Cast: Danny Aiello, Dyan Cannon, Clotilde Courau, Shelley Winters, Chris Penn
Director: Paul Mazursky
Producer: Paul Mazursky
Screenplay: Paul Mazursky
Music: Michel Legrand
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Harry Stone (Danny Aiello) is a well-known director who has built his reputation on doing films of depth and biting satire. When he finds himself in a financial bind, however, the lure of a big check seduces him into compromising his artistic values and directing a script that no self-respecting professional would associate his name with. The Pickle (the movie- within-the-movie) is a terrible story about a giant cucumber that's actually a space ship. As the film's premiere approaches, Harry goes through twenty-four hours of intense anxiety. He's sure that it's a turkey; he tells everyone this. The people around him offer support, but little that anyone says or does comforts the poor director.
Paul Mazursky's The Pickle is in the tradition of The Big Picture and The Player, and, like those films, elements of this quirky, satirical farce are not ideal for general consumption. However, for those who like to laugh, The Pickle offers plenty of opportunities. The humor ranges from sublime to bawdy, but, despite all the lunacy, the principal story addresses several intriguing issues. While the neverending war between art and fame isn't a new topic, Mazursky incorporates a few interesting twists.
There are a few cameos, although nowhere near as many as in Robert Altman's The Player. Donald Trump delivers a line and Spaulding Gray has a brief-but-humorous part as "Doctor Spaulding". In the movie-within-a-movie, such notables as Griffin Dunne, Little Richard, Dudley Moore, and Ally Sheedy make appearances.
The movie-within-a-movie, also titled The Pickle, is reminiscent of Mant, the so-bad-it's- enjoyable flick from the John Goodman movie Matinee. Harry Stone's The Pickle is an example of awful film making, but the bits and pieces we see are enough to make us appreciate it in much the same way we appreciate Plan 9 from Outer Space. Stone's The Pickle is high camp -- he knows it and so do we.
The principal actors in Mazursky's The Pickle do fine jobs. Danny Aiello, who rarely turns in a sub- par performance, has a solid grasp on Harry Stone and gets the role just right. Also noteworthy are veteran actresses Dyan Cannon and Shelley Winters, as well as the younger Clotilde Courau.
Mazursky's The Pickle is an intriguing combination of drama, satire, and farce. It's a credit to the director that he is able to blend such seemingly-disparate elements together. Parts of the movie don't work (several black-and-white flashback sequences serve little purpose other than to fill space), but, overall, The Pickle is a worthwhile experience -- an unusual film with limited appeal for those who appreciate the offbeat.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli