| Cadillac Man | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roger Donaldson |
| Written by | Ken Friedman |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Gribble |
| Edited by | Richard Francis-Bruce |
| Music by | J. Peter Robinson |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million[2] |
| Box office | $27.6 million (US)[3] |
Cadillac Man is a 1990 Americanblack comedy film directed byRoger Donaldson, starringRobin Williams andTim Robbins.
The plot of the film centers on car salesman Joey O'Brien (Williams), whose life is consumed by turmoil, which all comes to a head when his dealership is taken hostage by Larry (Robbins), a love-crazed motorcyclist.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed $27.6 million against its $15 million budget.[2][3]
Queenscar salesman Joey O'Brien must deal with the ever-increasing pressures in his life: he has an ex-wife demandingalimony, a daughter who is missing, a marriedmistress and a single mistress who are both desperately in love with him, and a two-day deadline to either sell twelve cars or lose his job. In addition, he has an outstanding loan from aMafiadon; a loan that he must either quickly repay or lose his life.
On the day of the big dealership car sale (and the final day of O'Brien's deadline), the car dealership is takenhostage by Larry, amotorcyclist toting anAK-47 who believes that his wife is cheating on him. Joey manages to talk Larry out of doing any harm, by claiming that he is the one who is sleeping with Larry's wife. As police surround the dealership, Joey and Larry begin to bond, and Joey convinces Larry to give himself up.
Not realizing that Larry's gun is not loaded, the police wound him after most of the hostages have already been released. Joey promises to remain with him while he recovers, and confesses that he had never actually slept with Larry's wife. The crisis resolves all of Joey's problems: his mistresses learn of each other and dump him, his daughter returns, his job is secure, the Mafia don (whose son was among the hostages) forgives his debt, and he begins to reconcile with his ex-wife.
To prepare for his role in the film, Williams spent time in car dealerships in Queens, New York.[4]
The film opened at number 2 at the box office on May 18, 1990, behindBird on a Wire.[3] Its total worldwide gross was $27,627,310.[5]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62%, based on 13 reviews.[6]Metacritic gives it a score of 50 out of 100, based on 21 critic reviews.[7] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a "B−" grade on scale of A+ to F.[8]
Chicago Sun-Times critic,Roger Ebert, had mixed feelings about the film, giving it a two stars out of four, stating, "My problems withCadillac Man were probably inspired more by false expectations than by anything on the screen, and maybe if Robbins had come crashing in through the window in the first scene I would have liked it more."[9]
Variety thought that the film had "the distinction of being the loudest film of 1990 and one of the worst".[10]
