Hit and Runway (1999)

32% of critics liked it
(34 reviews)
27% of users liked it
(95 ratings)

Can two men, one straight and one gay, find happiness together writing a cheesy action movie? Alex Andero (Michael Parducci) is an aspiring filmmaker who makes ends meet by working in the restaurant founded by his father. Alex has dreamed up a character named Jagger Stevens, a James Bond-style… More Can two men, one straight and one gay, find happiness together writing a cheesy action movie? Alex Andero (Michael Parducci) is an aspiring filmmaker who makes ends meet by working in the restaurant founded by his father. Alex has dreamed up a character named Jagger Stevens, a James Bond-style undercover agent who is trying to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring operated by super models (hey, are you sure that movie didn't play on Cinemax last month?). Alex's cousin Norman (Bill Cohen) works in Hollywood as a producer and actually thinks the Jagger Stevens idea has potential, so he asks Alex to write a script. However, Alex doesn't know the first thing about screenwriting; he signs up for a class in writing for film, but he hasn't made much progress beyond attracting a girl named Gwen (Judy Prescott) whom he isn't even sure he likes. However, there's a new waiter at the restaurant, Joey (Kerr Smith), who is good looking, gay, and has an admirer named Elliot (Peter Jacobson) who happens to be a screenwriter. Alex and Elliot meet through Joey, and before long begin collaborating on a script, although Jagger Stevens is a good bit different after Elliot gets through with him. Hit and Runway was the debut feature for director/co-screenwriter Christopher Livingston, and was screened at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Christopher Livingston
Written By: Christopher Livingston, Jaffe Cohen
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 17, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Jul 30, 2002
Studio: Lot 47 Films

Critic Reviews

Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer
The movie is sometimes as dumb as its targets.
Jay Carr, Boston Globe
Does have moments, but it also seems a couple of years behind the times.
Tom Keogh, Film.com
What makes Hit and Runway uniquely fun, however, is the unapologetic extent to which Livingston and Cohen turn it into an index of beloved Woody-isms.
Wesley Morris, San Francisco Chronicle
A premise in search of a better-executed movie.
Jonathan Foreman, New York Post
This indie's willingness to trade in stereotype leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
Elvis Mitchell, New York Times
A case of the emperor's old clothes: drab, sentimental rags that desperately want to be something else.
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Superb comedy, with lots of social commentary
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The indie comedy/drama Hit and Runway is mostly a drag.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
Parducci and Jacobson are terrific together.
Gil Jawetz, DVDTalk.com
The filmmakers along with their superb cast have broken through the barrier of too-prescious independent comedy filmmaking and come up with something much better.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Yet despite .. a general good heartedness, "Hit and Runway" is another cliched movie about first time filmmakers whose script ends up mirroring their life.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Sympathetic performances by the leads and surprisingly convincing sentimentality.
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
Both adroitly contrived and naggingly blatant.
Brandon Judell, PopcornQ
Now Cohen's nefarious, self-deprecating, kosher wit has made it onto the big screen superbly, thanks to the able direction of first-time helmer Livingston.