Love this movie
Added 11/17/2009
Undercover Blues is an under rated classic. Stanley Tucci is hilarious. I love the interaction between Cathlene Turner and Randy Quaid. Story is so-so, but it is fun from beginning to end. Larry Miller is also hilarious.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Under Cover Blues
Added 10/26/2009
This is one of the funnier movies that my wife and I like. Good family night movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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"My name... is Muerte!"
Added 9/27/2009
Take Kathleen Turner's sex appeal and Dennis Quaid's roguish grin, then Stanley Tucci's hilarious turn and the sheer enchanting cuteness of the baby, and, okay, the movie's premise - and what you get are the saving graces of UNDERCOVER BLUES. It's an interesting take, what this movie's going for. In pairing up Quaid and Turner - both of whom have dialed up the charm - the flick strives for that witty, urbane Nick & Nora Charles chemistry. And your buying into it (or not) depends on whether you can keep in mind that UNDERCOVER BLUES is intentionally shooting for farce, and not so much with the believability.
Just a reminder that before Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt brought the sexy to the beautiful but deadly married couple thing in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Widescreen Edition), Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid were there first. Jeff and Jane Blue are American secret agents who are holidaying in New Orleans, on an 18-month leave from the espionage game and cooing over their months-old baby daughter. But the Blues are called back into action when an old adversary gets her hands on a supersecret plastic explosive device, and I kind of dig that they take on the mission, not out of some sense of patriotism, but for bonus pay and an extended maternity leave. Toss in two persistent but out-of-their league New Orleans cops who suss out that there's something peculiar about the Blues and also a bumbling petty thief brandishing a disproportionately grandiose demeanor and who keeps trying to take out Jeff Blue, and it's still not enough to make our deliriously happy, ultra-competent couple work up a sweat.
I think that Turner and Quaid play off each other beautifully, despite that there isn't much character depth or development and that the repartee given isn't as sparkling as the writers of the screenplay would have you think. But the easy-going appeal of the leads pushes aside those shortcomings. This is the sort of film which lets you know early on that there's no need to get concerned about the protagonists. There's not a lot here that's entrenched in reality. No one dies, or no one important anyway. The tone here is so determinedly breezy and arched that whatever potential gravitas there is is rendered inconsequential. There's only one scene, really, in which the Blues' unflappability wavers, and then it's only a fleeting moment (and, as it turns out, part of the plan).
- Stanley Tucci's character, about to mug Jeff Blue: "My name... is Muerte!"
- Jeff Blue: "I'm pleased to meet you, Morty. My name is Jeff."
There's a peppering of familiar faces, but Stanley Tucci easily stands out from the crowd. Tucci's talent for physical comedy (which I didn't know he had) is on full display here. Tucci's character, that poor sap, in dogged pursuit of payback, just keeps on taking his lumps. But the howlingly funny parts simply have to be whenever he lets out that girly squeal. Some of the sorry stuff that happens to him, it reminds me of what those crooks in HOME ALONE went thru. Saul Rubinek and an underused Tom Arnold also pop up, as does an extremely annoying and lispy Larry Miller.
Some of the comedy works; there are some pretty good one-liners. Tucci, as mentioned, is hilarious. I bought into Quaid and Turner as two secret agents in love, and they have the physicality and athleticism to pull off the action sequences. As for the Blues' constant sheer disregard for all possible threats and the fact that they persist in bringing their baby along in their investigations, I did have to remind myself a time or two that, hey, this is meant to be a farce and not a serious thriller grounded in reality. Going back to one element in the six Thin Man whodunit films, Nick and Nora Charles in many of their scenes together acted as if no else in the room mattered, partly because they were so in love and partly because the supporting character seemed interchangeable (the cops, the villains, the suspects) and so weren't worth taking seriously. Turner and Quaid affect this same obliviousness, and their nonchalance is so marked that at times there's a chance of a disconnect between the film and the viewer. So, keep in mind - farce.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Supporting Cast Adds Spark
Added 6/22/2009
There are enough laughs to make this worth seeing. There are enough odd characters, too. That's no surprise when you see the supporting cast: Stanley Tucci, Larry Miller, Fiona Shaw and Tom Arnold. All of them put added spark to the film.
Tucci, as "Meurte," is most obvious as he continually tries to mug the leading couple, played by Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid. Miller plays a weird cop with a lisp and a very weird accent. I guess you could call this movie "quirky."
Turner and Quaid are so smug as modern-day Nick and Nora Charles, you want to root for "Muerte" to succeed. Frankly, I never found Turner, except perhaps in "Body Heat," to be that alluring. However, I think she is an underrated comedienne.
As a whole, this comedy is a little rough in spots, hence the PG-13 rating which often means more profanity than R-rated films. This is not for the kiddies, but adults will laugh.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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good comedy
Added 5/15/2009
verry funny movie. it had some flat spots but over all a verry good comedy.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Love this movie
Added 11/17/2009
Undercover Blues is an under rated classic. Stanley Tucci is hilarious. I love the interaction between Cathlene Turner and Randy Quaid. Story is so-so, but it is fun from beginning to end. Larry Miller is also hilarious.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Under Cover Blues
Added 10/26/2009
This is one of the funnier movies that my wife and I like. Good family night movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
"My name... is Muerte!"
Added 9/27/2009
Take Kathleen Turner's sex appeal and Dennis Quaid's roguish grin, then Stanley Tucci's hilarious turn and the sheer enchanting cuteness of the baby, and, okay, the movie's premise - and what you get are the saving graces of UNDERCOVER BLUES. It's an interesting take, what this movie's going for. In pairing up Quaid and Turner - both of whom have dialed up the charm - the flick strives for that witty, urbane Nick & Nora Charles chemistry. And your buying into it (or not) depends on whether you can keep in mind that UNDERCOVER BLUES is intentionally shooting for farce, and not so much with the believability.
Just a reminder that before Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt brought the sexy to the beautiful but deadly married couple thing in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Widescreen Edition), Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid were there first. Jeff and Jane Blue are American secret agents who are holidaying in New Orleans, on an 18-month leave from the espionage game and cooing over their months-old baby daughter. But the Blues are called back into action when an old adversary gets her hands on a supersecret plastic explosive device, and I kind of dig that they take on the mission, not out of some sense of patriotism, but for bonus pay and an extended maternity leave. Toss in two persistent but out-of-their league New Orleans cops who suss out that there's something peculiar about the Blues and also a bumbling petty thief brandishing a disproportionately grandiose demeanor and who keeps trying to take out Jeff Blue, and it's still not enough to make our deliriously happy, ultra-competent couple work up a sweat.
I think that Turner and Quaid play off each other beautifully, despite that there isn't much character depth or development and that the repartee given isn't as sparkling as the writers of the screenplay would have you think. But the easy-going appeal of the leads pushes aside those shortcomings. This is the sort of film which lets you know early on that there's no need to get concerned about the protagonists. There's not a lot here that's entrenched in reality. No one dies, or no one important anyway. The tone here is so determinedly breezy and arched that whatever potential gravitas there is is rendered inconsequential. There's only one scene, really, in which the Blues' unflappability wavers, and then it's only a fleeting moment (and, as it turns out, part of the plan).
- Stanley Tucci's character, about to mug Jeff Blue: "My name... is Muerte!"
- Jeff Blue: "I'm pleased to meet you, Morty. My name is Jeff."
There's a peppering of familiar faces, but Stanley Tucci easily stands out from the crowd. Tucci's talent for physical comedy (which I didn't know he had) is on full display here. Tucci's character, that poor sap, in dogged pursuit of payback, just keeps on taking his lumps. But the howlingly funny parts simply have to be whenever he lets out that girly squeal. Some of the sorry stuff that happens to him, it reminds me of what those crooks in HOME ALONE went thru. Saul Rubinek and an underused Tom Arnold also pop up, as does an extremely annoying and lispy Larry Miller.
Some of the comedy works; there are some pretty good one-liners. Tucci, as mentioned, is hilarious. I bought into Quaid and Turner as two secret agents in love, and they have the physicality and athleticism to pull off the action sequences. As for the Blues' constant sheer disregard for all possible threats and the fact that they persist in bringing their baby along in their investigations, I did have to remind myself a time or two that, hey, this is meant to be a farce and not a serious thriller grounded in reality. Going back to one element in the six Thin Man whodunit films, Nick and Nora Charles in many of their scenes together acted as if no else in the room mattered, partly because they were so in love and partly because the supporting character seemed interchangeable (the cops, the villains, the suspects) and so weren't worth taking seriously. Turner and Quaid affect this same obliviousness, and their nonchalance is so marked that at times there's a chance of a disconnect between the film and the viewer. So, keep in mind - farce.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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