Rent it
Summary
Pink Cadillac is an enjoyable ride but it’s not as funny as it could be and it goes a little longer than is necessary. It’s worth watching for the supporting cast as well as Bernadette Peters bringing laughs and heart to the story. Clint Eastwood is also hugely entertaining showing a real flair for the theatrical with his disguises.
Plot: Bounty hunter Tommy Nowak (Clint Eastwood) is on the trail of Lou Ann McGuinn (Bernadette Peters), a bail jumper last seen burning rubber in her husband’s pink Cadillac. But Tommy isn’t the only one searching for Lou Ann. There’s also a gang of neo-Nazis who want the counterfeit bills hidden in her car trunk. Although Nowak gets to her first, his assignment becomes a touch more difficult when he starts to fall for Lou Ann — and her husband, Roy (Timothy Carhart), comes into the picture.
Review: Sitting at 21% on Rotten Tomatoes Pink Cadillac starring Clint Eastwood and Bernadette Peters isn’t one of Clint’s most popular movies and although it’s not one of his best it’s still a fun time.
I’ve got to hand it to Clint as he really gets to show some personality in this film rather than being the hardass which he portrayed regularly. We see him dressed as a clown at one point but it’s his gold jacket wearing Vegas character that makes you double take to see if it’s actually him.
Some of the comedy doesn’t always land but it has its moments and Bernadette Peters is far more likable than the trailers would have you believe; she brings surprising heart to the story as a woman at her wit’s end due to her deadbeat husband Roy. He shows her no respect and is involved with a group of criminals so you can’t blame her for running off in his pink Cadillac with their “counterfeit” money.
Roy and the gang begin their pursuit of Lou Ann but Clint’s skip tracer Nowak is also on her trail as he wants to bring her in for a bounty as she skipped bail. Of course, things don’t go to plan and Nowak ends up helping Lou Ann as she wants to protect her baby.
I thought Timothy Carhart gave a strong performance as Roy who is a victim of his own choices, but will he make the right decision at the end?
There’s a great supporting cast including a cameo from Geoffrey Lewis who co-starred with Clint in Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can. Then we have James Cromwell as a hotel owner, and he of course would star alongside Clint again in Space Cowboys. Eastwood must have become friends with Jim Carrey when filming The Deal Pool as he shows up again briefly in a Vegas scene. Action legend Sven-Ole Thorson also appears as one of the bad guys (as usual) as does the great Bill Moseley.
Michael Des Barres plays the lead villain Alex, the head of the Neo-Nazi group and he is a ringer for Michael Biehn from some angles. He is a nasty piece of work but I thought his comeuppance at the end wasn’t satisfying enough. The car crashes but does he die? What happens to Roy? It just sort of ends without feeling properly resolved.
At 2 hours they could have cut maybe 15 minutes for a tighter runtime as you do feel it goes on a little too long.
In terms of action there are multiple car chases, a decent shoot-out at the end and Clint has a few punch ups too so it doesn’t disappoint in that department.
Overall, Pink Cadillac may not be a classic but it has some fun moments with Clint Eastwood as we’d never seen him before and Bernadette Peters also giving an entertaining and sympathetic performance. It goes on longer than it needs to but at least it’s never dull.
