The Pick-up Artist

Robert Downey Jr. is husky and young and wiry as a streetwise ladies' man who does more striking-out than scoring, but his attempts are colorful (you can sense he turns women on just by attempting); Molly Ringwald is a good screen-match for Downey playing sassy tour guide whose alcoholic father is in trouble with the mob. So far, so good--and early on director James Toback displays a sweet, screwball side that was never apparent in his works prior to this--but, unfortunately, the convoluted script gets all gummed-up by the second-half, and the leads go back and forth with each other so much that it all becomes fairly ridiculous. Some pre-release dubbing was obviously done to cover the saltier dialogue passages; it looks sloppy, but that's nothing compared to listening to Downey and Ringwald having sex (what was she in real-life, 17?). These two look good together but are far too young for this scenario, which is by turns cartoonishly sordid and melodramatically soapy. *1/2 from ****

In NYC, Jack Jericho (Robert Downey Jr.) is an unabashed pick up artist. He spends his time chasing after every girl on the streets. Alonzo Scolara (Harvey Keitel) is gun wielding criminal. Flash Jensen (Dennis Hopper) owes him money and his daughter Randy (Molly Ringwald) has to pay. Jack has no long term relationships other than his grandmother and Randy is even more reluctant. She's a museum tour guide and he's a grade school teacher. He becomes obsessed with her.

This movie struggles to find the rom-com feel. These two actors are the most likable actors of that era. They have a nice back and forth banter. The scary criminal gambling story doesn't really fit. The tone is all over the place. The old fashion music doesn't fit either. I would really have loved RDJ and Molly Ringwald in a more straight forward rom-com. Jack is a rather horrible character. This seems to be written for older worn-out characters. James Toback is simply not the rom-com type.

The good things first (sing this): Summer in the city!, and the city, New York, the one star in this movie that looks good 'til the very end, is just beautiful. And because it is summer, and because the city looks as good as the women that populate it, we do not ask that whatever Robert Downey is up to in the beginning is in any way "realistic", as long as it is carefree, funny, and playfully energetic. But from then on...

I do not ask of a movie that it be literally truthful, however, there should be some inner truth, a veracity in the characters or a thoughtful comment on life or something--and this movie does not have any of it. It seems that most of the characters are caricatures, such as the alcoholic gambling father, the mafia bad guy and his entourage (a whole armada with Italian accents), the corrupt policeman, and the Columbian rich man; nobody is in any way real, not even three-dimensional. (I did like the bad guy's girlfriend though, probably also a caricature, but at least flirty, lively, and refreshing.) On top of that, our romantic couple has no chemistry (at least not any I can detect), always deadly for a romantic comedy. The philosophic sentences about life and relationships that come out of our protagonists' mouths are, well let's say, completely beside the point. They are probably supposed to show that our characters are "serious", and maybe if I was 16 again, I would find these parts of the movie "deep", but at my age, I just find them false and somewhat annoying.

So, if you have seen this movie already, I hope you enjoyed the city, the summer, Robert Downey... and maybe some thing or other that I have missed.

I found the chemistry between Ringwald and Downey, Jr. to be as scintillating as that of Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepard of Moonlighting fame. I do agree that this film was probably designed to showcase Ms. Ringwald's talent, but in the process, showcased the charisma and talent of Robert Downey, Jr.

I first saw this film right after high school. It was light and entertaining. These days, the teen flicks bore me to tears, but I can honestly say that Downey's performance pulls me to the small screen time and time again. It's not a must see, but the sparks flying between these two stars make it quite enjoyable.

In New York, the wolf school gym teacher Jack Jericho (Robert Downey Jr.) flirts with every beautiful woman he stumbles upon on the streets with his red Camaro. When he meets the museum guide Randy Jensen (Molly Ringwald), he has an unrequited crush on her. Jack stalks Randy and soon he learns that she gambles to pay a debt of US$ 25,148.00 her alcoholic father Flash (Dennis Hopper) has with the mobster Alonzo Scolara (Harvey Keitel) and he decides to help her.

"The Pick-up Artist" is a nostalgic film in 2020. It is so good to see Molly Ringwald, Dennis Hopper, Danny Aiello, Vanessa Williams, Lorraine Bracco, Harvey Keitel, Robert Downey Jr. very young in 1987. The beginning is promising and funny, but the last part is not so good. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Rei da Paquera" ("The King of the Flirt")