Partners

This week we lost the terrific actor John Hurt. This amazing performer had an incredible body of work, The Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express, and 1984, just to name a few. There were some great performances from him that didn't get the attention they deserved as well. Over the next few blogs, I thought I would take a look back at some of those. Next up is the 1982 comedy Partners.

Partners has Hurt playing a homosexual police desk clerk who is forced to go undercover with a straight, brash, maverick detective, Ryan O'Neal, to solve a string of murders in the L.A. gay community. The two, who can't stand one another at first, must pose as a couple as to blend in.

This, which plays like a spoof of the Al Pacino 1980 crime thriller Cruising, is the kind of movie that wouldn't be made today. It has a very un pc approach to the material. Sadly, even when this brand of humor was more accepted, it still wasn't that funny. That being said, I do think it is worth a look for Hurt's performance. What was probably a cliched character on the page, Hurt is able to bring a real warmth and likability to it in his performance. O'Neal doesn't fair as well and comes off somewhat obnoxious.

This was originally intended to be a vehicle for Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen. Eastwood was totally game, but Allen passed on it. I imagine Allen was focusing on his directing career, and young Asian women, at the time.

Partners isn't a great movie, but it is worth a look for Hurt's performance. It's available on dvd and blu ray.