When you think of Sylvester Stallone, the casual moviegoer does not think light-hearted satirical comedy. Blood guts, and machine gun fire is the usual recipe for a Stallone pic, but the actor tried to diversify his resume in 1991 with the gangster comedy Oscar. Is it any good?
The Plot
Snaps Provolone, upon a deathbed promise to his dying father, has vowed to go straight. With his father gone, Snaps is planning to become a member of the board of a local bank, but the problem is that no one believes he is going straight.
Getting ready for the most important meeting of his life, Snaps must deal with an extortion scheme from his accountant, the possibility that his daughter is pregnant, someone is impersonating his other daughter, a fellow mobster looking to rub him out, and a police lieutenant that is bent on putting Snaps away.
The fact that the bankers have little desire to do business with a former mobster is the least of his worries. Snaps needs to tread a fine line if he wants to make it through the day. Everyone is trying to pull the wool over Snaps’ eyes, but with a fine new suit, and a desire to be on the right side of the law, Snaps just might make it to his meeting on time.
The Good
I remember the criticism this film got, and while I do see why it wasn’t a blockbuster, the movie is funny.
Stallone gets heavily faulted for the film’s failure, and that is unjust. The plot of the film is funny, the actors do their best, and in many instances I found myself laughing out loud. Oscar is good, and Sylvester Stallone should be applauded for his attempt to do something different than Rambo.
The script is pretty tight, with lots of quips and double meanings to every scene that keeps the farce going. Having actors like Kurtwood Smith as the lieutenant, Kirk Douglas as the father, Don Ameche as the priest and a brilliant performance by Chazz Palminteri as Connie makes the film move along with speed.
Tim Curry is in the film. That’s worth watching alone.
The Bad and the Ugly
I did not like Marisa Tomei’s character. I love Marisa Tomei, I just don’t like Lisa Provolone.
As much as I enjoy the constant changing story, with new characters added, Oscar takes this concept a little too far. We didn’t need the pretend daughter to turn out to be his real daughter. The briefcase switcheroo works well on the theatre stage, but it can be overplayed in a movie, and it was in Oscar.
Beyond the Film Facts
- The film was nominated for three Razzie Awards, Worst Actor for Sylvester Stallone, Worst Supporting Actress for Marisa Tomei, and Worst Director for John Landis.
- Director’s Joe Dante and Jim Abrahams have small parts in the film.
- The movie was filmed on location at Universal Studios in Florida and at Disney-MGM Studios. According to D23, Oscar was the first film sought in the latter’s studio.
- The movie is based on a 1958 French play of the same name.
- The movie was originally going to star John Belushi but his untimely death led to the film’s delay for many years.
- Landis had brought the film back and was going to shoot with Al Pacino. Pacino opted to go for Dick Tracy because it would offer him a higher salary.
- According to Stallone, he encouraged Douglas to really hit him during their scenes. The veteran actor took up the challenge and Stallone later lamented at Douglas’ 1991 AFI tribute that he would never spar with Spartacus.
- The score for the film was done by Elmer Bernstein.
- The movie received two thumbs up from critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.
- Recently, Stallone talked about his love for this film. He’s still proud of the picture and his performance.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Bored and Killing Time, 2 Reels-When You Have Some Time, 3 Reels-Make Some Time, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
Oscar is a box office flop, and Sylvester Stallone was lampooned for his work, but in my opinion, people have it wrong. The whimsical farce that this movie is, is quite funny. There are moments in the film that are not great, but overall, the cast including Stallone make Oscar a funny film that still holds up today.
I give a 2 Reels rating. Oscar isn’t a must see, but if you see it available, you should give it a chance.
Cast and Crew
- Sylvester Stallone as Angelo “Snaps” Provolone
- Vincent Spano as Anthony Rossano
- Marisa Tomei as Lisa Provolone
- Tim Curry as Dr. Poole
- Don Ameche as Father Clemente
- Kurtwood Smith as Lieutenant Toomey
- Chazz Palminteri as Connie
- Kirk Douglas as Eduardo Provolone
Directed by John Landis
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Joseph S. Vecchio Entertainment / Silver Screen Partners IV
Release Date: April 26, 1991
Budget: $35 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $23,562,716
Coming Soon
Next week a look back at the Julia Roberts / Nick Nolte newspaper drama, I Love Trouble.