Cadillac Man

Cadillac Man is a 1990 American black comedy film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Robin Williams and Tim Robbins.

Cadillac Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRoger Donaldson
Produced by
Written byKen Friedman
Starring
Music byJ. Peter Robinson
CinematographyDavid Gribble
Edited byRichard Francis-Bruce
Distributed byOrion Pictures
Release date
  • May 18, 1990 (1990-05-18)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[2]
Box office$27.6 million (United States)[3]

The plot of the film centers around car salesman Joey O'Brien (Williams) whose life is consumed by turmoil, which all comes to a head when his dealership is taken hostage by Larry (Robbins), a crazed motorcyclist.

The film received mixed reviews from critics but performed above its production budget at the box office, grossing $27.6 million against its $15 million budget.[2][3]

Plot

Queens car salesman Joey O'Brien (Robin Williams) must deal with the ever-increasing pressures in his life: he has an ex-wife demanding alimony, a daughter who is missing, a married mistress (Fran Drescher) and a single mistress (Lori Petty) who are both desperately in love with him, and a two-day deadline to either sell twelve cars or lose his job. In addition, he has an outstanding loan to a Mafia don which he must either quickly repay, or lose his life.

On the day of the big dealership car sale (and the final day of O'Brien's deadline), the car dealership is taken hostage by an AK-47-toting motorcyclist (Tim Robbins) who believes his wife (Annabella Sciorra) is cheating on him. Joey manages to talk the man out of doing any harm to the other hostages, as police surround the dealership. Without realizing that the assailant's gun is not loaded, the police wound him after most of the hostages have already been released which prompts Joey to promise to remain with him while he recovers. The crisis solves all of Joey's problems: his mistresses learn of each other and dump him, his daughter returns, his job is secure, the Mafia don (whose son was among the hostages) forgives his debt, and he begins to reconcile with his ex-wife.

Cast

Production

To prepare for his role in the film Williams spent time in car dealerships in Queens, NY.[4]

Release

The film was not a box office success, although it did turn a profit.[5]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 55% based on 11 reviews.[6] Metacritic gives it a score of 50 out of 100 based on 21 critic reviews.[7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B-" on scale of A to F.[8]

Critic Roger Ebert had mixed feelings about the film, giving it a two out of four stars, stating, "My problems with Cadillac Man were probably inspired more by false expectations than by anything on the screen, and maybe if Robbins had come crashing in through the window in the first scene I would have liked it more."[9]

References

  1. "Cadillac Man (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 6, 1990. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  2. "Powergrid: Cadillac Man". TheWrap.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  3. "Cadillac Man (1990)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  4. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-09-ca-373-story.html "https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-09-ca-373-story.html"
  5. "'Recall' Totally Outdistances 'Future' in Box-Office Race Movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  6. "Cadillac Man". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  7. "Cadillac Man". Metacritic.
  8. "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  9. Ebert, Roger (May 18, 1990). "Cadillac Man (1990) Review". Retrieved January 31, 2019.
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