Architect Michael Jordan, a Chicago Architect, is New York on business. A beautiful stranger identifying herself as Janet Dunn, runs into the taxi cab he's using. He volunteers to put a package into the mailbox for her after she hastily addresses the envelope. Infatuated with her goes to see her at her hotel. She brushes him off and closes the door in his face. He is about to leave when he hears a shot. Janet opens the door and falls into his arms dead. Now everyone believes that he's the killer. A mysterious group that's after the package is now after him. His only ally is Kate Hellman, who has secrets of her own. To clear his name they have to find out what was in the package, who wants it and why. Completely innocent man, Michael Jordon, is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later murdered, Michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run. A mildly engrossing, tepid suspenser that apparently bombed in theaters and drew the ire and castigation of moviegoers - an overreaction if ever there were one. Granted, it will never be taken for a masterpiece - the comic elements of the film consistently fall flat, and the plot is a fourth-rate knockoff of Hitchcock - but it isn't a complete dud either. At least 'Hanky Panky' manages to be consistently engaging as an actioner/thriller (as far as I'm concerned) and it is fun to see Gene Wilder and Richard Widmark sharing screen credit. And it boasts a fun supporting cast: Robert Prosky, James Tolkan, Kathleen Quinlan, the wonderful Josef Sommer (of Lydie Breeze fame), and even a young Larry Pine pop up and keep things hopping. Overall, a passable movie experience - it works as a time-filler if nothing else - but some of the attempts at comedy are pretty pathetic. If the scriptwriters had spiced up the scenario with a bit of wild physical comedy and more amusing situations, they probably could have saved the picture. No, Mr. Poitier - sorry to disappoint you, but watching a helicopter pilot belch for two minutes does not, by any stretch of the imagination, qualify as intrinsically funny. Is this supposed to be a comedy. Really? I didn't know. It can't be. This film takes itself way too seriously, at times, it's actually hard to grasp it is a comedy. It's a espionage comedy with hardly any comedy. The real hanky panky is in how we're messed around, as only being afforded a few laughs. There are a couple of amusing moments, be thankful, you've got em'. One magic scene on a bus, plus another scene involving a tubby pilot belching repeatedly, before carking it, where the scene becomes really hairy, amongst the breathtaking altitude of the Grand Canyon. Basically, the story has Wilder, pestering this woman, he's fallen for, while both getting into the same cab. Shortly after, she's murdered, where just before he's given a package, many government people, authorities, are after, mostly of corrupt ilk, though not much is known about these shady, non smiling "don't mess with characters" that includes Richard Widmark. A woman he meets, real life wife, Radner, a musician as I recall, sides with him, to try and clear his innocence as Wilder's no one murder suspect for Quinlan's execution. Really, this movie takes itself way too seriously, and really amongst this seriousness, the story is very vague or tells us little about why Quinlan bought it,where more is known near the end. But the issue here, is it's lack of comedy. HP is a weak sappy comedy, why, because there's hardly any. Stir Crazy fans could really be let down, a big one here, in Poitier's second comedy.
Darillaur replied
365 weeks ago