Amos & Andrew (1993)

Such a frustrating disappointment

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Nicolas Cage plays a low life loser in the jail in the Hamptons.Samuel Jackson plays a Nobel prize winning man moving into the Hamptons.While moving in to his new house the neighbors see Jackson carrying stereo equipment; they call the cops because "when you see a black man with an armful of stereo equipment on this island you know damn good and well what is going on!"Let the comedy begin! Structurally the story well put together with excellent foreshadowing and dialogue. This is a comedy with a purpose.This is a story about white\black race relations in America and is very relevant today. This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen in my life!

The theme of racial bigotry is quite outdated, so the film's social commentary didn't really intrigue me. But it did make me laugh. Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson (both on my favorite actors list) give spirited performances. And I liked the rap song at the end by Sir Mix A Lot, which pretty much sums up the film's themes in a nutshell. The story is predictable and the comedy never hits a bull's eye, but it comes close enough. "Amos and Andrew" is not a memorable comedy, but it's worth watching, especially if you're a fan of the two main actors. My score: 7 (out of 10)

Clumsily written, the quasi-buddy comedy of mistaken identity stars Samuel L. Jackson as a racist writer on a posh Massachusetts island who is mistaken for being a burglar. After dodging a shower of police gunfire at his house everyone finds out that he is the person living there. Rather than face internal affairs, the cops let a car thief (Nicholas Cage) out of jail to go in the home with a shotgun and act as the `burglar'. (So the `break-in' looks fatal, for obvious reasons.) Michael Lerner was hilarious as the hypocritical former lawyer of the Chicago 7. Giancarlo Esposito was realistic as the Louis Farrakhan-like fundamentalist. If the police weren't so unfunny (and other parts were written more cannily) it all would have been much better.

One of the most underrated, overlooked comedies of the 1990s, and a social satire that DOES work, Maltin's faulty opinion to the contrary. Cage is brilliant, as is Bob Balaban. Writer/director E. Max Frye deserved much better reception for this sharp, smart piece of work. Unfortunately, the film's ending was apparently re-worked, to the satisfaction of almost no one on the creative team.Coincidentally, the angry mob torch scene in this movie was shot practically the same time the 'Rodney King' riots unfolded 3000 miles away in LA.