Phil Collins Deserves a Kick to the Nuts for What He Did To Me!

Two things you should know about me. One, I am a sappy girl, I like sappy things. Love songs, romantic movies, puppy dogs.........you get the picture. Two, I love cheesy 80's music and more importantly movies. I believe that John Hughes should be sainted.

I have seen many 80's movies dozens of times and I can usually quote you some dialogue. However along my journey of 80's indulgence I managed to miss the 1984 flick Against All Odds (a remake of a 1947 movie called Out of the Past) starring Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward and James Woods.

This is where Phil Collins comes in, stick with me.

Not so long ago I moved to a big city. This big city has a various number of delights including a plethora of radio stations, what a great thing. However it has become my downfall as well. I have heard songs that I haven't heard in a very long time and this has resulted in that old feeling of nostalgia. The Friday flashback has made me long for all things 80's. Phil Collins and his long and odd, but beautiful love songs have been among them, and for days the song Against All Odds has been bouncing around in my brain. So I decided that I needed to see the movie, if I liked it half as much as I liked the song it was a win for me.

However I did not enjoy to movie. Aside from the yummy young Jeff Bridges this movie had nothing to offer. The story was more than ridiculous, the female lead (Ward) was unsympathetic and the "happy ending" was whatever another word for ridiculous is. Even the very steamy sex scenes were not enough to save the trite dialogue and banal story.

************************************SPOILERS************************************

The story follows Terry Brogan (Bridges) an almost retired football player who looses his team and is forced to work for his friend Jake Wise (Woods), gangster extraordinaire, because Terry not only has spent every penny he ever made, Jake has some dirt on him.

Jake sends Terry to Mexico to find the love of his life, Jessie (Ward), a gal who stabbed Jake just to get away from him. I am just fine (?) with the story so far but soon after it turned on me.........It got to a point that I thought for a moment that Quentin Tarntino might pop up from behind the couch. Terry does find Jesse, but hides the fact from Jake. Terry and Jesse fall into love? lust? whatever it was it involved lots of sex.

At some point they decide that they must run away and they split up while Terry pretends to look for Jessie, presumably to throw Jake off their trail. They eventually met again in some pretty amazing Mayan ruins and of course have more sex. This time they are interrupted by a portly man who was once Terry's trainer and is currently another of Jake's henchmen.

Are you with me so far???

A melee ensues and Jessie, who I can only ascertain by the end of the movie is a homicidal maniac, shoots Portly and abandons Terry in a matter of moments. Where does she go you may ask? Well home to Jake, because she is crazy, the entire time she keeps telling Terry she loves him

More things happen, a sleazy lawyer is killed, Jessie shoots and kills Jake. Terry, who aside from that one moment of weakness is very noble and wonderful, goes to play for the Dolphins.............whatever.

Honestly I am not really sure. Jessie is a spoiled user of people who cares only about herself, Terry is an honest, redeemed man who is in love with a crazy person, and there was an entire other plot about small time government and the corruption that is within.


So I say once again, Jeff Bridges is yummy but movie was pretty much a waste of time. Although it was not nearly as bad as Bless This Child.

J