Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins

This 1970's road movie is very special with likable folks and some weird supporting characters along the way. Alan Arkin was great in the 60's & 70's and this part fits him like a glove. MacKenzie Phillips as Frisbee brings her unique characteristics to her lonely young woman looking to connect. Sally Kellerman was so great in the 70's playing wackos or tight-asses in uniform; always a joy to watch.

A definite 7 out of 10. Best performance = Alan Arkin. There are excellent minor characters played by Alex Rocco and especially Harry Dean Stanton (one of the treasures of American cinema is this man's presence). This film may be too laid-back for most high-charged Americans. Reminiscent of SLITHER (also Sally Kellerman). A hidden gem that was rarely seen at the time. Check it out!

Alan Arkin plays a California driving instructor who is so bored with his job that he falls asleep in his student's car; getting kidnapped by two nuts like Sally Kellerman and Mackenzie Phillips is really just what he needs. Kellerman has done solid work in films such as "MASH" and "Slither", but she is truly remarkable here as a little girl in a woman's body, convinced she has musical potential and that street urchin Phillips can help her realize her dream of becoming a professional singer (she believes the best in everybody). Phillips is tough and guarded, but lets her walls down in surprising ways (at one point, Arkin sneaks a little kick at her and she kicks back--she's enjoying a grown up's closeness for the first time). As Rafferty, Arkin is wonderfully flexible and warm; alienated and confused, he isn't even hopeful enough to get a decent car (the one he does drive seems glued together). The friendship that develops between these three people is funny and touching. It probably catches them by surprise, yet the characters don't acknowledge their new bond (by discussing it, they may burst the balloon). I didn't care for a padded sequence mid-movie that has Arkin's brakes going out (the three leads "walk to town", only they're in the middle of nowhere), but I did love many scenes: Kellerman singing in a Tucson roadhouse; her visit to her father, an embittered cowboy who wants nothing to do with his daughter; Arkin desperately trying to hang onto his friends; Phillips nearly selling herself to buy Arkin a cowboy hat (the only present she's ever bought for anybody). An underrated, warm-hearted movie, "Rafferty" is a lost gem awaiting rediscovery. ***1/2 from ****

This film has one of Louis Prima's last appearances. (He took ill in 1975). Louis can be seen in the Casino scenes along with longtime backups,Sam Butera and the Witnesses. They perform excerpts of "When Your Lover has Gone", "Che la Luna" and "Got you Under my Skin". Although the sequence is short and peppered with dialog,the old Prima magic shines thru. By this time,Louis was working with Sam and the Witnesses only. Keely Smith had been gone since 1961 and Gia Maione,Louis' singing partner and wife was only appearing with the group occaisinly The film is so-so,but worth staying with to enjoy Louis,Sam and the Band.

RAFFERTY AND THE GOLD DUST TWINS has become something of a cult movie if you go by the comments on this website. I can understand to a degree its appeal: it's as of the 1970s as wood paneling and disco, it's about an aimless loser finding an unconventional family with a wannabe singer and her surly teenage companion, and most importantly, its heart is in the right place. But as with a lot of cult movies, this is only going to appeal to some and it really didn't click for me.

I appreciate what the movie is trying to do more than how it does it, if that makes sense. I found the characters mostly uninteresting and their contrived, predictable misadventures even less so. The episodes mostly failed to make me laugh or they came off as filler to make sure the movie was longer than 60 minutes. The direction is flat and unengaged too, which does not help.

Alan Arkin gave life to a great deal of misfits and outcasts at this point in his career, but I cannot call Rafferty one of the more memorable ones. He has some fine moments, but he never came off like a fleshed out individual and even after he decides to help out his two female associates, he still seems aimless, like he's just tagging along for the ride. Now perhaps that is the point, but if so, it's still not interesting to watch. Sally Kellerman outright annoyed me with her character's spaceyness and weird stoner vibes (is she supposed to come off that way?). Mackenzie Phillips is the only one who leaves an impression, even if she's playing a stereotypical teenage rebel. She had a lot of moments that touched me and I think she sold her character's loneliness better than anyone else.

I'm just baffled. I really wanted to like this, but I was left cold. Then again, that's just the nature of cult movies: you can't like 'em all, even if you're a cult afficionado like me.

Not bad, not bad at all. Alan Arkin, an actor whose screen persona has been nearly as eccentric as Elliott Gould's, stars as a none too bright driving instructor abducted by a pair of oddball runaways, well played by the underrated Sally Kellerman and the even less appreciated MacKenzie Phillips. They endure each other's company, and along the journey (this is one of those "road" movies) become accomplices in what seems to be their mutual desire to escape from society's norms. I may be reading more into this film that what the writer has written, but it's an entertaining endeavor, mainly due to the cast.