Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

"You know what a man would do right now if he were smart?", 26 November 2005

Needing money to finance a racing team, Larry (Peter Fonda) and Deke (Adam Roarke) decide to hold-up a grocery store. Things are going as planned until Larry's one-night-stand, Mary (Susan George), turns up in the getaway car. The three must settle their differences if they are to evade the police and make their escape.

What Works:

- The Stunts. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is such a simple movie. It's the kind of movie that's best enjoyed with your bran turned off. This isn't rocket science, it's a car chase movie. The chase scenes are expertly filmed with a minimum of cuts. We see everything exactly the way it happened. And, as the film was made in 1974, we're seeing real people perform the dangerous action and not some computer generated idea of what the stunts should look like.

- The Acting. Everyone in the movie is great. Fonda and George may get top billing, but Roarke really shines. Roarke's Deke is flawed character with a lot of heart. His scene with Mary toward the end of the movie is perfectly played and unexpectedly emotional. I'm amazed that Roarke didn't go on to bigger things.

- The Ending. That ending took some real guts. The movie sucks you in and makes you really care about whether or not these characters are going to make their escape. And out of nowhere comes that ending. Wow!

What Doesn't Work:

- The Dialogue. Some of the dialogue reminded me of a foreign movie that has been translated into English. Some of the lines just didn't seem natural. I don't remember grown adults actually talking like that in the 70s.

- Susan George's Accent. For the most part, George does a good job of covering her English accent. But there are times when it slips through and is a bit distracting.

I realize that Dirty Mary Crazy Larry isn't the type of movie to appeal to everyone, but I had a blast watching it. It's the kind of entertainment I enjoy. The Region 1 DVD is fantastic with a nice documentary featuring Fonda, George, and director John Hough. The fun they had making this movie really comes through. Fonda, in particular, acts like a schoolboy as he reminisces about the movie. They appeared to have as much fun making it as I did watching it.

8/10