Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Amos & Andrew (1993) - Frye's under-appreciated comedy dares laugh at America's race problems

10/13/2013

Amos & Andrew (1993) - Frye's under-appreciated comedy dares laugh at America's race problems

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Huge Flop of the Year + Best Satire of the Year

Stars Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson look cheeky on this advanced poster for E. Max Frye's Amos & Andrew, in which Cage's hands moves through frames to steal Jackson's wrist watch

When a neighboring couple in a white, New England summerhouse area see black Andrew Sterling in the house next door, they react preemptively, and a kidnapping story develops, which reveals ingrained racism, hypocrisy and incompetence on a large scale.

Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas (1995)) plays the small time crook Amos, who gets mixed up in the affair to save the police chief's behind. His pairing with Samuel L. Jackson (Spiral (2021) works outstandingly, and the two are backed by enjoyable supporting actors like Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)) and Michael Lerner (Barton Fink (1991)) in this alternate crime comedy and race-themed farce.
Writer and director E. Max Frye's (Something Wild (1986), writer) script is smart and full of sharp dialog. The film's ending is no eye-popper, but the film is really entertaining, funny and precise, and it seems to stem from a different, less pretentious, yet ambitious time in American movie-making.

Related posts:

E. Max Frye: Foxcatcher (2014) - Fine performances in Miller's strange true-crime sports drama (co-writer)

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a short TV spot for the film here

Cost: 17 mil. $
Box office: In excess of 9.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.82 times its cost)

[Amos & Andrew was released 5 March (North America) and runs 96 minutes. The title is a riff on the classic American radio sitcom show Amos 'n' Andy (1928-60). Shooting took place from April - June 1992 in Massachusetts and North Carolina. The film opened #6 to a 3.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 9.7 mil. $. The film only has listed releases in 5 other markets besides North America and given its very American themes was likely not a big seller abroad. Consequently I project a (very possibly too high) 14 mil. $ world gross as likely for the film, making it a huge flop. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Frye never returned to directing, but his next credit as a screenwriter was Palmetto (1998). Jackson returned in Menace II Society (1993); Cage in Red Rock West (1993). Amos & Andrew is rotten at 17 % with a 4.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

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Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

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Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

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Philip Baker Hall has died

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William Hurt has passed away

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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10/13/2013

Amos & Andrew (1993) - Frye's under-appreciated comedy dares laugh at America's race problems

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