| The Squeeze | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roger Young |
| Written by | Daniel Taplitz |
| Produced by | Rupert Hitzig Michael Tannen |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Arthur Albert |
| Edited by | Harry Keramidas |
| Music by | Miles Goodman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Tri-Star Pictures[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $22 million[1] |
| Box office | $2,228,951 |
The Squeeze is a 1987 Americanaction comedy film directed byRoger Young and starringMichael Keaton andRae Dawn Chong. The film was plagued by production problems, including going over budget.[2]
After retrieving a mysterious parcel for his ex-wife, eccentric down-on-his-luck artist Harry Berg (Michael Keaton) enlists the help of private eye Rachel Dobs (Rae Dawn Chong) when he suddenly becomes embroiled with thugs and a murder investigation. The combination of Harry's many comic eccentricities and Rachel's straight-and-narrow, naive personality ends up working in their favor to help solve the crime.
Originally produced asSkip Tracer, this film changed its title toSqueeze Play before settling forThe Squeeze. The working title refers to someone who tracks down delinquent bill payers.[3] When released in theaters,The Squeeze made only $2.2 million at the U.S. box office.[4] It is most notable for an accident that took place during filming, in which a stunt man was killed driving a car into theHudson River.
An updated version of the film was briefly released onNetflix, andComcast had an HD version On Demand in 2008. After being long out-of-print on home media for years,Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releasedThe Squeeze onBlu-ray on March 26, 2019.[5]
Despite billing itself as "the comedy on a lucky streak", the film failed to score with most critics. Film historianLeonard Maltin called it "Dreadful...almost completely devoid of laughsor suspense."
On an episode of the movie review showAt the Movies, criticsGene Siskel andRoger Ebert panned the film, but humorously had a difficult time discerning the plot.