NADINE - DVD review

With a title like "Nadine" and a rollicking opening tune ("Since I Found You") performed by Sweethearts Of The Rodeo, you'd expect a down-home story with quirky characters and offbeat situations. And that's what you get. Sort of.

You also get a story that's structured a lot like a mystery without the detective.

And a Bonnie and Clyde story without real crime or repercussions.

And a screwball comedy that's more tongue-in-cheek than a bowl full of belly laughs.

Nadine Hightower (Kim Basinger) is a hairdresser who's not exactly the brightest bulb in this marquee. Put a hat and an apron on her, and she's every small-town gum-chewing waitress you've ever seen. Put a problem in her lap, and she's another problem waiting to happen. Just ask her soon-to-be-ex, Vernon (Jeff Bridges).

Basinger and Bridges turn in fun performances in this lightweight 1987 romp that has the feel of a "Dukes of Hazzard" episode without the voiceover or the Daisy Duke short-shorts. But there is a little sex involved. You see, Nadine posed for some "art studies" for a sleazy photographer who said he'd show them to a good friend of his named Hugh Hefner. "And you fell for that?" Vernon scoffs, feeling superior, no doubt because he's man with a plan—which is to say, he's a man with the misplaced confidence that he can always come up with a plan. Right now he's also cruising pretty high because he's dating the reigning Pecan Queen, while his wife is still as messed up as ever, a magnet for trouble.

In a nutshell, here's what happens: Nadine goes to the photographer's studio to demand her photos, but Raymond Escobar (Jerry Stiller, in an unusual and unusually brief role) argues, "I paid you the 22 dollars, did I not?" Yes. "Did I touch you?" No. "Then you have no complaints." But while she's in a different room, Escobar stumbles in with a knife in his back and drops dead at her feet. Still focused on trying to protect her dubious honor, she grabs an envelope marked "Nadine" and runs, only to discover later that there are secret plans for a development inside, and not her wannabe playmate spread. There's only one thing to do, and that's get Vernon to use his lock-picking skills and go back there, despite the police stakeout and crime-scene post, to retrieve the real pics. Of course, the law gets after them, but so does "heavy" Buford Pope (Rip Torn), who stands to make or lose a ton of money if he doesn't get those plans.

Set in 1954 Austin, Texas, "Nadine" is a decent period film that covers all-too-familiar ground, but at least it does so with honesty and a modest bit of style. There are a ton of films out there, and this one would rank somewhere in the average category, despite Basinger's and Bridges' performances. I think it's because the script seems caught between genres. Despite the "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Dukes of Hazzard" aspects, there aren't enough crashes, clashes, chases, and perilous situations to satisfy lovers of action films. Despite the mystery aspects, there isn't an investigation, there aren't any red herrings, and, as a result, there's not much in the way of suspense. And despite the screwball romantic comedy set-up, there aren't as many laughs as you'd hope for. Also, the script doesn't give the two stars much room to sizzle together, though there's certainly decent chemistry between them.

So what you're left with is an entertaining but going-through-the-motions film. Stiller has fun with his brief part, and Torn manages to both embrace the in-cahoots-with-the-developer-criminal stereotype and shed it. But "Nadine" doesn't really stick. Days after I watched it, I remembered that catchy opening and closing Sweethearts Of The Rodeo tune, the scenes at Escobar's studio, and a chase scene that ends up at a couple of abandoned buildings where Pope's two thugs pursue our hapless heroes. The rest of this 83-minute film is just a pleasant blur—which probably explains why it fell so quickly into relative obscurity. For a faux on-the-lam estranged couple comedy, "Seems Like Old Times" with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn is consistently funnier.

What's surprising is that the director is none other than Robert Benton, who in 1979 won Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards for the emotion-packed drama, "Kramer vs. Kramer." Benton also directed the equally emotional (albeit sentimental) and leisurely paced "Places in the Heart," which earned an Oscar for Sally Field and one for Writing for Benton. That was before "Nadine," and if you note that Benton directed "Billy Bathgate" and "Nobody's Fool," it's apparent that "Nadine" was really a bit of a lark for him.

Video: "Nadine" was remastered in High Definition and presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I had no complaints about the quality. The colors were vivid, the contrast levels fine, and only slight graininess in low-lit scenes or scenes with sunlight washing out the color just a bit.

Audio: There's but one language option—English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo—with subtitles in English, Japanese, and Spanish. The audio is actually quite good, with plenty of booming, rich sound to bring the Foley effects into your TV room and make those Sweethearts and others doing the soundtrack music happy.

Extras: Sorry Basinger and Bridges fans. There are no extras.

Bottom Line: Vernon Hightower says to his wife, "People like you and me, we never get the breaks," and this lightweight caper comedy focuses on the not-quite down-and-outs who bend, but don't break, despite not having much in the way of luck. Bridges and Basinger are engaging, but there's not much depth, and not enough action or laughs. Just a lark of a film caught between genres, directed by a man who was apparently caught between serious projects.