The greatest movie ever made..!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Perhaps this film is a bit outdated now, but even the first time I saw it back in the early 1990s I thought it was pretty hysterical. The opening scene where Robin Williams (as the car salesman Joey) tries to sell a car to woman who is about to bury her husband cracks me up every time I see it. Its clever writing (or is Robin ad libbing?) and scene setting.For whatever reason, Robin is perfectly suited as a car salesman. As another reviewer noted, there are not many times when a car salesman gets to be a hero and Robin is terrific. He exudes the "I love to sell" line despite his nutty life as a quick witted womanizing salesman. He has two girlfriends, owes money to a Mafia character, and is about to lose his job. All this gets fixed by Tim Robbins (Larry) taking hostages inside the car dealership where Joey works. But the story itself is secondary to the fun the cast seems to have with the creation of the whole movie. The chemistry between Pamela Reed (who plays Robin's ex wife) and Robin make for some sizzlingly (if that's a word) funny interactions. Its almost as though there are little bits of truth hidden inside the lines. Another funny moment comes when the Chinese restaurant staff who serve the SWAT team thats situated across the street from the dealership insist that the police can only use the restaurant if they're going to order food. I've seen this movie many times and I never tire of it!

I was having a rubbish day... then I stuck this on, and come the ending I had perked up just a bit. For a Robin Williams film, I don't recall laughing a lot, and there were a few moments where I just wished people would stop talking and move on with the plot... But I loved the way the large cast interacted with each other the rest of the time, and while Mr Williams wasn't at his best, I certainly enjoyed his little asides and general performance.Then the final scenes started, and as one by one the myriad of problems Williams's character faced at the beginning of the movie evaporated, and I embarrassed myself by grinning like a gonad. Who'd have thought that being involved in a hostage situation would be the best thing that ever happened to the guy? It allowed him to prove his worth to those he'd wronged in his life, as well as take stock of himself to be a better person. Aaarrr! Usually I would have rolled my eyes at such a notion, but I guess I needed SOME kind of reassurance right now that the world isn't a totally crappy place. Even if my catharsis did come from an entirely fictitious sequence of events, that could never happen in real life...Whatever, that's all the opening up I'll be doing today. And don't think I'm going to start wearing garlands of flowers or playing the tambourine. But despite a few shortcomings, I did like Cadillac Man, and if I recommend accordingly. Damn my fluctuating moods... 6/10

I knew the leading star of this film, and had a vague idea of the second name in the cast, so I was looking forward to trying it, from director Roger Donaldson (Dante's Peak, The World's Fastest Indian). Basically Joey 'Joe' O'Brien (Robin Williams) - who talks to the audience a little - is a sleazy car salesman trying to sell a car in almost any situation he can find, even something like a funeral will do. He is having troubles, his ex-wife Tina (Bean's Pamela Reed) is demanding cash for maintenance, his daughter is missing and he has married Joy Munchack (Fran Drescher) and single Lila (Lori Petty) as two mistresses wanting him. But he also has work problems, he has two days left to sell twelve cars, or lose his job, oh, and apparently there's a Mob boss he owes or he'll lose his life (but I didn't hear that mentioned much). On the day of Joe's deadline, a big dealership car sale, the dealership is crashed into and off the motorbike comes Larry (The Shawshank Redemption's Tim Robbins) with an AK-47 and some bad marital issues. Larry believes his wife Donna (Annabella Sciorra) is having an affair, and Joe manages to convince him that he is the one doing it, and not to harm any of the other hostages. Then the police show up outside, guns pointing, and Larry being a pretty petrified assailant has no idea of what to say or do to get out of this situation he has put himself in. Joe however is reluctant to help him get him out of it, possibly for his own sake as well, but never mind, he is managing to keep Captain Mason (Anthony Powers) and the cops calm. Joe is starting to bond with Larry knowing he was pressured himself by so many problems, and slowly his persuasion gets the other hostages let out. Eventually, all the hostages are out of the dealership until just Joe and Larry are left, but the police believe the gun Larry has is still loaded, and they mistakenly wound him. In the end, Larry is fine and on his way to hospital, and Joe reunites with his wife and daughter, and drives away as the hero of the day, job intact, and passing his business card to Captain Mason. Also starring Zack Norman as Harry Munchack, Paul Guilfoyle as Little Jack Turgeon, Bill Nelson as Big Jack Turgeon, Eddie Jones as Benny, Mimi Cecchini as Ma, Tristine Skyler as Lisa and Judith Hoag as Molly. Williams with his comedic and acting skills manages to make his somewhat sly character very appealing in the situation he is placed, Robbins is also very good at being the inexperienced gunman, while this isn't hilarious, it's certainly a film with some good giggles. Worth watching!

The comments contain SPOILERS, do not read if you haven't seen the movie.Set in NYC, Joey (Robin Williams) is the 'Cadillac Man', he is a car salesman who drives a black Caddy convertible with the license plate 'CAD-MAN.' The first half of this 93-minute movie sets up the characters. Joey is a natural salesman, has the gift of gab, tries unsuccessfully to sell a new car to a widow at her husband's funeral, because he is broke and also in debt $20,000 to a mob boss and he has to close 12 deals in the next two days to keep his job. His ex-wife threw him out, his teen daughter is missing with her boyfriend, he has a girlfriend and a mistress, and is just in one big mess.Larry (Tim Robbins) isn't very smart, rides a motorcycle, he lost his job as an airplane mechanic a year ago, his wife works at the car dealership, and he suspects she is fooling around with someone, turns out to be 'Little Jack' the arrogant son of the dealership owner. The second half of the movie is pretty much a mess. In a very over-the-top performance, with lots of shooting and yelling, Larry crashes his motorcycle into the car showroom, with explosives strapped to the bike and with a machine gun. He starts shooting, wounds his wife, keeps staff and customers hostage. Joey decides to de-fuse the situation by claiming (falsely) that he and only he was the one banging Larry's wife. A swat team shows up, snipers, a negotiator, Joey gradually talks Larry into letting all the hostages go, and to give himself up, that he can claim he was 'crazy', and get a fancy lawyer to get him off, but the snipers shoot him and he is off to the hospital. The explosives on the bike were fake. Impressed by Joey's performance, and saving his son, the big boss gave Joey a job for life. Also having saved the mob boss's son who worked as a window washer there, forgave Joey's $20,000 debt. And, ex-wife and daughter decided to give Joey another try, hoping he learned his lesson. The median IMDb ratings of about '5' or '6' are about right.