Film #095 - The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
Andrew “Dice” Clay doesn’t get the respect he desrves. He gets the scorn he deserves, but not the respect. Sure, he chose to play to the cruder aspects of comedy, but you can’t do that as successfully as he did without some ability. Before hitting it big as the “Diceman”, he had already gotten several roles under his belt, including performances on Crime Story and Diff’rent Strokes, of all things. But his big shot came in 1990 when he took the title role in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. The problem is, his timing was off. He was too late to capitalize on his sudden rise to fame, as the film came out just as fatigue was setting in for his schtick. But he was also too early for an entertainment industry that would only get cruder in the decade since his film saw release. The vitriol that followed Clay in those days meant that people avoided this film and, I think, judged it too harshly. Ford Fairlane is a solid production, if a bit wonky in places.
Firstly, there’s Clay, who, quite naturally, has to carry the whole film and handles himself ably. While some of his “Diceman” persona is evident, Ford comes off as intelligent and keen, if jaded by the world of music in which he finds himself working. His attitudes towards the women in his life is certainly not mysoginistic, more cynical and untrusting. The only woman he truly respects is his assistant Jazz (Lauren Holly), frankly the only one who gives him reason to. The rest are either pieces of fluff (Zuzu Petals, played by Maddie Corman) or deviant power mongers (Colleen Sutton, played by Priscilla Presley).
But that’s not really the focus of the film. It’s really about corruption in the music industry, as personified by the slimy mogul Julian Grendel (Wayne Newton). Newton plays sleaze well, no doubt thanks to years of playing Vegas. Robert Englund plays to his strengths as the villainous Smiley and there’s a small role for Gilbert Gottfried as a variation on his usual persona, a shock jock.
There are lots of other great performances as well. Morris Day has a lot of fun as music producer Don Cleveland, Ed O’Neill is amusing as the musically-minded Lt. Amos and Kari Wuhrer shows why she was so popular on MTV as a sorority girl. There’s also an appearance by Vince Neil as Bobby Black, the performer whose death sets off the plot and Shiela E. shows up performing for Grendel.
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane is certainly a comedy, but there’s a pretty good plot in there, as well; a real mystery for Ford to solve. In fact, it is on the level of action/adventure that the film works most reliably, hardly surprising given director Renny Harlin’s pedigree. The comedy is more spotty, with everything from sly humor to over-the-top nonsense. It never loses its track, but could have used some tightening up.
With a film like this, the music is an important element. If it falls flat, the film collapses. Fortunately, the soundtrack is solid, including the performances by Shiela E. and a rousingly fun number by Clay himself and Billy Idol’s well-known hit “Cradle of Love”.
I really like The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. It uses the best aspects of Andrew “Dice” Clay’s persona, while never allowing him to come across unsympathetically. It has an unexpectedly solid plot, plenty of good (and some not so good) jokes throughout and a great score. Really the only thing to drive an audience away is Clay himself. Some people just can’t get over his on-stage antics and give the film a chance. If they did, I think they would not only re-evalute the film, but Clay, as well.