Amos & Andrew

Great movie, so funny

The description given on Amazon Prime of this movie -- "A satirical look at the cult of celebrity in the story of a cop who goes undercover as an art student and gains critical acclaim for his work" applies to another movie altogether.This is a comedy I've enjoyed for a couple of decades so much that I watch it at least once a summer, knowing lines from it the way people know lines from "Casablanca." With plenty of action, it pokes fun at everyone's absurd words and behavior involved in this opera buffa set against the shifting background of race relations in 1993: the bumbling petty thief (Nicolas Cage), the politically ambitious police chief (Dabney Coleman) and his more bumbling cops on a vacation island in New England, the successful Black academic (Samuel L. Jackson) who buys a home on the island, and becomes confused for a burglar by neighbors, a P. I. lawyer (Michael Lerner) who claims to be keen on constitutional law, and his wife (Margaret Collin), the New York reverend (Giancarlo Esposito) leading a marching and singing crowd to support Jackson when they learn of his predicament, the mainstream media, and the various characters populating the island. Casting is excellent, the writing wry and understated, the entire film just plain funny.

I happened to read the "Rotten Tomatoes" review for this movie. Apparently, those skilled in reviewing movies didn't think it is as funny as we non-experts.Part of the problem was they seemed to think it is a "race" situation. That is wrong. They forgot that Amos is likely taken into custody because he is a commoner found on an island inhabited by royalty, so is a criminal of accident for the benefit of the local politician. The two characters fit together well to define the situation because both black and white are caught in the same situation. The reference to the radio show emphasizes the similarity of the situation for the two characters. Only the Andrew character dislikes the comparison -- because of his black advocacy persona, including the FBI references.It is more like the "Office Space" of political observers -- especially written with local elections in mind. I guess you have to be more than a little cynical about America's political process to take this point-of-view.But, my review -- 80 percent good

Movie was made over twenty years ago still relatable, but progress has been made, except maybe for education. Rented movie after talking about one of the characters film history. All very young here.

My Sociology Instructor uses this movie to illustrate, through comic relief, racism in America and how interpersonal relationships change throughout life. The movie is great for the purposes that it was used. It has plenty of "clean" humor with little to no "bad" language. I am jaded in my humor and it "takes a lot" to make me literally laugh out loud, but there were a couple of times I did chuckle out loud. It is somewhat predictable but isn't a complete waist of time. I didn't have the feeling I have more and more at the movie theater or even when I rent and watch at home, which is "I want the last two and a half hours of my life back." All in all if you want to watch a mindless flick to get your mind off of everyday life that has moments of humor, and even a couple segments of corny dialogue then this is a good choice for you.

I don't know how it is that some very good movies get sidetracked when they are first released. This is one of them and it is well worth watching and owning, in my opinion. Of course, as a previous reviewer noted, it is NOT a re-do of the famous radio show and if you expect it to be, you will be very confused by it. No, this comedy is very much its own black-and-white story and a hilarious commentary on the prejudices and preconceived notions that are to be found even among the most supposedly enlightened of us. The whole comedy stems from erroneous assumptions made about a black man seen in an empty house in a posh NY community at night (he is, of course, the new owner). Both Samuel L. Jackson and Nicholas Cage (cast as a down-at-heels drifter pressed into service by the local sheriff) play their parts to perfection and Dabney Coleman and the cast of supporting characters are also excellent in their various roles as bumbling law dogs, neighbors, reporters, etc. In sum, I found this underrated film to be not only extremely funny but a wise and wry social commentary as well.

Good movie!!

Well I really love the concept of this fabulous comedy, terrific storyline and a great cast with Jackson and Cage in the main roles, Laughter all the way through the movie with plenty of who is who. A writer moves to a little town from the big city lights and gets in more trouble than ever. Odd as it seems but the guilty one is really the innocent, Now to much of this story will spoil it and I would rather let you decide for yourself, make your own judgment. There's still plenty of action and suspense to go around that I have not mentioned and I know you won't be disappointed. I rated this movie A grade plus for being a first class classic, so gather up the popcorn, relax, sit down and put your feet up to a marvelous night of great entertainment and enjoy.

A very good copy

Oh don't get me wrong great film real old clasic of Nicolas Cage & Samuel L Jackson. BUT this DVD is in GERMAN with no English subtitles or any choice to have any other langage but German So PLEASE be aware

Die temporeiche Komödie bezieht vor allem in ihren stilleren Momenten Stellung gegen Apartheid und Rassenvorurteile, ist als gesellschaftskritische Satire jedoch zu weich, um mehr als harmlose Unterhaltung darzustellen - trotzdem vergnüglich und komisch

der Film ist ganz amüsant,leider aber nur in deutscher Sprache! Wie es bei den alten Filmen oft so ist,hat auch Nicolas nicht "SEINE" deutsche Synchronstimme,schade!!

Really good film. It aged well.