Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)

39% of critics liked it
(18 reviews)
46% of users liked it
(631 ratings)

Norman Mailer wrote and directed this demented film noir, which takes place in a Provincetown of perpetual twilight. Most of the tale, based on his best-selling novel, is told in flashback as Dougy Madden (Lawrence Tierney) pays a visit to his son Tim (Ryan O'Neal). Dougy, a tough ex-bartender, is… More Norman Mailer wrote and directed this demented film noir, which takes place in a Provincetown of perpetual twilight. Most of the tale, based on his best-selling novel, is told in flashback as Dougy Madden (Lawrence Tierney) pays a visit to his son Tim (Ryan O'Neal). Dougy, a tough ex-bartender, is ravaged by cancer and decides to see Tim one last time in order. But Tim is suffering both from writer's block and from the effects of too many years of drink, drugs, and sex. His sexy wife Patty Lariene (Debra Sandlund) has recently left him and disappeared. Even worse, one morning he awakens from his stupor to find the front seat of his car covered with blood and a severed head inside his drug stash. He tries to rekindle a relationship with his ex-wife Madeleine (Isabella Rossellini), now married to the psychotic Provincetown police chief, Alvin Luther Regency (Wings Hauser), and he re-acquaints himself with old prep school friend Wardley Meeks III (John Bedford Lloyd), who was also married to the missing Patty Lareine. As the murders pile up and Tim's psyche takes a beating, Dougy decides to help Tim put an end to this chaotic mess of murders. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Norman Mailer
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1987 Wide
On DVD: Sep 16, 2003
Studio: Media Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby, New York Times
Not the high point of the Mailer career, but it's a small, entertaining part of it.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Hard to classify; at times you laugh raucously at what's up on the screen; at others you stare dumbly, in stunned amazement.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
What is strange is that Tough Guys Don't Dance leaves me with such vivid memories of its times and places, its feelings and weathers, and yet leaves me so completely indifferent to its plot. Watching the film, I laughed a good deal.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Norman Mailer's best film, adapted from his worst novel, shows a surprising amount of cinematic savvy and style.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Embarrassingly idiotic high camp modern noir set on Cape Cod.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Neither thrilling nor horrific, the camera, plotting, dialogue and atmosphere are uniformly unconvincing: a conservatoire of false notes.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
A juicy cult classic.
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
Strange and self-indulgent, but oddly entertaining.
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
Ponderous and absurd, like the novel. As a stand-in for Mailer, O'Neal is limp.
, Film4
The overkill is strangely compelling and Mailer's disregard for taste and convention ensure his film is a massive but spectacular and unmissable folly.
Oz, eFilmCritic.com
It's a mystery, and not an overly compelling one.