Mistress ** (1992, Robert Wuhl, Martin Landau, Danny Aiello, Robert De Niro, Eli Wallach) – Classic Movie Review 5787

Robert Wuhl stars as Marvin Landisman, a screenwriter-director whose old movie script is liked by a producer, Jack Roth (Martin Landau). But every potential financial backer (Danny Aiello, Robert De Niro and Eli Wallach) has a mistress he wants put into the film, hopelessly compromising the script. The director goes to incredible lengths and through many artistic compromises in a desperate attempt to finance his film about a friend’s suicide.

Co-writer/ director Barry Primus’s 1992 movie is a dry and obvious satire of the film industry which is never as flashy or clever as Robert Altman’s The Player (1992) nor as stylish and funny as In the Soup (1992) directed by Alexandre Rockwell, and starring Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Beals, Seymour Cassel, Will Patton and Stanley Tucci.

The heavyweight cast is worth more than Primus’s and Jonathan Lawton’s tired and over-familiar screenplay, which returns mercilessly to the hoary old stereotype plot about the producer’s girlfriends wanting to go into movies.

Despite the attractions of the excellent iconic cast, and their attractive performances and some good scenes, offering a measure of entertainment, it is largely a wasted opportunity.

It co-stars Jace Alexander, Laurie Metcalf, Jean Smart, Christopher Walken and Ernest Borgnine.

RIP Martin Landau.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5787

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