Even the greatest actors of all time , and I include Paul Newman in that , make the odd bad film . Having watched nearly all his back catalogue , he's a made some weak films and nearly all are when he's trying to add a comedic edge to a character and playing Earl Long in that way makes this feel less serious than I feel it should have been.
This movie tells the story of the latter years of Earl Long, a flamboyant governor of Louisiana. The aging Earl, an unapologetic habitue of strip joints, falls in love with young stripper Blaze Starr. When Earl and Blaze move in together, Earl's opponents use this to attack his controversial political program, which included civil rights for blacks in the 1950's.
I struggled to get through this .
The film can't make its mind up if it's a about a showgirl/Stripper or a governor who's fighting civil rights along with his career and it ends up being a bit of a mess . The racial language is really uncomfortable at times , as is the sex scene with Earl and Blaze but that's not unusual for a film made in the 80's .
The best thing about this movie is surprisingly not Paul Newman but his co star Lolita Davidovich . She makes this film watchable . Not just because of her gorgeous looks but because she genuinely out acts the great man .
I've only watched this because I'm going through Paul Newman's films one by one . It's long and turgid at times and not really a film I can recommend unless you are a fan like I am .
This movie tells the story of the latter years of Earl Long, a flamboyant governor of Louisiana. The aging Earl, an unapologetic habitue of strip joints, falls in love with young stripper Blaze Starr. When Earl and Blaze move in together, Earl's opponents use this to attack his controversial political program, which included civil rights for blacks in the 1950's.
I struggled to get through this .
The film can't make its mind up if it's a about a showgirl/Stripper or a governor who's fighting civil rights along with his career and it ends up being a bit of a mess . The racial language is really uncomfortable at times , as is the sex scene with Earl and Blaze but that's not unusual for a film made in the 80's .
The best thing about this movie is surprisingly not Paul Newman but his co star Lolita Davidovich . She makes this film watchable . Not just because of her gorgeous looks but because she genuinely out acts the great man .
I've only watched this because I'm going through Paul Newman's films one by one . It's long and turgid at times and not really a film I can recommend unless you are a fan like I am .