L'inseguito

Had long been curious about this movie-especially after first watching the beginning scene on YouTube-so I was ecstatic to finally check this out at my local library. James Caan is a recent parolee who encounters various people drifting down the road like Sally Kellerman when her car is temporarily out of commission or Peter Boyle who he has to meet concerning some money. Louise Lasser, Richard B. Shull, and Alex Rocco are among the supporting cast. I'll just now say that while there's some funny bits and lines, this was mostly played straight concerning characterization and plot. Yes, it meanders quite a bit but that's part of the movie's charm. So on that note, Slither is worth a look.

I usually either don't like, or hate, action comedies - though Slither isn't one entirely. But, as far as it IS an action one, it's the best one ever made, and (to me) about the most underrated comedy of ANY category. Most comedies or dramas about cops and robbers (or about criminals, period) promise to be about the CHARACTERS more than anything, but this one keeps that promise completely. I do have one complaint about the Sally Kellerman character, and that's that, in most of the film, she was a sort of WOULD-BE maniacal character, and that one scene of her actually holding up a diner spoils that in a way. But at least that scene gave James Caan the chance to do what he did best in the movie, which was acting horrifed or disgusted by everything that happened around him. Somehow, this doesn't wear thin anywhere in the movie, especially in his scenes with Kellerman. I usually don't like crude dialogue when it's there just for the sake of it, but the laundromat scene, where she grosses him out with her talk, is done just right, and that's why it's funny. I have what is probably a real minority opinion about the film version of MASH, and that's that it works EXCEPT for the "Burns and Houlihan" scenes, which (to me) were a real waste of both her and Duvall (including that hugely famous scene). All I can say is that anyone wanting to see Sally Kellerman in a FUNNY role should see Slither instead. The same is true of Peter Boyle and Louise Lasser, and all the character actors in smaller parts, all the way to the ones in the bingo hall scene. I don't know why most other comedies of this category can't at least APPROACH this one.

One could find fault with elements of this movie, particularly pacing and continuity; but the laughs and the ambiguous, fascinating characters make it great fun.

Until the very end, we're never sure if anybody is who they seem to be. The quest for loot is fascinating, because it's not for a fortune, just a nice chunk of change that when split probably wouldn't amount to a year's wages at an average job. So the interest focuses on the people, their semi-silly adventure, and their uncertain relationships.

One reviewer didn't like it because it wasn't tightly plotted, and he's right-- it's more realistic/absurd than that. Same reviewer also didn't find it funny, which is dead wrong. Some of the comic bits are a little shaggy dog, or sometimes crude, but most people should get a lot of laughs from it.

Great cast, great acting, good enough dialog and "plot" add up to an under-appreciated (and, I suppose,under-seen) little gem.

One of those films that make you realise just how good American cinema could be in the 70s. The plot is less important than the beautifully written and performed off-beat characters, all in their own way in search of an elusive (and finally impossible) pot of gold.

But perhaps the strongest feature of the film are the set pieces: James Caan gets a lift in the truck of a grumpy farmer: "Get out of my truck!" "Well, can you stop it first?"; Caan visits the 'head' in a diner, and a terrified customer comes rushing in - what's scared him?; the final ten minutes, a trailer marooned in the middle of the road, destruction all around, and James Caan finally waking up (existentially): "What the f*** am I doing here in a vegetable stand in the middle of nowhere?"

Caan showing a subtle touch with light/black comedy, the glorious Sally Kellerman, Peter Boyle as always wacky as hell ...

Pure gold.

An ex-con stumbles across America, meeting one oddball character after another, while being pursued by a mysterious black minivan. The characters are wonderful - oddball without being exaggerated or overdone. The plot is engrossing. It's a wonderful piece of 70s anarchy. It is very clear that this must have been a big influence on the Coen brothers movies. That combination of deadpan observation of personal quirk and absurdity, combined with violence and a twisting plot. The Big Lebowski is a clear example of where you'll this film's influence. All the performances are great, with Sally Kellerman being her usual unforgettable self.