Les poulets

I was expecting a decent police drama out of the movie "Fuzz." With the talents of Burt Reynolds, Yul Brynner, and Raquel Welsh, viewers would anticipate a memorable picture. But considering the acting talent involved, the film is a near disaster with several plot-holes and mood changes in scenes and story lines that confuse, alienate, and annoy the viewer.

To the best that I can make out (as I was half-asleep waiting for anything to happen in this picture) Yul Brynner plays a deaf man who has orchestrated the assassination of several high ranking political officials and other selected targets. Bert Reynolds and Jack Weston are the cops who dress up as Nuns. ("NUNS?") to try to stop them, against a backdrop of a discombobulated police station and staff that makes Barney Fife look like an organized lawman! What a mess! There is absolutely no continuity to this film or plot development. You would think that some of the random shooting events would place an element of dramatic suspense, giving the viewers some reason to see this picture. However, in the next scene it's a comedy, than in the following scene it turns serious again. Fuzz is a perfect example of a movie that is only removed from being a 1, because I have given an extra point to the recognition of the actors, and another point for perhaps two good scenes that I liked in the whole movie. However, that's it. Fuzz in my judgment scores a VERY GENEROUS 3.

If the script would have stuck to ONE quality serious element, with concern about a strong issue from the cast, Fuzz could have been a passable police film. However, with too much going on at once, a weak and extremely confusing script, and a picture who's writers look like they crammed material from at least three different movies into this one, Fuzz is extremely fuzzy and never comes into focus.

Based on the same characters as the early 60s TV series 87th PRECINCT that starred Robert Lansing, Norman Fell, Gena Rowlands and others. The TV series was based in New York City but here the 87th Precinct is in Boston (though no one has a Boston accent).

Burt Reynolds stars in this ensemble comedy/drama about a mad bomber trying to extort money from a wealthy man. It's an uneasy mix of comedy and drama especially when people start getting blown up. The cops also come off as a bunch of really stupid oafs without any common sense at all.

Reynolds plays the same character Lansing played on TV. Raquel Welch shows up as a cop and is totally miscast and unbelievable, though to be fair, it's a badly written role. Other cops include Jack Weston, Tom Skerritt, James McEachin, Steve Ihnat, Dan Frazer, and others. Gino Conforti and Gerald Hiken plays i for laughs as a copy of wisecracking painters assigned to re-do the squad room. And Neile Adams shows up for one scene as Reynolds' deaf wife (the Rowlands part on TV).

The bad guys are headed by Yul Brynner as a hearing-impaired maniac and Don Gordon and Peter Bonerz as his main stooges. There's also a couple of kids played by Charles Martin Smith and Gary Morgan who run around torching drunks (a real barrel of laughs).

Nothing quite works and the film makes Boston look like a burned out slum.

If one goes to the movies a lot, it is often a bit more interesting when one has read the original work first. Ed McBain was also known as mystery writer Evan Hunter when he wrote the first of many stories surrounding his famous 87th Precinct. The series centered mostly around the reoccurring characters in his Police Station. This compilation series became the basis for the Hollywood movie called " Fuzz. " In the film, Burt Reynolds plays Det. Steve Carella, Jack Weston is Det. Meyer Meyer while Tom Skerritt plays Det. Bert Kling. With the arrival of newcomer Det. Eileen McHenry (Raquel Welch) the precinct sets out to solve a trio of baffling crimes. Formost in their sights is the mad bomber (Yul Brynner) out to extort millions from high city officials by threatening to kill them if they don't pay up. Although there is a serious attempt to convey real police drama concerning juvenile assaults, multiple arson and serial rape, the comic atmosphere and jovial levity, renders all efforts moot. Interestingly, the drama was attempted, but the end result proved more humorous than serious, rendering the movie a silly exercise with no solid resolutions. The surprising appearances of Albert Popwell as Lewis and Yul Brenner as a heavy, meant it was not a total loss. ***

After reading several bad reviews of this film I was almost afraid to watch it. I hate wasting my time on bad movies, but I decided based on the cast to give it a go and I'm glad I did. The movie is not a fast paced comedy by any stretch of the imagination. It is instead, like many movies from it's time, a slow moving style of film along the lines of The Big Fix. It keeps your interest because the characters are interesting. It makes you laugh at times and actually has a little suspense mixed into a story that seems disjointed at first, but ties together so well in the end it makes the whole movie work.

The plot centers partially around a bombers scheme to blackmail the city of Boston, but more so around the police precinct he chooses to contact with his threats. We see a group of officers trying to get through their daily routine as they work on several cases at once. Focusing on the bomber but still trying to deal with a myriad of other problems that present themselves as they try to solve other crimes. It presents itself as more of a "day in the life" type movie rather than a film with one main focus. It's well acted, well told and is a good movie for those times when you really want to just relax and get into a story. Sure it has a few weak spots as with most movies but it is certainly worth putting on and I'm very glad I had the chance to see it.

In short, if your looking for Starskey & Hutch 2005, this isn't it. If your looking for a slow paced intelligent movie, don't let bad reviews chase you away and give this film a shot.

Continuing my plan to watch every Burt Reynolds movie in his filmography in order, I come to 'Fuzz'

My usual Plot In A Paragraph is a bit tricky, as there are several plots, which all take place at the same time, which is probably more realistic than most cop movies, because things are always happening at the same time in a police station. Let's see.

Plot In A Paragraph: A gang of bombers led by a mysterious man known only as "The Deaf Man" (Yul Brynner) is blowing up city officials as part of an extortion plot. Some punk kids are setting drunken bums on fire and a rapist is loose in the park.

I really enjoyed this movie Reynolds shares great chemistry with Tom Skerrit and Jack Weston, and Yul Brynner and Raquel Welch were both good too!! It had some funny scenes and rather than good police work, the cops stumble on the solution by sheer coincidence (which makes a refreshing change)

The nicest scene in the movie is a touching moment between Reynolds and his deaf wife in the hospital, as Reynolds attempts to play down his serious injuries!!