Sometimes a movie works despite all its faults.
Outrageous Fortune has a flimsy, formulaic script, so-so production values, and an odd combination of stars, but somehow it's engaging and fun. Shelley Long and Bette Midler play two struggling actresses--one a hoity-toity priss and the other a brassy slob--who learn they've been sleeping with the same guy (Peter Coyote) when he gets blown up in a terrorist assault and they confront each other in the morgue. When they discover that he's still alive, the bickering pair track him down, traipsing across the U.S. in high heels, pursued all the way by government agents, using their dubious acting talents to get them out of tough situations. The absurd plot keeps things moving and director Arthur Hiller (
Silver Streak,
The Out of Towners) gets cheerful performances out of everyone, particularly the strong supporting cast--including Robert Prosky (
Broadcast News,
Mrs. Doubtfire) as a pompous acting teacher, comedian George Carlin as a burnt-out would-be Indian, and the underused John Schuck (
M*A*S*H,
McCabe & Mrs. Miller) as a long-suffering agent. Contrived, cliché-ridden, but just absurd enough to entertain.
--Bret Fetzer
1 Fun Characters/Lots of Action
Midler and Long start out as adversaries in their NY acting class. Finding out they shared a lover adds fuel to their feud, but his disappearance forces the mismatched pair to work together.
At a pellmell pace, they track his movements, conning information from diverse sources and ending up in New Mexico. The two unlikely allies, draw on each other's strengths, swapping costumes and humorous lines, while being pursued by the CIA, KGB, and the ex-lover (now intent on murder).
It's fun, and probably worth rewatching to catch some of the clues missed the first time around.
2 Outrageous junk
A girl-buddy movie starring Shelley Long and Bette Midler as two women in love with the same guy. When they learn that he's "used" both of them, they turn from being mortal enemies to closest friends as they chase the louse from New York to New Mexico. Silly and dumb, with the usual chase fare thrown in. Everything is a cliche, from the opposing personality idea (Long is an orderly goody-twoshoes, Midler a loudmouthed mess) to desert hippies to car chases, etc, etc. The movie seems to go on endlessly.
3 Outrageous Fun
I saw this movie over 15 years ago when it came out at the theater, and had a lot of fun while watching it. Is most of it probably implausible? Yes. But, it doesn't matter because it is fun to watch Shelley Long(Lauren) interact with Bette Midler(Sandy).
The movie starts out with seeing Lauren and Sandy as struggling actors and trying to find ways of supporting themselves while trying to pursue acting. Lauren is more of the acting snob with experience with Shakespeare, ballet and fencing, while Sandy is a bit more brash with experience in more low budget movies. Each are trying to sign up for an acting course with a arrogant acting teacher played wonderfully by Robert Prosky.
Of course, when the two meet, it is hate and mutual disgust at first sight. While in the class, they continue to hate each other, but eventually they start to have something in common: the same school teacher boyfriend, Michael Sanders(Peter Coyote).
When Michael dies, they both show up at the morgue to identify the body and of course the hilarity ensues. They both realize that this is not their boyfriend, so they start going all over the place to try to find Michael and force him to choose between the two of them.
Having the two of them trying to find Michael leads them to funny encounters at the cigar store and with the taxi cab driver. They even pretend to be detectives, which is just beyond funny.
Eventually, they find out that Michael is headed to New Mexico and they have Federal agents chasing them as well. Michael actually ends up not being who he says that he is, so he is surprised when they find him and he ends up rejecting both of them.
Both women come to realize that through all of their bizarre experiences and even different personalities that they do like each other, especially after Michael rejects them.
Seeing George Carlin playing a down on his luck Indian who ends up helping Lauren and Sandy is great. Carlin can really do nothing wrong. He is a great addition to a really good supporting cast.
Shelley Long and Bette Midler do a great job as playing two bitter struggling actresses who start hating each other and truly become good friends.
I would recommend this movie in a heartbeat to anyone who needs to laugh, because it is simply outrageous.
4 Outrageously Fortunate
It's like a big screen Laverne & Shirley! Without the Big Ragu. I'm not sure how exactly it's like Laverne & Shirley, but just trust me.
If you know going into this film that it's an 80s comedy with Shelley Long, that Peter Coyote is the leading man (!), and that George Carlin is the wacky supporting character, you pretty much know everything you need to know.
That being said, there's a lot more cliff-jumping than in most 80s comedies, so props to them!
5 Good!
Outrageous Fortune is a good movie, it's entertaining and has some hilarious scenes and a great cast that includes Shelley Long, Bette Midler and Peter Coyote and and I think Shelley and Bette made a very good team and I highly recommend this movie!
6 Not to Be Missed
Bette Middler brings the sass and Shelley Long the class, (as they are forever type-cast) in this *fantastic* slice of 80s movie heaven. This movie is an amalgam of 80s high-style fantasies. Shakespeare, ballet, the Cold War, and MORE combine in this caper-adventure comedy. This is the funniest movie I have EVER seen, EVER. I still quote the great one-liners delivered excellently by Middler and Long.
The scene where they try to get the check-in woman to give them the name of the flight their Dead(?) lover is on, is comedic *brilliance*. If you are a fan of comedy AT ALL, this one is NOT TO BE MISSED!!! You'll love it!
"I paid $5,000 to study with the KGB."
7 oh my god.
ok, so i got this movie on one night. seems that armed forces radio and tv will put anything on. seems that i turned to this movie. bette middler and shelley long. let's face it folks... i give it negative two black holes instead of stars. personally i would shoot powdered glass into my eyes before i see this again. other than that great movie!!!
8 Very funny, but loses spark in the second half
Released soon after the success of "Down and Out in Beverley Hills", this film saw everyone's favourite Midler teaming up with Shelly Long for one quite funny movie!
Both women are total opposites who cross paths through a highly unlikely scenario. Then its fun and games and many laughs. Yet the film lacks something, really noticeable in the second half where it just goes a bit wayward.
Still worth seeing though for the fantastic performances by Midler and Long! Worth owning on DVD despite its lack of extras.
9 one of my favorite movies
I love this movie, Bette Midler and Shelley Long are great together. They go from enemies to friends, on a crazy chase to find this guy who's in some kind of trouble, but they never guessed how much, he had gone out with both of them, and they were going to find him to make him choose which one he wanted. They find out he's a bad guy, and save the day in there own crazy way, I love this film.
10 A Terrible, cheaply made movie that makes me sick!!
Who were the [people] at disney that green lit this one! Bette Midler got an golden globe nomination for this film, thats a joke. The golden globes give out nominations like candy(she's been nominated for 8), her performace was a joke in the film. Bette Midler should be ashamed of making money off this film. Shelly has made herself the butt of many jokes in Hollywood, so lets not discuss her part in this film. The sloppy writing, ugly photography(the type that would make Jean Renoir cry), and poor direction by Arthur "carpool" Hiller. They should ban this film; its up there with Spiceworld and Startrek five.
I'm glad to see that Bette Midler is a joke in Hollywood, her career is falling and she is no longer on the list. The next thing she'll do is a indie film to try to jum start her career. She'll need some luck for that. Bette Midler was nominated for two academy awards , both for bad films and bad performances. People in the 70's raved about her performance in The Rose, I don't consider is good acting when you're coked up and on pot everyday on the set. For the Boys? More like "Bring a Gun to Shoot Yourself With When the Movie's Over".
If you want to see this movie fine, I recommend you stay away.
11 Excellent Female Action Movie
If anyone has been tired of only seeing guys being the action buddies in movie and ladies only being the dramatic leads and/or buddies well here is a female action movie that works mainly due to fine performances by Bette Midler and Shelly Long. There are admittedly some weird elements to this film such as the inclusion of some Russian bad guys who I to this day do not know much about. Bette and Shelly play two ladies who find out they go with the same man who was thought dead but only to find out he isn't. They go on a search for him to show whether he loves one or the other. Only to find out he doesn't want anything to do with either of them and would rather get rid of them. Bette easily and naturally plays the tough, brassy, loud, streettalking New Yorker and Shelly the soft-spoken, proper, very ladylike character. The movie does work even with some of its uneven moments!! It will leave you laughing and wanting more.
12 I LOVE THIS MOVIE
When my family first purchased a VCR, the first movie we started to rent was Outrageous Fortune. We rented it so many times that we wound up buying the movie. It is one of my all time favorite comedies.
Granted, there are some editing problems (the fight scene in the morgue-through the glass you see them struggling with each other while the dialog is at a calm pace), the plot seems standard (Lauren needs money-tries to trick parents-fails-yet father gives her money; running across country to find "their" man, etc.) and acting a little stiff (esp from Shelly Long). However the film is hysterical. Every so often you find something not to laugh at but those scenes pass quickly. My favorite scene is during the "drug bust" and during the "tobacco shop".
Even though they seem to act a little stiff, they pull it off. You really believe that they start out hating each other, then at the end Sandy comes to the rescue of Lauren. Apparently friendship needs to start someone, even in an audition studio.
There is nothing special about this DVD. Only the movie stands out.
13 V.G
Its lots of fun in this movie (funny) well its very good
14 ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Man what a great movie this is, I have watched it more than 15 times and love it every time! I have personal favorite bits, but the standout is when Bette Midler and Shelley Long improvise themselves as Cagney and Lacey , after telling to the cabbie "Hey, we both know I'll never get another cab out here in Vietnam"/"The cab driver won't kill us, because we're gonna be raped and killed in this building".
HILARIOUS!!!!!!!YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS ONE!!
15 OK, but not that great
Bette Midler is the real standout in this film, which is by now somewhat dated. But she's sharp as a gold-plated rhinestone and makes this movie come alive. It's not that Shelly Long is bad; she's not--she's fine. But because of the more-than-cliched plot, it needs something extra to carry it through, and Bette does that quite well.
Rather than focusing on the plot--that's been done above and by others--I'll just say that this could be a good movie to watch if you need a couple of chuckles (but not a lot) and don't have too many better things to do. Russian spies and renegade agents and FBI men who talk about season tickets to the Redskins--yeah, OK, great. Making a last-minute plane, posing as a cop, being chased by dangerous guys--uh huh, sure, right.
You get the picture.
16 Wow. Touchstone really messed up!
First of all, why does it say on the back of the DVD case under special features "Theatrical Trailer" when there is none? Why does Touchstone have to make DVD's with NO special features (Really. They put "french language track" as a special feature)?
I pay $20.00 for my dvds, and I want my money to be worth something. This DVD is CRAP! What a waste of money! Get the video verson, because the picture quality is better. I don't even understand why Touchstone makes dvds like this! It's a waste of their money and a waste of mine!
But about the movie...IT"S GREAT! "A perfect showcase of Midler and Long" is right. You'll be laughing 'till your sides fall off!5 stars for movie!
17 Enemies to Best Friends
Bette Midler and Shelley Long are fantastic in these roles. Its a movie that you have to see again and again, it never seems to get old. Bette Midler as Sandy and Shelley Long as Lauren both fall for the same guy who is only using them to pass along top secret information. This movie is very good and I recommend it highly.
18 OUTRAGEOUSLY HILARIOUS!
A true, classic comedy, starring the loveable SHELLY LONG and award winning actress, BETTE MIDDLER. The plot is of two girls, Lauren (LONG) and Sandy (MIDDLER), who both lead completley different lifestyles but share one common bond - they both have the same boyfriend! After he mysteriously disappears in suspicious circumstances, they are determined to track the scoundrel down which plunges them into a fast, action packed, cross country adventure. The stars chemistry shines through the razor sharp, witty dialogue. Well worth obtaining on video or DVD! A CLASSIC!
19 The star of Ninja Vixen, and a wannabe Hamlet team up.
You have to watch this several times to see how you are being set-up constantly from the first. Lauren intends to play Hamlet and Sandy just wants to keep her phone from being disconnected. They converge at an acting class with the famous Stanislav Korzenowski. They independently luck out and take on Michael (Peter Coyote) as a lover. After his untimely demise, Sandy and Lauren meet accidentally in the morgue. The only part of the body that is recognizable is his nether regions. Identification is no small thing. Upon closer examination they come to the conclusion that it is way too small and therefore Michael must be alive. Their searches for Michael take them to exotic locations and unique situations. Drug dealers, CIA, and KGB to name a few. Oh, and don't miss George Carlin as the tracker. All predictions become true.
20 A Great Movie and DVD but.....
I love this movie. It is a classic and one of my all time favorites and I was thrilled when I heard it was going to be released on DVD. The transfer is great as is the sound. My only complaint is that on the DVD package it says the Theatrical Trailer is included on the DVD. It is not. THe only menu options are scene access and audio set-up. Probably a boo-boo on the Buena Vista people. Oh well. Thats all
21 Very funny and highly enjoyable!
Bette Midler and Shelly Long are a dynamic duo! I don't enjoy slap stick type comedy very much, but these characters were delightfully funny! It's a must for anyones video library. I hope it will be re-released soon!
22 Don't bother
Comedy-caper clunk OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE wastes the considerable talents of Bette Midler and Shelley Long. Both have been in much better films, but even the other bombs in which I've seen them didn't disappoint me as much as OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE. Was the story changed around once Midler and Long signed their contracts, or was the actresses' judgement simply that poor, playing people so stupid that you would think Jessica Hahn and Pia Zadora had first turned down the roles? And what is a title like OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE even supposed to mean? Don't bother trying to figure it out, and don't let OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE pollute your VCR.
23 Great!!
This is a wonderful movie. Shelley Long and Bette Midler are a wonderful acting duo, breathing full life into each of their characters. Add that to an exciting plot, a cameo role starring George Carlin, and lots of humor, and you get a terrific, enjoyable movie. Highly recommended.
24 Fantastic!
Midler and Long were hysterical. This was also our introduction to Peter Coyote, who portrayed the appealing bad-boy perfectly. Please re-relase it... I want it in my collection!
25 Very very good.
This film was incredibly entertaining! I laughed through the whole thing...it's good to watch anytime. Bette Midler and Shelley Long really made me smile.
26 Have a laugh...
What a brilliant film. It's not overly clever. It's a touch formulaic. It's even a bit silly in places (Bette Midler will NEVER pass as a man by penciling on a moustache and wearing trousers), and the fashion will make you wince.
There is something about this comedy that makes me giggle. I don't know why - is it the way Midler and Long ham it up? Is it the silly girl bonding thing? Is it the crap but hilarious jokes? The bit where Long is shot, even though it's corny, still makes me think 'Ahh...she did it' (You'll know what I mean when you watch the movie).
All in all, you'll be hard pushed to find such a silly yet brilliant film. I heartily recommend watching it, and even buying the video (if it ever becomes available).
27 This movie will keep you laughing
I particularly like to watch this movie anytime. It can bring you up, when your feeling down. It always makes me smile. I can't wait 'til it's available again.
