Bunny O'Hare (1971)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Even by the incredibly low standards of American-International Pictures, "Bunny O'Hare" is a very bad film--with terrible writing, terrible direction and comedy that is about as subtle as "Hee-Haw"! This is pretty sad, but what makes it worse is that this dopey film stars a duo who have earned both a Best Actress (multiple times) and Best Actor Oscars! Bette Davis (the title character) and Ernest Borgnine star in this crap-fest. Davis, is a middle-aged housewife whose life has been turned upside down when her home and all its possessions are taken from her by the evil bank. When her good-for-nothing children call her to try to borrow money, she does exactly what any good mother would do--hold up banks with the help of a professional bank robber (Borgnine). To avoid detections, they dress as hippies and the cops are completely inept and unable to stop them.The biggest problem with the film is the incredibly broad writing--like it was written for stupid people who couldn't understand the smallest hint at subtlety. So, when the cops chase the duo, the film makers insert banjo chase music to let everyone know it's a kooky chase. When the police (especially Jack Cassidy--whose character is too dumb to be in a "Police Academy" film) are stupid, they are sub-humanly stupid and complete reactionaries. In effect, they come off as caricatures--as do Davis' kids. None of them are the least bit real and it's sad that Davis and Borgnine (dressed as hippies) are the most believable part of the story as they rob, try drugs and experiment with 'free love'!! My question is this--were Borgnine and Davis this desperate for money that they were willing to to participate in a film they knew was terrible OR did they actually think this would be funny?! Or, did Samuel Z. Arkoff (the head of AIP) hold one of their family members hostage to force them to appear in the film?! Yes, it is THAT bad. The only way I could recommend it is if you are a bad movie buff and want to see the actors completely embarrass themselves.By the way, this is an example of some of the kooky elements in the film. One of Davis' daughters is married to a man who is a butcher with an aversion to meat and needs 'meat therapy'. My sides are still splitting with laughter...

Bette Davis is a doting mother who, at the outset of this film, is evicted from her house because she has defaulted on her payments. The reason she is in such dire financial straits is because she is incapable of seeing what a pair of seedy, money-grubbing low-lifes her son and daughter are. After hitching a ride from Ernie Borgnine (who has sort of repossessed her toilet pan!) she blackmails him into helping her rob the bank that has thrown her out of her home.This mess of a movie features one movie legend at a career low and one b-list star who, to me, seemed to get by on enthusiasm and likability rather than acting skill. We can only wonder what dire straits Davis herself must have been in to accept a starring role in a movie with so few redeemable aspects. The plot is almost non-existent, and a ham-fisted script gives Davis and Borgnine no opportunity to develop any kind of chemistry. But then whoever wrote this rubbish thought it would be a blast to have Davis and Borgnine dressed as hippies. A sub-plot featuring the inept detective on their case is mind-blowingly stupid.

Bunny O'Hara (1971) ** (out of 4) Embarrassing AIP film has Bette Davis thrown out of her house by a bank so she and a former robber (Ernest Borgnine) start hitting banks so that she can support her deadbeat children. The only catch is that the elderly pair rob them while dressed as hippies, which throws off the main cop on the case. This is an extremely embarrassing film which certainly has its two Oscar-winning stars just picking up a paycheck. The film contains zero laughs and gets tiresome by the thirty-minute mark and the extremely lazy writing just makes one shake their head. The biggest problem is the writing because there's not a single well-written joke to be found here. It really seems like the top AIP guys found out they could hire Davis and Borgnine and then just built a screenplay around them. Someone must have thought it would have been funny seeing the two legends dressed up as hippies. The first time you see them it will leave a smile on your face but the screenplay doesn't offer anything else. We get countless robberies, which gets very boring after a while considering nothing new really happens with any of them. To make matters worse is Jack Cassidy as a stupid Lieutenant who keeps thinking the robbers must be young people because he thinks all young people are up to no good. All the supporting characters are quite bland but that's to be expected considering the screenplay. As far as Davis and Borgnine are concerned, hopefully they were paid well. It's so obvious that neither are really into the film as both come across rather too laid back and boring. Even in some of their less successful films they at least give off some of their wonderful energy and charm but that's not the case here. This is certainly a major misstep for both but fans might still want to check this out just to see them dressed as the hippies. Sitting through the entire film is debatable.

This film belongs to an enigmatic category I refer to as Extinct. No VHS or DVD release. Only a TV broadcast now and then. It deserves more, as do most extinct films: they should all be available for streaming or download on the web.After seeing it yesterday on THIS, the new CBS digital broadcast sub-channel, I found Delaney's performance to be the highlight. Her ambivalent, playful acquiescence must epitomize the fate of countless intelligent women, even to this day. I'm no feminist, but I can empathize. She's clearly the superior cop. But the best she can do is gently nudge her male boss in the right direction. And when he errs, she can't correct him, lest he lose face. Civilization would probably be a hundred years further along by now if we humans weren't so rigidly patriarchal. Too many great women have been relegated to the sidelines. Including Delaney, whose film career apparently ended here.Davis and Borgnine, meanwhile, help us understand the unfortunate issue of exploitative adult children. They've grown up, but they don't want to be independent. They happily parasitize their aging parents, who in Bette Davis' case, actually risk life and limb to procure infusions of cash in response to concocted, irresponsible excuses. Her progeny's utter lack of conscience was bewildering to me. I shudder to think how many elderly grandparents sympathize with Bunny's futile situation. There are probably millions of real-life parent-parasites in the world, preying upon their progenitors' unconditional affections.This is a multifaceted film. Thanks to its stars, it's engaging too.