Choose Me (1984)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writer:

Alan Rudolph (written by)

Release Date:

29 August 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Laughter, tears and telephone calls. Love is the true adventure. [USA theatrical]

Plot:

Several lost-soul night-owls, including a nightclub owner, a talkback radio relationships counseller...

Plot Keywords:

Telephone | Loneliness | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Geneviève Bujold	...	Nancy
Keith Carradine	...	Mickey
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Eve
Patrick Bauchau	...	Zack Antoine
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Pearl Antoine
John Larroquette	...	Billy Ace
Edward Ruscha	...	Ralph Chomsky
Gailard Sartain	...	Mueller
Robert Gould	...	Lou
John Considine	...	Dr. Ernest Greene
Jodi Buss	...	Babs
Sandra Will	...	Ida
Mike E. Kaplan	...	Harve
Russell Parr	...	Bradshaw
Teresa Velarde	...	Studio Secretary

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Canada:18A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Tartan Productions

Quotes:

Mickey: You have perfection about you. Your eyes hold music. Your heart is the best part of your body. And when you walk every man, woman and child is forced to watch.

Soundtrack:

And if I had

Sublime Trash

With atmosphere to spare. If you've never wandered LA's back-streets at night, this movie will give you a taste.

The theme of this movie is a common one, the search for love.

Highly stylized. Overloaded with delicious details and clever ideas. Characters with quirky (and intriguing) personality traits. What male viewer wouldn't want to be like the main protagonist, Keith Carradine's character? Fighter pilot, spy, expert mechanic. What female viewer wouldn't identify with either of the two lead female roles? Tough yet vulnerable, sexy, desirable, but unable to play the mating game and win.

All the characters are interconnected, but they don't always know it. The writer/director gets full marks for interesting characters and a story that twists and turns in on itself, but now comes the challenge of making it cohesive and comprehensible. That's where the movie doesn't hold up as well.

There is not enough "glue" between scenes. There are too many places where the plot takes a leap and the viewer is expected to fill in the gap. I found myself asking, "where did that come from?". I kept wanting to replay the previous scene because I had missed the transition, but there wasn't one.

I wish Rudolph had a collaborator with the screenplay and the directing. I feel the casting was very good, but the performances are often stilted, like what you might find in a high school production. Awkward pauses and intonations in the dialog. This also makes the story hard to follow and hard to believe. I can't decide if this was intentional or not. Reminds me of Hal Hartley.

This movie is not for everyone. Personally, I love it, warts and all. I've seen it three times and own the DVD. The Teddy Pendergrass songs are wonderful and I would say under-used in the film. Very surprised to see Maltin give this 3.5 stars, even if it is "a critics movie". He must have been in a good mood that day.