Hanky Panky (1982)
6/10
good pairing in a bit of a mess
27 December 2015
It's summer of 1981 NYC. Janet Dunn (Kathleen Quinlan) steals secrets and gets into a cab with another passenger Michael Jordon (Gene Wilder). She's in the middle of a vast conspiracy. He's kidnapped by mysterious goons. He manages to escape but the police doesn't believe him. Janet Dunn is killed and Jordon becomes the main suspect. With the world searching for him, he is joined by Kate Hellman (Gilda Radner) who is looking for her brother's killer on a cross-country pursuit to uncover the secret conspiracy.

The plot has a good slice of Hitchcock's "North by Northwest". It's a bit convoluted. Apparently Sidney Poitier wanted to make another Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder buddy movie before Pryor's death. Gilda Radner comes in to replace him. She shows that she's no shrinking violet and gives Gene Wilder a good partner (on film and in real life). They have a couple of good fun moments. There are far too few of them. This is a manic mess which could have been better if the script and Poitier allow the pair to shine with better material.
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