Sticky Fingers

STICKY FINGERS is a slight "caper comedy" with a twist: It was directed by a w woman (Catlin Adams), who co-wrote the film with Melanie Mayron, who co-stars in the film with Helen Slater. Mayron and Slater play a couple of hipster doofus women named Leila and Harriet but who go by hipper Lolly and Hattie. They are classical musicians trying to make it in New York but end up playing in the park for spare change. A friend asks them to stow a bag while she goes out of town, and the gals are shocked to find it contains $900,00. After their apartment is robbed and their violin and cello are taken, they "dip" into the bag to buy new instruments (they have an audition coming up). The exhilaration they feel when plunking down more than $90,000 for new instruments goes to their heads and they can't resist going on a massive shopping spree. Of course the money belongs to the mob and strange men start following them around town.

Certainly not a classic, but this is a fine little comedy with some great moments. Thugs and cops aside, the cast is made up of mostly women. Eileen Brennan plays the cranky landlady and Carol Kane is her nutty sister. Loretta Devine plays the money woman, Danitra Vance plays their street-wsie friend, Shirley Stoler plays a neighbor, and Gwen Welles plays a weird stalker who follows Mayron and her boyfriend (Christopher Guest) around the city. Contemporary reviews were really snarky and dismissive and really missed the comic energy Mayron and Slater bring to this romp.

Mayron had reinvented herself by losing weight and that frizzy hairdo she sported in films like HARRY AND TONTO and GIRLFRIENDS. She had landed on the hit TV series THIRTYSOMETHING (and won an Emmy) but she retained that wry sense of always being the outsider but accepting that fact.

Worth a look if you can find it.

I was a little taken aback by the vote rating and other viewers' comments on "Sticky Fingers" - surely, it was better than a 4.5, and surely it wasn't (as another reviewer said) 'f******' - so I watched it again, and sure 'nuff, it was actually funny. You just have to be able to get the jokes.

I found "Sticky Fingers" a great way to waste an hour and a half... Melanie Mayron and Helen Slater are fine as the orchestra musicians who are forced to play in parks in order to keep a roof over their heads, and when even that doesn't bring in the three months' overdue rent... I won't spoil the plot for you, but the two main characters are asked to keep a whole grocery bag of illegally gotten money for a druggie friend (Danitra Vance) of theirs, and succumb to the temptation to, well, dig into the bag.

They save themselves from eviction by paying the long over-due rent to their landlady (Eileen Brennan), then... well, everything after that is wonderfully convoluted and very entertaining, a series of comic nightmares set in the seamy back streets of New York. Carol Kane gives us a great subplot and earns her money, something "name" actors don't always manage to do in recent movies.

Check it out next time you have an hour and a half free and nothing better to do. You'll laugh, I almost guarantee it. (OK, so maybe if you aren't into intellectual humor, this won't be your thing, but everyone else will laugh.) In fact, this is the sort of thing that the IFC satellite TV channel picks up on - if anyone there is reading this, drop a note in the suggestion box at work, huh?

"Our pockets are empty, our cupboards are bare, the bills keep coming, and the drugs are scarce. I need some money, I need some dough, for the things I want, for the things I own. I got Sticky Fingers!"

The title song says it all. "Sticky Fingers" is one of the most hilarious films ever made, and done so with such a style and even a type of elegance that has kept it fresh and funny for every viewing. Two roommates, and best friends Lolly and Hattie are struggling musicians, who can't pull in the attention of anyone past the civilians in Central Park, New York. One day, out of the blue, Diane, Hatties dope dealer, leaves them with a mysterious bag, with important contents inside. It is, yes, almost 1 million dollars. Eventually, everything is crazy, and all mixed up. These two women, who are honest, decent people in the Big Apple, are transformed by the green power slips, into petty, light-headed money grubbers. Soon the cash begins to run on, and the two have a lot of explaining to give Diane...and the mob men who have been watching their every move...

Helen Slater is the not so bright Hattie. She surely gives a new name to the word 'energy' in this one. With her quick and witty dialog, and sharp timing, she is amazing, and always turning on the laugh-machine. Melanie Mayron is the squeaky, nervous Lolly. Mayron is up to par with co-star Slater, giving off the same amount of energy and confusion. Needless to say, Christopher Guest is, as usual, a treat to watch as the love interest of Mayron. Other cast members include Loretta Divine, Eileen Brennan, Carol Kane, and an absolutely outrageous Danitra Vance, who steals the show with her every scene.

The comedy used in this gem is a bright blend of slapstick, and witty stand- up, with honesty as a key factor, bringing in solid goods. It is a shame that this one was never received as well as others in that time. The film is well representative of it's time,(1988) and it's pop-culture wackiness. I suppose it was the "different" factor that says just why the film was little known, if at all. This film does have a different tone, and even more so, it is very general. Sometimes, the smaller, more overlooked things are funny. Sexual lingo and politics are restricted, very restricted. This film is not "Majoy League" or a "National Lampoon" film, or even like any of the "Porkey's" movies either. It stands out completely on it's own, with ultimate originality and sharp comic texture and context, which make it a real riot to watch over and over again!

I love this film, I'm still waiting for the day when its going to be released on DVD.

such a fantastic script, well written and totally enjoyable. the characters are brilliant and the acting has some of the best comic timing I've seen in a movie ever!

Helen slater is truly a remarkable actress and Eileen Brenna is hilarious.

the one liners are to die for!

I cant stress to people enough to go and find this movie and just sit back and enjoy!

its a winner, a good 2 hour pop corn muncher filled with laughs and more laughs!

(the Jewish joke told at the end is pure gold!)

Two struggling musicians, both female, and both in bad relationships, are over due in their rent; their music isn't paying them worth a stick; and worst of all, They're POOR! Until their drug dealer leaves them a bag of drug money for them to watch over. They find out what is in the bag, and proceed to spend the money for their own needs. Soon, the greed, wealth, and power becomes too much for them and all hell breaks loose! Intriguing, and very well made. So much more than a movie when one looks at it the right way. A Social commentary of feminism on one level: showing us that woman are just as much to blame for money levels in the U.S. ; also showing that woman are as much in control. A Commentary on being true to yourself on another level: These two characters are lost in the money that they forget what they love most in their lives, and the money becomes all to them. Over all, this is a commentary on the greed; that money sometimes CAN BE the root of all evil. Fun, and wacky comedy has the best actors in the world doing their best to pull of a good script. Helen Slater shines the highest as the main character who can't stand up for herself, Hattie, and Melanie Mayron does just as good as the troubled Lolly. Eileen Brennan and Carol Kane are the sisters in which own the apartment complex that Slater and Mayron live; and they are a hoot! This film is screaming with feminist thoughts but shouldn't hinder a males viewing experience. Nice, and Fun, clever and fancy free! A Good Movie.