Jinxed

Lately, I've been on a kick of trying to catch up on some movies I've missed over the years. Last night I finally watched the 1982 Bette Midler comedy Jinxed. Here's my thoughts.

Following her Oscar nominated debut in The Rose, the Divine Miss M chose this starring vehicle. She plays Bonita, a lounge singer married to an abusive gambler named Harold, Rip Torn. There's a blackjack dealer named Willie, Ken Wahl, that is jinxed everytime he plays against Harold. Harold has figured this out and follows Willie, which costs Willie jobs at every casino who works at. Bonita is fed up with Harold's abusive tendencies and has an affair with Willie. The two fall for one another and hatch a scheme to murder Harold and collect on his life insurance. But their plot doesn't go as smoothly as planned.

This was a very troubled production. Midler didn't get along with Wahl, Torn, or the director, the legendary Don Siegel. Wahl and Midler made no secret on set at their disdain for one another. Wahl even stated in interviews how much he hated kissing her. Midler fought openly with Siegel too, saying that he was very hostile to her. Siegel said that working with her was very unpleasant. The writer, Frank D. Gilroy, disgusted with the final product, had his name removed from the credits and used a pseudonym. And Siegel's composer, Lalo Schifrin, was replaced by the studio. The stress during production led to Midler having a nervous breakdown and Siegel suffering a heart attack. Siegel had his former protege Sam Peckinpah step in for him while he recovered. This was Siegel's last film before his death.

This is a bit of a mess of a movie. Marketed as a comedy upon release, Jinxed comes off as somewhat serious in the first half, and a wacky comedy in the second. It has a hard time finding it's tone. The three leads aren't bad and do the best they can with the material.

Overall, I can't recommend it, not even for die hard Midler fans. I doubt the Divine Miss M would suggest it either.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.