Why You Should Give the Movie Ishtar a Chance

Do you pay attention to movie critics? If they say a movie is really good do you feel compelled to rush out and see it? Or, alternatively, if they say a movie is an utter waste of time do you bypass it? No? You say that the critics are all a bunch of snobs who only praise independent movies with no action, no romance and no stars? You never listen to critics?

Oh yes you do. And I can prove it. Okay, raise your hand if you've seen the movie Ishtar? Um, one...two...three. Ah, five of you. And why haven't the rest of you seen Ishtar? Because you heard it's one of the worst movies ever; a huge Mel Gibson sized turkey; a Doug Flutie Hail Mary bomb? And who exactly did you hear this from? Hardly anybody went to the theater to see it and it's never become a post-theatrical video resurrection case like A Christmas Story. You haven't seen Ishtar because you DO pay attention to critics; like the critics who slaughtered Ishtar when it came out.

You have no idea what you've been missing. Ishtar stars Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as two really pathetic wannabe singers. If it had been made with two unknowns on a shoestring budget, the critics would have been falling all over themselves telling you how amazingly funny and clever Ishtar was. Instead it was written by two of the biggest movie stars of the past quarter century and directed by one of the funniest women of the 20^th century, Elaine May, while giving one of the most respected European actresses of the time, Isabelle Adjani, her first big Hollywood break. For some reason, this use of major talent was considered a crime by critics.

There are many reasons that Ishtar is worth a rent; although at this time it is not available on Netflix. For one thing, there's the songs. As I indicated, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty play two wannabe singer/songwriters and the songs they write are simply extraordinarily funny. In fact, the opening of the movie is a montage that recounts the creation of what may be their masterpiece, "Telling the Truth (Can be Dangerous Business)."

Oh, is that brilliant!