel good conclusion make it a worthwhile watch for the couch potato in the mood for some casual small screen entertainment. (C+)

I loved this film...I felt sorry about the rat in the can but still I loved it hehe. Rose McGowan's all grown up since Jawbreaker, which was so awful. This movie proves that even she can be emmotional, away from "Charmed" which she totally blowed. GREAT job to all the cast, exellent done guys!!