Ishtar

This picture got a lot of bad press for having cost so much to make, and it is true that the laugh per dollar ratio is pretty low. But it is not a bad picture, and in fact is rather amusing, in a low key and gentle way. And some of it, with Hoffman and Beatty hamming it up as two less-than-supremely talented singer/songwriters, is downright hilarious. They are a winring comic duo, actually managing to overcome their superstar images for the sake of the picture, Neither of them tries to grandstand the other. The picture is written and direeted by Elaine May, who knows a thing or two about the comic phrase. It is true that when you look at the picture you wonder what cost (reportedly) $52 million. (I mean, the picture is big and nicely produced, and has some crowd scenes and all that, but still…) But it is their money; it only cost me five bucks to get in. And when Hoffman and Beatty sing: "Telling the truth can be dangerous business/ Honesty and popular don't go hand in hand/If you tell someone you can play the accordion/ They won't ask you to play in a rock and roll band," you don't care how much the picture cost. You just sit back and have a good time.