THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE (Theatrical Release USA 1985)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.4|5.0 Starsììì

The Man With One Red Shoe—a film for the mature audience—has Hollywood pushing buttons in the same manner as Spies Like Us with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd with its flair for adult dialogue, sexual references, and some partial nudity. But, the storyline is fresh and overall is worth the adult viewer’s time for light comedy.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

CIA Deputy Director Burton Cooper (Dabney Coleman) wants Senior CIA Director Ross’ (Charles Durning) position and stages an illegal drug transportation scheme that implicates the Senior Director as using his position to work outside of expected norms. Director Ross, aware of Cooper’s plotting, stalls a government investigation of the activity by requesting time for a more thorough investigation. He directs a loyal CIA agent, Brown (Edward Herrmann), to randomly pick someone at the airport for CIA agents to track until he can come up with a plan to thwart the negative impact of Deputy Director Burton Cooper’s activities. Agent Brown picks innocent and unaware Richard Drew (Tom Hanks), a concert musician, as the tracking decoy and the story is on as successfully detoured CIA agents try to link Richard Drew’s daily routine with CIA activity.

Additional Thanks

Good Work for Director Stan Dragoti. Thank you to Producer Victor Drai for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: CIA Director Ross (Charles Durning), Morris (Jim Belushi), Maddy (Lori Singer), Paula (Carrie Fisher), Virdon (Irving Metzman), Reese (Tom Noonan), Carson (Gerrit Graham), Stemple (David L. Lander), Hulse (Ritch Brinkley), Edgar (Frank Hamilton), Natalie (Dortha Duckworth), and The Conductor (David Ogden Stiers).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. The film is not the best of films, but it has entertainment value.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers