Amazon.com: Walter Matthau is in peak form in Hopscotch, a featherweight spy-game comedy in which he plays a CIA agent who's way smarter than his dimwitted superiors. That's the fantasy part--this amusing cat-and-mouse game is so lopsided that you can't take it seriously. The movie's charm is derived from the sardonic pleasure with which Matthau makes his pursuers look like idiots, after they've targeted him for "termination" for publishing a tell-all memoir about his tenure in "the Company." He's no stool pigeon, however; it's his boss (played with blustery thick-headedness by the great Ned Beatty) who's abusing his power, so Matthau recruits an old lover (Glenda Jackson) to join him in a globetrotting game of clandestine cleverness. Under Ronald Neame's too-casual direction, this is a not-so-wild goose chase, but Matthau and Jackson (reuniting after they had fun making the 1978 comedy House Calls) have an easygoing chemistry that's nicely balanced with Matthau's cantankerous shenanigans. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - You Can Skip It
This is an odd choice to get the full Criterion treatment as it's a fairly tame cold war romantic comedy thriller with a very low-key romance and few real thrills or laughs. Charade this ain't. Good location shooting, and it's interesting to think there was a time when a mainstream entertainment would cater to a mature audience. But, be prepared for a very mellow affair.
Not sure why this merits an "R" rating as all Ned Beatty's profanities have been very obviously overdubbed.
Rating: - Delightful put-down of stuffy bureacracies
Walter Matthau, is, as always, a top performer, and this DVD is no exception. It is essentially a kind of pure American put down of stuffy bureacracies and bureacrats by the usual witty, bright, and go-your-own-way battler against city hall(s). Here Matthau takes on the CIA, FBI, and his opposite in the KGB (who is nonetheless a friend) and winds up twisting all their noses in the end and escaping their less-than-desirable intentions for him. Along the way are numerous hilarious turn-about-plays that will often leave one in stitches, along with a warm sense of satisfaction that at least fictionally, ... Read More
Rating: - dvd
this dvd was alot of fun to watch and the way the story played out kept you wanting to watch.
Rating: - Getting his own back
One of the most humorous, get the establishment I've seen. Walter Mattheau is superb as the opera singing, ex CIA agent getting his own back on the man who fired him. Many laughs and great imaginative writing. Buy this and have a fun experience.
Rating: - oldtimes
Seems like old times. We have waited a long time for the release of a quality dvd of this "fun to watch" spy frolic and Criterion has done just that. Our package arrived in 3 days even with the standard shipping with the "ships free" option. We could not be more pleased.
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