Outrageous Fortune (1987)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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

In a score of comedies, Midler was doing around this mid to late 80's period, this one doesn't rise to the sharpness and funniness of those others. There are some funny moments, you'll find. The ones which are gold are that of comedian George Carlin, a prize asset here, who is given such terrific lines. You'll also find some early bits funny, if you happen to be in the acting world, that you could cruelly find relatable. OF becomes more of an exciting adventure, than a comedy, it's story not all so clear. Long and Midler, both great, have their moments. They play two actors, totally different from each other, even in their work mediums, who meet unfavorably at an audition for an acting class, led by a Lee Strasberg kind of guy (the wonderful Robert Prosky, donning a Russian accent). They soon find out they're doing the same guy (Peter Coyote) who then dies a fake death. Obsessed with tracking him down this guy, they discover he's involved in a lot of criminal activity, and soon find themselves in immediate danger, hunted by seedy CIA guys, whatever, but are helped by Carlin, a stoned Cowboy bum (again a wonderful asset). A few people aren't what they seem here, adding to the fun, and excitement. The movie works in that way, but kind of gets lost halfway, which I didn't mind, but comedy wise, it's just not up there with a few of Bette's other pics, as it lacks laughs and punch. Before playing Doctor Chilton, great character actor Another Heald, plays a much younger looking acting student, doing us solid as always, which is a long way from what this film is.

Lauren Ames (Shelley Long) is an overly-trained and unsuccessful New York actress. She is relentless and begs her parents for $5k to pay for Stanislav Korzenowski acting classes. Sandy Brozinsky (Bette Midler) joins the same class to aggravate Lauren. Lauren starts dating Michael Santers (Peter Coyote) but she doesn't know that he's also dating Sandy. Lauren watches Michael walk into a flower shop when it explodes. The two girlfriends are shocked by the other when they run into each other at the morgue. The duo knows the dead body is a fake by a particular body part. They set off to find him as they encounter Russian spies and American agents. The search leads to New Mexico.This is a screwball comedy pairing Long with Midler. Long comes off as whiny know-it-all and Midler is the sassy broad. Their personalities clash and they don't make for a great comedy duo. They are both solid comedic actresses but this doesn't really work. They are a little too close. One should probably be a straight man.

Take "the Divine Ms. M" and pair her with the frigid Diana from "Cheers" and you have the makings of one of the most opposite of pairings since Hope and Crosby's "Road" movies. In any other situation, Bette Midler and Shelley Long might not have been able to stand each other, but here, they are instant theater rivals who have one thing in common (Peter Coyote) and after discovering the truth about him, band together to find him with many surprises along the way."You saw Ninja Vixens?", Midler asks when she encounters a clerk who instantly recognizes her after she storms in to use their phone. Also present is Long, an uptight actress who longs to take a class from a prestigious Russian acting teacher, and once Midler learns about the class, she longs to take it too. Coyote is believed to have been killed in an explosion and Midler and Long both instantly recognize that a certain body part on the corpse doesn't match up with what they particularly appreciated about him. So it's off to adventure, as they team together, and their bond makes them become closer with lots of gags on the way.Long and Midler are a seemingly odd team as they begin their adventure, and Long shows the rough and tough Midler that her acting training can make her just as tough, especially when they impersonate police officers. Later, they encounter Florence Stanley (as a cynical airline clerk) who rewards them for their ingenuity by providing them information almost immediately after bad-mouthing a customer who tried to bribe her into letting him take overweight luggage on board.This takes them from the rough streets of New York City to Mexico where they learn a few more things about the man they loved and Long gets to prove once again she just ain't some namby-pamby drama queen. The film grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets go. Laughs come fast and furious and the stars prove that they have what it takes to keep your interest. Robert Protsky, John Schuck and Jerry Zaks also have amusing supporting roles, and you will cheer on Long as her seven years of ballet pay off for her in a climactic sequence.

This film is a pretty good example of turning the "buddy" movie into a film about two women who discover a common friendship. Shelley Long is a woman who has spent years studying for a stage acting career. As pointed out in another review on this thread, her character her is like "Diane Chambers" in CHEERS, except that Long is not lording her superior education over everyone. She does make one exception. She is trying to get into a course led by one of the great actors of this generation (Robert Prosky, in a clever role - he uses several accents), who is a Russian stage star - a "Stanislavsky" type. Prosky is quite selective about who comes in. He chooses Long because of her impressive resume. But he also allows in Bette Midler, who is ... well a hooker.Bette wants to better herself, and she'd like to be an actress. But she doesn't have the background or the money (Long has to borrow it from her parents). She gets in (it is more than hinted she sold some of her wares to Prosky). He looks amused as he decides to include her in the course.He is an intensive acting genius, and we see him demonstrate how to be realistic in many details (such as dying on stage). He is also insisting that they all take good notes, but leave their notebooks with him to be returned the following week. A hard taskmaster, he probably does know much about acting.In the meantime both Long and Midler meet Peter Coyote, and he is dating both without knowing of each other's connection. This is good, as Long and Midler dislike each other (Long looking down on this pretentious hooker, Midler hating this overbearing overachiever). Then, one day, Long is accompanying Coyote out for dinner. He enters a shop, and it suddenly explodes. Long (in deep mourning) goes to the morgue. Shortly Midler shows up, and after a brief screaming fit between them, they discover that the corpse simply can't be Coyote - it's lacking a certain piece of evidence that it is.Midler and Long decide to join forces to find out what happened to Coyote. They can't find any assistance from the police (who have an open and shut accidental death). But soon they are being pursued by Federal agents led by John Schuck. They manage to shake him off, and slowly follow the few clues they find to realize they have to cross the country to follow their lover...and to force him to choose between them.Eventually they do find Coyote, only to find another less pleasant side to him. And they find that half the world seems to be pursuing them as well.The film has great moments in it, such as Long using Prosky's training to fool some people, and Long and Midler playing Eastern Europeans trying to board a plane (the right plane) at an airport. Then there is George Carlin, who plays an American Indian with the attitudes of...well George Carlin, God bless him. The film is also interesting as Long and Midler, once their cooperation grows and they find what Coyote is like, discover that they really like each other more than they thought. Look at several scenes after the middle of the film where the ladies start helping each other with grooming tips. I suggest that this film, with THELMA AND LOUIS, finally cemented the idea that a "buddy" film did not need two men to be the "buddies". And both films showed that such lady "buddy" films could be great entertainment.