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The Adventures of Ford Fairlane: Difference between revisions
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''[[The Adventures of Ford Fairlane]]'' is a 1990 film and [[Billed Above the Title|star vehicle]] for [[The Eighties|80's]] [[Stand Up Comedy|comedian]] Andrew Dice Clay, who plays the eponymous Ford Fairlane. It's also notable for being an early work of Finnish director Renny Harlin and being [[Video Full of Film Clips|featured in the music video]] for Billy Idol's "Cradle of Love." It was not well received, tying for the [[Golden Raspberry Award]] with ''Ghosts Can't Do It'' the year of its release; Roger Ebert called it "loud, ugly and mean-spirited." Naturally, it didn't do well in the box office, although Clay has claimed this was the result of
Ford Fairlane is a [[Private Detective|private investigator]] who specializes in the Hollywood music industry. His business, run by himself and his assistant, Jazz (Lauren Holly), is experiencing financial difficulties because [[Pro Bono Barter|most of his clients keep paying him with expensive gifts instead of money]]. Eventually, he's hired by two seemingly unrelated clients, shock-jock DJ Johnny Crunch (Gilbert Gottfried) and humorless socialite Colleen Sutton (Priscilla Presley), to find a young groupie named Zuzu Petals. Although he has reservations, [[Money, Dear Boy|they offer him cash]]. His investigations lead him through a cast of colorful characters, including sleazy record producer Julian Grendel (Wayne Newton), a giggling mercenary known only as "Smiley" (Robert Englund), the bumbling, nostalgic cop Lieutenant Amos (Ed O'Neill), and space cadet Zuzu Petals (Maddie Corman).
[[Word of God|According to director Renny Harlin]] on his [[DVD Commentary]], the script was originally written as a very standard [[Detective Drama|detective story]]. When Andrew Dice Clay was cast in the lead, changes were made to incorporate several of Clay's [[Stock Shticks|stand-up routines]]. This decision was probably an effort to boost box office numbers, as much of the audience probably consisted of [[Target Audience|people who were established fans of Clay]]. On the other hand, although Andrew Dice Clay was originally noticed for his celebrity impressions, his real fame came from his [[Refuge in Vulgarity|over-the-top vulgarity]], [[Refuge in Audacity|audacious sexism]], politically incorrect humor, and the inevitable controversy it created. This led to a lot of [[Hype Backlash|backlash]] against his work, especially from women's rights advocates. Among other things, he was [[Persona Non Grata|banned from MTV]], and his appearance on [[Saturday Night Live]], originally aired during a later time slot than usual, was boycotted by cast member Nora Dunn. By the time this movie was released, Andrew Dice Clay's comedy career was pretty much over. ''Ford Fairlane'' may or may not have been a last-ditch effort to revitalize his popularity, but it (and its failure) ultimately served as [[Fallen Creator|the final nail in the coffin]].
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* [[Accidental Public Confession]]: Type 3. During the climax of the movie, {{spoiler|Ford Fairlane lures antagonist Julian Grendel backstage, where the latter brags about the details of his evil scheme. Unbeknownst to him, Zuzu Petals is standing behind him with a microphone, and his flamboyant boasting is heard by the crowd.}}
{{quote|[[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|"I even pissed in the punch bowl!"]]}}
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* [[Pro Bono Barter]]: The reason Ford takes the cases of Johnny Crunch and Colleen Sutton in the first place, despite knowing that both are deceiving him, is because all of his clients bring him expensive (but tacky) gifts instead of money.
* [[Refuge in Vulgarity]]: Andrew Dice Clay rose to fame with this trope, and by extension, it's used frequently in this movie. This could be one of the reasons why the movie did so poorly.
* [[Take That]]: The movie's [[Tagline]] calls ''[[Kojak]]'', ''[[Columbo]]'' and ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' "Wimps."
* [[Twin Threesome Fantasy]]: Ford is so cool, he makes this a reality within the first ten minutes of the movie.
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: One of the punk gunslingers. {{spoiler|Julian Grendel, Smiley, and the other punk gunslinger are all killed off, but when last we see this punk gunslinger, he is fighting Sam the Sleazebag. Although Jazz and Sam are next shown entering the building, showing they must have defeated him somehow. Although after Grendel is defeated Smiley returns for revenge, but the punk gunslinger never does.}}
{{reflist}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture}}
[[Category:Golden Raspberry Award]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
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