Oscar (1991 film)

Oscar
File:Oscar1991poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Landis
Produced by	Leslie Belzberg
Written by	Michael Barrie Jim Mulholland Claude Magnier (play)
Starring	Sylvester Stallone Ornella Muti Marisa Tomei Tim Curry Vincent Spano Peter Riegert Don Ameche
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography	Mac Ahlberg
Edited by	Dale Beldin
Production company	Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners IV
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates	April 26, 1991 (1991-04-26)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$23.5 million

Oscar is a 1991 American screwball comedy film directed by John Landis. Based on the Claude Magnier stage play, it is a remake of the 1967 French film of the same name, but the settings has been moved to the Depression-era Chicago and centers on a mob boss trying to go straight. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Marisa Tomei, Ornella Muti, Tim Curry and Chazz Palminteri, and was a rare attempt by Stallone at doing a comedy role.

Plot

In the prologue, gangster Angelo "Snaps" Provolone promises his dying father (Kirk Douglas) that he will give up a life of crime, and instead "go straight".

A month later, Snaps awakes at his mansion and begins his important morning. He has a meeting with several prominent bankers, as he hopes to donate a large sum of cash and join the bank’s board of trustees, thereby having an honest job and keeping his word to his father. Anthony Rossano, Snaps's young, good-natured accountant, arrives at the mansion and tells his boss that he’s in love, asks for a 250% raise, then tells Snaps the true love he speaks of is actually "Snaps's daughter." Snaps is furious, does not want his daughter marrying Anthony and goes to talk to his daughter, Lisa.

Lisa is the only child of Snaps and Sofia, a spoiled daughter whose dreams of seeing the world’s great sights run into a roadblock because of her overly protective father. Wishing to move out of the house, she lies to her parents (at the suggestion of the maid, Nora) and claims to be pregnant. Snaps, believing the father to be Anthony (as he wants to marry "Snaps's daughter"), is shocked when Lisa says the father is Oscar, the former chauffeur who is now serving overseas in the military.

Things get even more complicated when Anthony learns that Theresa, the woman he fell in love with, is not actually Snaps' daughter as she had claimed to be. Before Anthony can catch on, Snaps tricks him into agreeing to marry his actual daughter, Lisa, who is supposedly pregnant but without a husband. Both Lisa and Anthony are unhappy at the hasty arrangement, and the pair luck out when Lisa falls in love with someone else: Dr. Thornton Poole, Snaps' dialectician, whose frequent world travels appeal to her adventurous nature.

Meanwhile, local police lieutenant Toomey is keeping an eye on the mansion, believing that Snaps is meeting with Chicago mobsters soon. Also watching Snaps is mob rival Vendetti, who, too, believes that Snaps is meeting Chicago mobsters. Vendetti plans a hit on Snaps in the early afternoon while Toomey plans a raid at the same time to catch Snaps red-handed.

While Anthony seeks out Theresa, Snaps meets his mansion's new maid, Roxie. As it turns out, Roxie is an old flame of Snaps, and the pair talk memories and the life that never was. Theresa comes to the mansion and is revealed to be Roxie's daughter—who was actually fathered by Snaps long ago—making Snaps her dad after all. The impromptu celebration of both his daughters' engagements is cut short by the arrival of the bankers. During the meeting, Snaps senses the bankers are giving him a raw deal—they don't intend to give him any actual influence in the bank's operations, despite the money he's willing to invest. The meeting is interrupted by police officers and Toomey, who is embarrassed to find no money or gangsters present on site. He leaves the mansion just in time for Vendetti's car full of armed men to crash right outside. Toomey smiles for reporters and arrests the men.

With the realization that he'd rather deal with gangsters and gunmen than "respectable" bankers, Snaps decides to abandon his short-lived honest ways and return to a life of crime (looking skyward and admitting to his father, "Sorry, dad... I did the best I could"). The final scene of the movie shows a double wedding for both his daughters. Oscar himself finally appears and objects to Lisa's marriage, but he is carried off by Snaps' men and the weddings end happily.

Cast

• Sylvester Stallone as Angelo "Snaps" Provolone: a feared gangster who, at the beginning of the film, promises his dying father that he will give up a life of crime, and instead "go straight".
• Ornella Muti as Sofia Provolone: Snaps' wife.
• Don Ameche as Father Clemente
• Peter Riegert as Aldo: Snaps’s top man who took over the role of house butler when his boss went straight. Often underappreciated, Aldo tries to keep all the mansion henchmen in line in preparation for Snaps’s important meeting with the bankers.
• Tim Curry as Dr. Thornton Poole: a linguistics expert who arrives for an elocution lesson with Snaps. Poole is a world traveler, who giddily traverses the country in his studies of the sub-dialects of the English language.
• Vincent Spano as Anthony Rossano: the kind yet wily accountant of Snaps. Anthony’s early morning arrival to the mansion sets all events in motion. Anthony tells his boss that he’s in love, asks for a monumental raise, then tells Snaps the true love he speaks of is actually "Snaps's daughter." After Anthony professes his love for the daughter, Snaps agrees to let him and his daughter marry. What Anthony soon learns is this: The woman he fell in love with is not actually Snaps' daughter, but was merely pretending to be.
• Marisa Tomei as Lisa Provolone: the only child of Snaps and Sofia. Lisa is a spoiled daughter whose dreams of seeing the world’s great sights run into a roadblock because of her overly protective father. Wishing to move out of the house, she lies to her parents (at the suggestion of the maid, Nora) and claims to be pregnant.
• Eddie Bracken as Five-Spot Charlie (He was in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York & Rookie of the Year)
• Linda Gray as Roxanne: a replacement maid sent over by the service after Nora’s sudden departure. Snaps recognizes Roxanne (“Roxy”), as the two are actually former lovers who had a fling many years ago, before Snaps became a gangster. Roxanne reveals she left Snaps one night because she was pregnant. She is extremely surprised to see her daughter in the mansion – Theresa. Connie then puts all the facts together and reveals that Theresa is actually Snaps’ real daughter from a relationship 20 years ago.
• Chazz Palminteri as Connie: a loyal but dim-witted button man for Snaps. Connie’s penchant for carrying numerous weapons and his slow wits make for several humorous moments.
• Kurtwood Smith as Lt. Toomey, Chicago PD
• Art LaFleur as Officer Quinn
• Robert Lesser as Officer Keough
• Yvonne De Carlo as Aunt Rosa
• Martin Ferrero as Luigi Finucci: one of a pair of Italian tailors who arrive early to find Snaps the perfect suit for his important meeting. The Finuccis are constantly disrupted as problems around the house continue to occur.
• Harry Shearer as Guido Finucci: Luigi's brother. Snaps manages to convince Anthony that the Fenuccis are vicious assassins who will murder Anthony on a moment’s notice should he step out of line.
• Ken Howard as Kirkwood (Banker)
• William Atherton as Overton (Banker)
• Sam Chew Jr. as Van Leland (Banker)
• Mark Metcalf as Milhous (Banker)
• Richard Romanus as Vendetti: a rival gangster who's worried at how quiet Snaps has been recently. Vendetti gathers a group of men and plans to assassinate Snaps in the early afternoon. His car full of men crashes near the house though, right in front of Lt. Toomey, who arrests the whole group.
• Arleen Sorkin as Vendetti's Manicurist
• Rick Avery as Vendetti's Driver
• Joey Travolta as Ace (Snap's Guy)
• Elizabeth Barondes as Theresa: revealed later to be Snaps illegitimate daughter via Roxanne.
• Joycelyn O'Brien as Nora: the maid.
• Kai Wulff as Underwood Chauffeur
• Kirk Douglas as Eduardo Provolone: Snaps' dying father who makes him promise to "go straight".
• Jim Mulholland as Oscar
• Tony Munafo as Frankie the Roach
• Richard Foronjy as Knucky (Snap's Guy/Cook)
• Paul Greco as Schemer (Snap's Guy)
• Sal Vecchio as Vendetti Hood
• Danny Goldstine as Cab Driver
• Joe Dante as Face on the Cutting Room Floor
• Marshall Bell as Reporter #1
• Tom Grant as Reporter #2
• Louis D'Alto as Reporter #3
• Jim Abrahams as Postman (uncredited)

Production

The film is directed as if it were a film of that time, with humor and dialogue delivered in a manner reminiscent of old Hollywood comedies, particularly the "screwball" genre. Director John Landis had said

Oscar is a farce set in 1931, sort of Damon Runyan meets Feydeau. I shot the picture in a deliberately stylized manner, attempting a thirties Hollywood comedy look and feel (Peter Riegart, at one point, actually says, Why I oughta...)

Stallone later said he should have played Oscar "incredibly cynical like in the original French version".

The little black bags

The multiple subplots of the film are linked together using a plot device: three identical black suitcases that are mistaken for each other. One suitcase contains jewels that Antony Rossano purchased after he stole $50k from Snaps. The second suitcase contains Nora's underwear. The third suitcase contains another $50k, this time in cash, which Rossano stole from Snaps. The bags are misidentified several times before eventually being brought together, much like the four identical plaid overnight cases (containing rock specimens; underwear; jewelry; and top secret papers) in the 1972 screwball comedy, What's Up, Doc?.

Two different scenes have Snaps trying to give either jewels or cash to the doctor but instead opens up the suitcase to find underwear. The bags are switched out a number of different times with the intention of returning Nora's underwear to her and the jewels/cash to Snaps, but by the end Nora has both the suitcase with the jewels and the suitcase with the cash. This leaves only the suitcase with the underwear in the house when the police arrive to start making accusations. Toomey opens up the bag of underwear as reporters snap photos.

Soundtrack

The film score was composed by Elmer Bernstein and is based around Gioachino Rossini's Barber of Seville. In the Varese Sarabande edition of film soundtrack, there are liner notes from John Landis about the score:

As I shot the film I envisioned a particular kind of score and knew that Elmer would be the one to write it. [..] By using a comic opera approach, I was actually contradicting the musical theory that Elmer and I had inaugurated 14 years ago with the serious score for Animal House.

The opening track is Largo Al Factotum from The Barber of Seville, performed by Earle Patriarco. Track Cops and Real Crooks concludes Finucci Piano Boogie composed and performed by Ralph Grierson. The Varese edition of the film's soundtrack also contained four songs which appeared during the film: Sweet Georgia Brown (performed by Bing Crosby), Rockin' In Rhythm (performed by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Tea For Two (performed by Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians) and Plain Dirt (performed by McKinney's Cotton Pickers).

There are currently two versions of the soundtrack. The first comprises four tracks used in the film in certain scenes. These are:

1. "Rockin in Rhythm"
2. "Sweet Georgia Brown"
3. "Plain Dirt"
4. "Barber of Seville" - (excerpts)

This is the May 1995 version of the soundtrack and does not include the selections by Elmer Bernstein.

The second includes all of the selections from the film, including the tracks from the other soundtrack:

1. "Largo Al Factotum" (performed by Earle Patriarco) (4:42)
2. "Grifting" (5:43)
3. "Lisa Dreams" (3:46)
4. "Tea and Romance" (4:29)
5. "Revelations" (5:27)
6. "Cops and Real Crooks" (composed and performed by Ralph Grierson) (5:45)
7. "Sweet Georgia Brown" - Bing Crosby (2:54)
8. "Rockin' in Rhythm" - Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (3:21)
9. "Tea for Two" - Fred waring and His Pennsylvanians (3:21)
10. "Plain Dirt" - McKinney's Cotton Pickers (2:38)

Reception

Oscar received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars (of four), describing the film's first reel as "disastrous", but that it included "truly funny work by enormously talented supporting players." Tribune reviewer Dave Kehr wrote, "Landis does his best to give the material a cartoonlike rhythm and stylized sense of movement [...], but the labored, repetitive screenplay, by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland, defeats him." Continuing, "For a film meant to define a lighter and fresher image for Stallone, Oscar doesn't quite get the job done." Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "D+", stating "Director John Landis executes the mechanics of farce without a trace of the speed or effervescence this material demands. Every chuckle feels engineered." The Variety review stated the film was an "intermittently amusing throwback to gangster comedies of the 1930s. While dominated by star Sylvester Stallone and heavy doses of production and costume design, pic is most distinguished by sterling turns by superb character actors." It currently holds a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Oscar was nominated for three Razzie Awards: Worst Actor (Sylvester Stallone), Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei) at the 12th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1992.

Home media release

The film was released on April 26, 1991 (USA) and nine international releases from June until September. The Laserdisc version was released November 11. The VHS release was September 11, 1991, and the DVD was released May 6, 2003.

External links

• Oscar at IMDb
• Oscar at Rotten Tomatoes
• Oscar at Box Office Mojo