Hopscotch (1980)

Great Film overall

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Hopscotch: Hopscotch is a pleasant adult comedy about a CIA field agent (Walter Matthew) forced behind a desk by new boss (Ned Beatty) and having his young protege (Sam Waterston) take his place. He leaves the CIA instead.He hides out with an old flame (Glenda Jackson)recently widowed and rich while pursued to turn sides by his old adversary an amiable KGB officer (Herbert Lom)The Good: Amiable is a good word for this entire film. Walter Matthew does nothing to surprise keeping in his pleasant but rascally grandpa mode he would use to such great effect a few years later in Grumpy Old Men. Despite the globe-trotting, the occasional gunfire and explosion there really is never a sense of threat to anyone. Atomic Blonde this is not.As for the rest of the cast. Sam Waterston gives a surprisingly pleasant performance as the protege, Ned Beatty seems to channel Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit (with even less menace) and Herbert Lom is the kindest most relaxed KGB bureau chief you will ever see.The Bad: Glenda Jackson (who is fine by the way) plays an ex-agent who got out when the CIA started getting too rough. It's that old it wasn't like this in the old days chestnut. The only problem with this theme is that anyone with a cursory knowledge of the CIA certainly would know it was much rougher and no holds barred in the sixties and early seventies than it was under Carter after the Church Committee hearings. To much paperwork or your not allowed to torture anymore would be a more accurate complaint but alas would not fit into the theme of the film.In Conclusion: If you like Walter Matthew you will like this film. It really is grumpy old spies. It clearly dropped some "f" bombs in the script so it could get an "R" rating in the US and market itself to an older crowd. There is nothing here in reality that would offend grandma or the grandkids. One trivial aside, there is a scene in a Hilton in London where they use key cards to get into their hotel room. I had no idea hotels had that in the late seventies. A fun relaxing funny movie.

In Netflix's recent TV adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS an Uncle of three children explains that, like books, movies have an outer layer of entertainment, but an inner layer of philosophical brilliance. This best applies to Ronald Neame's HOPSCOTCH which, while truly delightful, is less consciously more about getting old and having one last bit of fun before the latter part of your life gets the better of you. All these moments are organized to the music of Mozart, and, ironically, the screenplay is like a symphony. Director Neame and writer Garfield crafted a film so suspenseful, so hilarious, and so intellectually wise that it is hard to believe critics dismissed it as just another okay comedy. They seemed to have missed what was hidden in a shallow layer of sand — the message of Shakespeare's "undiscovered country," or more commonly known as death. This is usually conveyed through images, but with this film, satire is the choice. You actually never see a word of Kendig's revelations about the CIA. Could it be so truthful that it's terrifying? Full of such lies that the agency could be ruined for nothing? We don't know. 10/10.

Although Hopscotch is lovingly photographed in many locations around the world and beautifully played by its stars Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, I could not quite get into it.Matthau plays a top CIA man who is stationed in West Germany and who has his corner of the Cold War down to a science. His opposite number for the Russians is Herbert Lom and they hold each other in mutual respect.That's not good enough for Ned Beatty the new guy in charge who after Matthau recovers secret microfilm from Lom, Beatty wants to know why not terminate Lom. Matthau considers that kind of stupid because he and Lom know each other so well that if that ever happened and the Russians put a new guy in charge, it would take him years to get know a new man's moves as well as Lom. In point of fact by the time this film was made, the whole Cold War had settled into something like this.But Beatty's a true believer and he relieves Matthau. A move Matthau doesn't take lying down. He writes his memoirs and threatens to reveal all including a lot of embarrassing moments for the CIA. Beatty than makes it a crusade to get Matthau and Matthau with the help of girl Friday Glenda Jackson leads them on a merry chase on two continents.As ridiculous a fool as Beatty is made out to be, in point of fact he's not wrong. But this was the Seventies, the age of Watergate and as is said in the film, National security is not the all embracing excuse it once was.As for the ending you'll find almost the same ending in Charley Varrick, a movie that starred Walter Matthau that I liked a lot better.

As I was sitting and watching this film I couldn't help but think how lucky we were to be able to enjoy so many films starring Walter Matthau. He was an original, and how fortunate he evolved beyond a supporting actor to a full-fledged movie star. Some actors ACT funny. Mattau WAS funny.And it is watching Matthau that makes this film enjoyable. It's a mildly clever spy plot, with Matthau playing the fed-up CIA agent that decides to write a tell-all book and then disappear. Along the way he reignites what was an apparently long-standing love affair with Glenda Jackson. Although Jackson definitely plays second-fiddle here to Matthau, I was reminded how much I once enjoyed that fine British actress. Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, and Herbert Lom each do their part in supporting roles. And the film comes together nicely...not totally unpredictably...but it's pleasing.Perhaps not one for the DVD shelf, but one to savor...at least once.