Against All Odds (1984)
I didn’t recognize the resemblance, but Against All Odds is a remake of the 1947 noir Out of the Past. Don’t fault screenwriter Eric Hughes; I didn’t understand a thing about the plot in the original movie even though I watched it twice. At least in the modern version, I was able to follow the story.
Jeff Bridges stars as an injured football star cut from the team and with little options as to his next career move. An old friend, James Woods, approaches him with a job opportunity: go to Mexico and find his girlfriend who fled after stabbing him in the leg. Coincidentally, her father is the owner of the football team that cut Jeff. To the audience, it’s obviously a shady business, but Jeff exercises poor judgment and accepts the assignment. When he finally tracks down the elusive Rachel Ward, he starts to fall in love.
Despite what the promotional poster will have you think, this movie is more than just a romance. It’s a definite thriller, and you can expect to see some dead bodies pop up. It’s also very 1980s, and what’s more representative of the decade than differentiating between having sex and making love, all to the soundtrack of Phil Collins? (This movie helmed the song “Take a Look at Me Now”.) Plus, with Rachel’s curly mop and baggy shabby chic outfits, you get sucked right into the time period.
As a side note, it’s very cute to see Richard Widmark and Jane Greer play husband and wife in this movie, since they were paired together in the fun thriller Run for the Sun back in 1956. They make a very handsome couple and they both add class and nostalgia to this semi-modern thriller. Jane was also in the original Out of the Past, and it’s always great fun to see and old timer give a repeat performance in a remake.
More Richard Widmark movies here!
Jeff Bridges stars as an injured football star cut from the team and with little options as to his next career move. An old friend, James Woods, approaches him with a job opportunity: go to Mexico and find his girlfriend who fled after stabbing him in the leg. Coincidentally, her father is the owner of the football team that cut Jeff. To the audience, it’s obviously a shady business, but Jeff exercises poor judgment and accepts the assignment. When he finally tracks down the elusive Rachel Ward, he starts to fall in love.
Despite what the promotional poster will have you think, this movie is more than just a romance. It’s a definite thriller, and you can expect to see some dead bodies pop up. It’s also very 1980s, and what’s more representative of the decade than differentiating between having sex and making love, all to the soundtrack of Phil Collins? (This movie helmed the song “Take a Look at Me Now”.) Plus, with Rachel’s curly mop and baggy shabby chic outfits, you get sucked right into the time period.
As a side note, it’s very cute to see Richard Widmark and Jane Greer play husband and wife in this movie, since they were paired together in the fun thriller Run for the Sun back in 1956. They make a very handsome couple and they both add class and nostalgia to this semi-modern thriller. Jane was also in the original Out of the Past, and it’s always great fun to see and old timer give a repeat performance in a remake.
More Richard Widmark movies here!