Stick (1985)

You won't be disappointed!

Don't Believe the Hype

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

"Stick' is a fairly routine Burt Reynolds action film. I was never convinced that Reynolds motivation, revenging the death of his drug runner friend, felt warranted. The villains are highlighted by a brutal albino, and Charles Durning wearing a ridiculous wig. Cartoon like violence detracts, and were it not for some welcome humor associated with George Segal's flamboyant character, the movie would be totally forgettable. Candice Bergen as Reynolds love interest is cold as ice, and never convincing in her role as a financial adviser to Segal. The choppy editing and lack of any suspense further detracts. I would say that "Stick" is watchable but has little to recommend it. - MERK

Burt Reynolds's really made an impression with his smartly catered cop thriller "Sharky's Machine" and four years later he churn out another directorial crime outing. Maybe not as effective and complete, but still acceptable time filler. The story is penned by the reliable Elmore Leonard, who has a knack for building crime and character interactions within a busy framework. That's were I found it to peter out at times, as there seems too be so much going on and from that it can get a little distracted. It starts off strong, but then it goes wayward and stalls too often. Reynolds' sober direction seemed rather uneven in trying to balance out the explosively grimy moments with the uneasy comic relief. The film was more character driven (likeable relationships are struck or quick fuses erupt) and held together by its plot developments, but the script just didn't bite hard enough and its ending is quite lousy. Gladly the performances stand-up; namely that of the support cast. Where the bad guys are truly vile. Dar Robinson (who's mainly a stuntman) is magnificently threatening as the albino hired killer. A true scene stealer. While he hands out some nasty punishment and the gravel voice strikes fear. Alone just looking at him is frightening enough. Charles Durning playing a scummy low-life crook sticks out with his loud, bright Hawaiian shirts, feathered hair and wild bushy eyebrows. It's hard to take your eyes off either one. Leading the way in the bad guys is a dashing Castulo Guerra. You know the man with the power… the one you don't want to get on the wrong side of. To go with that, he's quite spiritual, but with a mean-streak. Burt Reynolds' character finds himself stuck in the middle of this trio when after getting out of prison he joins a buddy on job involving some of Miami's lowlife criminals. However it's a set-up, where his friend is killed and he is soon targeted. So he seeks payback, but on the other side of the coin he wants to go straight so he can catch up with daughter. Reynolds plays it with that laconically tough shade and knowing attitude, letting his charm carry him along. His weapon of choice seems to be his smartarse lines… physical wise gasoline or matches… that you only get disappointed when he can't get a hold of one of these objects. The next best thing was death by scorpion. Another scene stealer would be George Segal as a cheerfully naïve millionaire that loves the company of criminals. Some sequences with him were priceless. Also showing up is Candice Bergen (the love interest), Jose Perez and Alex Rocco. Clunky, but amusing.

This is the first film of Burt Reynolds' I have seen that he directed as well as starred in. Yes, some elements of the story are clunky but overall STICK is very enjoyable. Reynolds gives an excellent performance as always. Charles Durning is quite good as Chucky but is let down by the very obvious wig he is wearing for the part (at least I HOPE it's a wig). George Segal and Candice Bergen are both good as well, but it's strange how Reynolds and Bergen immediately get into a romance.Stuntman Dar Robinson also makes a memorable villain as albino hit-man Moke. Since he was a stuntman I guess that means he did all his own stunts for the movie, which makes it even more cool. Very few stuntmen are good actors but Robinson plays the part well. The only problem is we don't see enough of him. The BIG bad guy, Nester, is played brilliantly too, but the actor's name escapes me right now. There's also a lovely song played over the end credits. I'm interested in reading the Elmore Leonard book this film was based on. I'm sure it and the film may be very different, but I still give the movie STICK a thumbs-up. I think it should get a DVD release.

Even Burt followers probably won't be satisfied with this. It's a meandering actioner with too little action, somewhat saved by George Segal's joyous performance as an eccentric millionaire.