As Good As It Gets

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Season Hubley was a very fine actress of the 1970s who somehow lost her way in the next decade, bottoming out with this cheapjack sleaze about a single mom-turned-prostitute working with the Los Angeles vice squad in nabbing a vicious killer pimp named Ramrod, eventually regretting her involvement after he escapes from police custody. Grindhouse fans will no doubt revel in the "neon slime" on display, yet Hubley is never too convincing jive-talking her way around street pimps, prosties, undercover cops and kinky johns. Amateurish, nasty and ugly. * from ****

I was in my early teens when this film began in heavy rotation on HBO. My mother didn't screen many films, but she happened to catch one or two scenes of Ramrod brutalizing Ginger or Princess and forbade me to watch it. Of course I could not resist, was caught, and had my TV privileges taken away from a month.Are these scenes of brutal violence towards women tame by today's standards, have they since been topped? Not really! Perhaps if it was tried today we'd get a bit more insight into Ramrod's motivations. Childhood trauma and what not, not just revenge. The actors play this pretty much straight forward. Hauser is singular in his approach, and Hubley alternates between faux-demur and animalistic rage. Quite a lot of anger in her own right. Sherman the lead/director comes off as rather wooden, but give him credit for his Dirty Harry-esqueness and his place in cinematic history. Cable TV audiences have enjoyed this sleazy classic for three decades with more to come!

The sleazy side of LA street life on the Sunset strip with psychotic killer pimp Ramrod(Wings Hauser)set up by hooker Princess(Season Hubley)in cooperation with the police after he had cut up her best friend Ginger. After escaping police, Ramrod will search the strip(..with no reservations about using violence as a means for extracting Princess' whereabouts from those he questions)for Princess with one goal in mind and that's repeating what he did with Ginger on her. It's up to Tom Walsh(Gary Swanson)and the Vice squad to find Ramrod before he gets to her.The ugly, nasty side of prostitution is exposed in this thriller with Hauser effectively scary as the sicko, matched by Hubley as one tough, foul-mouthed broad. Mostly profane and unpleasant, but also fast-paced and suspenseful.

...doesn't mean it's a GOOD film however.Hooker Princess (Season Hubley) is turning tricks to get money to be with her baby girl. Vice squad policeman Tom Walsh (Gary Swanson) talks her into trapping sadistic pimp Ramrod (hoo boy!) played by Wings Hauser. It works...but Ramrod escapes and is out to get Princess...Alternately dull and sleazy with some truly terrible dialogue. The plot is just silly--Swanson falls in love with Hubley (sigh) and offers to PAY her to stay off the streets!!!! All the prostitutes look like models and all sit around and tell amusing stories of their tricks (????). Makes prostitution look like fun. Also would the entire vice squad REALLY drop everything to search for Princess and Ramrod like they do here? I don't think so. SPOILER!!!! It gets REAL sick at the end when Hauser finally corners her...too sick. I do like how she fights back though--I was tempted to cheer her along. END SPOILER!!!!The film is terrible but it does have an audience. There are a few reasons--Hubley is VERY good in her role; Hauser is just terrific--and frightening as Ramrod and you gotta admire how incredibly sleazy an R rated film can get. Still it's really not that good and Swanson is dreadful as the cop. Also look for ex MTV DJ Nina Blackwood as a hooker. I give this a 6.