NADINE
A film review by Dan Frank
Copyright 1987 Dan Frank
When we go to the movies, we generally resign ourselves to enjoying the films in spite of their imperfections. We say, "I enjoyed this light comedy, even though it was totally shallow and predictable," or "This was a fun excursion into empty-minded comic-book-style violence," or something of that sort. It's rare to walk out of a movie and not think that somehow it could have been better.
NADINE provides such a rare experience. It stars Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges as an almost-divorced husband and wife, who get mixed up by accident in the schemes of a particularly nasty wrestling promoter, played with a wonderful mix of debonair sliminess and bewilderment by Rip Torn. Torn was the best feature of EXTREME PREJUDICE, and his departure early in that picture was lamented by many critics. He eats up the screen whenever he's on, and only the presence of Bridges keeps him from completely dominating this film.
I complained in a recent posting about movies that mangle their settings, acting as if the only unique thing about, say, Chicago is its name. Movies like ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING are made by people who have no sense of the unique contribution a locale can make, above and beyond mere script, to their mood and tone. NADINE is set, and mostly filmed, in Austin, Texas, which I've had the pleasure of making my temporary home this summer. Since the action takes place in 1954, the filmmakers "fiftyized" several Austin locations of the proper vintage to be used for the exterior shots. When the characters are supposed to be on Sixth Street, by God they really ARE on Sixth Street: the day we saw the film, we happened down there, and the block they used (at Sixth and Brazos) is almost identical to its appearance in the movie.
There is simply no substitute for authenticity. Chicago has it, and Texas has it, and NADINE has it in large measure, both in its settings and its characterizations. I wasn't alive in 1954, so I can't compare it to my memories, but I walked out of NADINE feeling, "That's the way it was!" It's a sort of honky-tonk MY FAVORITE YEAR (same year, in fact).
I'm not going to talk about the plot, except to say that NADINE is a comedy adventure with a perfectly plausible premise, and that you'll enjoy the heck out of it. You can pay real money for this one, folks.
-- Dan
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