Il sogno della città fantasma

Stripper Margot Kidder goes to Mexico to meet her estranged father Burt Lancaster. First she meets American drifter Ted Danson, who shows movies to the locals from the back of his van. He takes her to meet her dad, who she learns is dying and wants to leave her with directions on how to find some money he buried from his bank robbing days. So Margot hooks up with Ted and these two crazy kids try to make it work while thinking about Papa's buried treasure.

Lancaster's not in the movie for very long but he hams it up while he's around. His daughter Joanna was one of the producers so it's entirely possible that's the only reason he did this. Margot Kidder is the main star and she's chewing scenery all over the place. Reportedly she and Lancaster did not get along. It's easy to see why as they are both trying to out-ham each other at every turn. That death scene is like something from a Saturday Night Live sketch. Ted Danson comes off as the most likable member of the cast but not enough to save even a single scene from the tediousness that envelops this entire movie. The pace is very slow and the movie is mostly boring, save for the moments of unintended comedy such as Kidder's impromptu dance routine in a cantina. Not something I would recommend. The last name of Lancaster's character might amuse Superman: The Movie fans who watched this for Kidder.

Apart from a chance to see Burt Lancaster in one of his last films, I can see not one reason to see this film. It's an ugly story with characters who are pretty trashy...and you really don't care whether or not there's any treasure. You just want it to stop!

The story begins with Margo (Margot Kidder) arriving in the middle of no where in Mexico to see her father...for the first time in many, many years. Apparently, Delbert (Burt Lancaster) deserted his wife and daughter long ago. Now he wants to make up with her, though it's seriously a case of too little, too late. During his delirious ravings, he tells Margo that he was involved in a bank robbery and gives her cryptic ideas where it was hidden up in New Mexico. Later, Margo and a sap she's glomped onto (Ted Danson) go in search of this relatively small fortune.

The problem with this film is simple...you don't like nor care about any of the people. They are trashy, ugly folks and whether or not they succeed in the end, they'll still be awful people. As a result, you just don't care about some screwed up stripper and her newest boyfriend. It's all very boring as well as a HUGE misfire.

A charming little film. Margot Kidder turns in good piece of work as the stripper searching for her dream, and thinking of her G-string as a sort of psychological protection from the sleaziness of her world. I've never much cared for Ted Danson, but he is pretty good here as the semi-no-account drifter who falls for Margo. The pace is a bit slow here, but the film gets better as it goes along.