Better Late Then Never

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This movie is nothing , but a Hollywood propaganda made against president Ronald Reagan. It's not strange , since Reagan was right-wing and Hollywood almost always has been left-wing. Anyway , you shouldn't be able to enjoy this piece of s*** unless you're some left-wing fanatic . I guess Hollywood likes propaganda ("Avatar").Ronald Reagan was one of the best , if not the best president of United States . Along with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II he destroyed communism. How ? Thanks to economy . He bankrupted the USRR thanks to the arms race. He knew that the United States will win the race . He didn't buy or invest money in army because he was some dictator or blind fanatic (as the movie tries to suggest) , but because he was a visionary who knew that victory will come with time.Putting aside political beliefs , this movie is just terribly bad. It tries to be a black comedy , but there isn't a single good joke here . There is nice shot of Sigourney Weaver's long sexy legs . And the actor who plays the guy waiting impatiently for phone is good. It's sad to see Chevy Chase and Sigourney Weaver in this mess . Thankfully , the movie didn't destroyed their careers (It's REALLY so bad , believe me) . Weaver soon made "Ghostbusters " and "Aliens" , while Chase triumphed with "Fletch".If you're looking for good anti-war comedy better watch "Dr. Strangelove" . If you're looking for good 80's anti-war comedy you should watch "Spies like us" with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd . I give this 1/10.

Deal of the Century is for those with an appreciation of the absurd. A dry, dark comedy, and an ironic portrayal of 1980s American (Reaganite) values. The film is a humorous, critical portrait of the hypocrisy behind Ronald Reagan's deadly cold war shenanigans. Its a political comedy -- very well directed by William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist). It is also well performed and photographed. Chevy Chase is perfectly cast as a cynical arms dealer. And the late, great, Gregory Hines, as his partner, disenchanted with the arms business and suddenly filled with pathos, desperately and hilariously turns from heavy-weapons to Jesus. It is not a perfectly plotted or written film, but it strives to intelligently portray its era.

It seems like everyone's opinion on this movie is evenly divided. People either love it or hate it. Personally, I am not a Chevy Chase fan by any stretch of the imagination. But I like many of William Friedkin's films so I wanted to give this a chance and went in without too many preconceptions.It obviously can't stand up to a comparison to DR. STRANGELOVE as a few here have done. However, it still remains a fairly on-target, unflattering satire of the weapons industry and by extrapolation, other mass production industries that love to sell the government and public crap product cosmetically hyped as the next great answer to all their fears and desires, product that ends up being useless or obsolete within a year (if it even works properly in the first place). There are some pretty funny scenes sprinkled throughout and I was pleasantly surprised through the whole film how much dark, subversively funny jabs Friedkin gets away with. Especially in a big studio movie. There's one scene in particular that makes the film well worth seeing --Gregory Hines (I believe it was him) gets into a verbal altercation with another extremely hotheaded driver (a maniacal Tony Plana) (over a fender bender? it's been a while since I've seen it) -- the verbal sparring quickly escalates into a life-threatening situation and the emotional dynamics the two actors bring to the scene is scarily believable while remaining extremely funny. This scene alone provides a microcosmic metaphor for the provocations of nations going to war and perfectly illustrates the pointless absurdity of aggressive behaviour in general. Also of note, it's great to see the underrated Vince Edwards in a large supporting role as the ruthless air weapons manufacturer. DEAL OF THE CENTURY is never less than amusing and has some extremely funny sequences -- much better than many of these IMDb reviews would lead you to believe.

If you work in certain areas in the defense business, you will be sure that some one who worked in the business did the script. Some of the most outrageous incidents in the film are the most true to life. It may be that you have to have some professional insight to appreciate it fully. It's like a Dilbert cartoon.