American Success

Original title: The American Success Company

1979
PG
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Harry, who married his boss Mr. Elliott's daughter Sarah, has had enough of being humiliated both at home and at work. He hires prostitute Corinne to help him get back at his boss, wife, and... Read allHarry, who married his boss Mr. Elliott's daughter Sarah, has had enough of being humiliated both at home and at work. He hires prostitute Corinne to help him get back at his boss, wife, and friends and gets richer in the process.Harry, who married his boss Mr. Elliott's daughter Sarah, has had enough of being humiliated both at home and at work. He hires prostitute Corinne to help him get back at his boss, wife, and friends and gets richer in the process.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

460

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews11

5.5460

Featured reviews

5smatysia

Amusing premise, not enough

An amusing premise, but ultimately not believable enough (even in a movie) to really enjoy. I suppose the actors all did as well as possible considering the material. Special notice to Bianca Jagger, who was thoroughly credible, Which makes me wonder how hard acting really is. Not taking anything away from Ms. Jagger's performance, just noting how non-actors seem to often do reasonably well in movies. Boring overall, except to those interested in seeing Jeff Bridges at such a young age. Grade: D

1Angela757777

The WORST

This is the worst most preposterous long dragged out film that sony should have thrown in the trash. I have never seen a worse movie. This was a HUGE mistake to make. It was torture to watch and thought it would never made. If I could rate it negative -100 I would. A waster of Jeff Bridges talent. This should NEVER be shown again.

p_beamer

I finally found American Success Company

After collecting five VHS tapes titled "Good as Gold" I was fortunate enough to purchase "American Success" also on VHS. I can personally vouch that nearly every detail is the same as "Good as Gold" also known as "the Ringer". The only difference is on the tape title "American Success Company". Whereas "Good as Gold" is on the others. All other details remain the same. If anyone reads this or wants to interact with me concerning this movie please Email me. I consider myself the ultimate on this video.

10bkdb1

One of the Best Movies of all time!

Jeff Bridges stars in this very humorous story about a guy who is considered to be a loser by his wife, his boss (his father-in-law), and everyone who knows him. He decides to change his life, and become the man he has always wanted to be.

Many men will relate to this story. It serves as a real eye-opener, showing how the power of positive thinking and self-respect can influence those around us, and help us change our fate if we choose to so so. The movie, directed by William Richert, is very fun and enjoyable to watch, and should be considered an American classic...It currently has a substantial cult following, and it is extremely hard to find. All Jeff Bridges fans should definitely see it. There are some scenes which may seem controversial by today's standards, but the movie was ahead of it's time in several ways, just like the Bridges film "Winter Kills".

Look for the version titled "Success"... it is the best version to see if you can find it. (Other titles include "American Success Company", "Good as Gold" or "The Ringer").

3fullheadofsteam

Conceptually interesting, ultimately a cinematic failure

The heart and intention of and for this movie are nothing but good, but ultimately it fails in a script that starts smart but becomes, as the movie progresses, not only flawed but terribly disjointed. Add to this that some of the acting is far to hammy, and some scenes entirely too stagey and contrived. Grading it, an A minus for intent of message, and D minus for successful cinematic execution of same. In other words, do not spoil your own social ideals hoping this flop will further the awareness you would like to share with the world.

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Trivia
The 'Rotten Tomatoes' website summarizes this film's troubled production history by saying: ''In mid-1978, the cult fantasy guru and comic book illustrator Bill [aka William] Richert -after months directing Jeff Bridges and Belinda Bauer in the scatter-gun carnival of a political satire, 'Winter Kills' -faced a real head-scratcher. With 'Winter' yet to be completed, Richert's backer, Avco-Embassy, lopped off all funding and suspended production indefinitely. Projectless, Richert spun around, picked up an unproduced feature script by drive-in director Larry Cohen . . . and somehow found the cash to churn out a second piece of eccentricity with Bridges and Bauer in the leads, this one for Columbia Pictures -hoping he could use the latter's earnings to polish off 'Winter'. Thus began a very shaky history over the next thirty years for a little film originally called 'The American Success Company'. This ghost of a picture bombed at the box office in 1979, was later re-edited twice by Richert under distinct titles (first as 'American Success' in 1981 and then as 'Success' in 1983), and received limited theatrical distribution. It has since fallen through the cracks of movie history, never receiving official distribution on home video [sic] but popping up in bootleg versions under the titles 'Good as Gold' and 'The Ringer'.''

Alternate versions
The film was originally released under the title "The American Success Company" (AKA "Good as Gold" or "The Ringer"). It was later re-edited slightly and released under the title "American Success". In 2005 it was re-edited by Brian Q. Kelley, with the inclusion of some deleted footage and a new narration by Jeff Bridges, under the title "Success -- The Director's Cut". This new version was screened at the Munich Film Festival in 2006.