It is Hoffa, and I’m sorry that I didn’t check to see if it had been used already. I decided to seek it out in anticipation of the Irishman, but boy did I not like this movie. My favorite screen actor ever is probably Jack Nicholson, though 1992, which also included Man Trouble where he reunited with his frequent collaborator Bob Rafelson and the screenwriter Carole Eastman who wrote the incredible Five Easy Pieces, was not a good year for him.
Although Nicholson’s a little masked by a prosthetic nose, hairpiece and fake right front teeth, his performance in the film isn’t bad, but the direction, his co-star, and the script really undermine his work. The screenwriter was David Mamet who was fresh off Homicide, a terrific film, and despite his father being a union man and clearly being passionate about the material, a lot of his storytelling devices here just don’t work. We don’t even find out that Hoffa has a family, which is not treated like an important character moment, until like a third of the way into the film.
A big reason is Danny DeVito, who according to a L.A. Times profile, rushed the film into production after signing on as director before the script was finished. He also plays a composite character who never existed and takes up the most of the screen time. Nearly everything’s shot from his eye line, which doesn’t even have the benefit of making Hoffa look massive on screen. It just makes the action feel awkward. There’s also two separate scenes where DeVito visits prostitutes, one whom tells him not to worry about the money, she thinks he’s a great, caring guy (no evidence of this on screen outside of his sociopathic support of Hoffa). That’s the only thing she does in this movie!!!
There’s a God-awful score that screams “important work here, folks” across nearly every scene that never feels appropriate. In that sense, I could see people enjoying how old fashioned it feels. The period-appropriate set design is amazing, Nicholson’s pretty good despite scoring a Razzie nomination for his performance (like the Shining), which I think was unfair, and the supporting cast is amazing: J.T. Walsh, an early appearance of John C. Reilly, and Robert Prosky. Fox thought this was going to snag so many Oscars!
Anyway, here’s the rest of the frames.
40:40
John C. Reilly appearing long before he sells Hoffa and his unlikely muscle Devito out.
60:60
Hoffa and Devito prepare to go on a hunting trip with Armand Assante.
80:80
Hoffa becomes the president of the union and before taking the podium tells Walsh to fire a bunch of troublemakers immediately on his first day so the rest will be thankful they still have a job.
100:100
A foolish government man follows the ever-loyal Devito into the bathroom to try to convince him to take a deal and send Hoffa to jail. Not going to happen buster!
120:120
About two seconds after this frame, J.T. Walsh’s car blows up, and with it his friendship with Hoffa.
