Ishtar

(Elaine May, 1987, USA, 108 minutes)

Before titles like Showgirls, Cats, and The Room started to suck all of the “Worst Movie” oxygen from the room, a longtime standard bearer was Elaine May’s fourth and so far final feature film as director, 1987’s Ishtar. Upon reappraisal, what’s that, this isn’t a “so bad it’s good” situation like the above, but instead a “misunderstood in its time” type of deal, more along the lines of Heaven’s Gate than Valley of the Dolls. It follows two talentless New York-based singer-songwriters, Chuck (Dustin Hoffman) and Lyle (Warren Beatty), who get booked to play a Moroccan hotel and, in so doing, find themselves as pawns in the middle of a four-way cold war stalemate. Adjani, who was dating Beatty at the time, plays a woman they get tangled up with when she tries to get them to help her out of the country. With cinematography by the legendary Vittorio Storaro, the DP behind The Conformist, Apocalypse Now, and more.

You may also like the following events from Webster University Film Series:

• This Thursday, 8th January, 07:00 pm, Nosferatu the Vampyre in Webster Groves
• This Friday, 9th January, 07:00 pm, Resurrection in Webster Groves
• Next Thursday, 15th January, 07:00 pm, Possession in Webster Groves

Also check out other Entertainment events in Webster Groves, Music events in Webster Groves.