The Pick-up Artist (1987)

Downey's convertible can't start up

 Molly Ringwald just wanted to be an adult in an adult film. I realize folks loved her in "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", and "Pretty in Pink", but Molly, bless her heart, was past 20 and just wanted a role outside of high school. Could you blame her? I still think, though, that there was a hangover...audiences still thought of her as a high schooler. I don't blame her for wanting to just break that cycle. Downey, Jr. was up next in "Less Than Zero", so addiction followed his life for far too long. Despite that, he's incredibly talented. He's quite a ball of energy in The Pick-up Artist (1987). At least his character, despite being a "pursuer of women", seems like an okay guy if that wasn't such a dedicated extra-curricular activity. One scene has Downey picking up one woman, using his persuasive manipulative skills to get a smile, attention, and number, and, not long after, he's already eyeing another across the street with a dog she's walking. So, perhaps in 2020 Downey's "Lothario" might not be recognized as the greatest guy in the world. But Toback's film does gradually reveal (as does Downey, obviously) a heart and yearning for something more than one night stands and meaningless sex. He takes care of his grandmother, coaches kids at his school, and during the film tries to help Ringwald get rid of her dad's debt. Some notable names in small parts like Keitel and Hopper do what they can with very little while Danny Aiello makes chicken salad out of chicken shit as the owner of a deli who wants Downey, a kid he really loves, get the girl of his dreams. I like the New York and Atlantic City location shooting, seeing Downey and Ringwald moving about gives the film a nice authenticity. I like that despite the surprising Hollywood ending, the film for the most part didn't always feel like such a typical romantic comedy. I will say I forgot about Beastie Boys on the soundtrack! I thought Molly in the film glowed and Downey more than looked like he deserved the starring role despite being a supporting actor in productions previously. The running time is kept short (about 83 minutes), and the film does actually end on a rare high note, considering Toback and all directed it. Ten years later, Toback directed Downey again in "Two Girls and a Guy" (1997), which I remember watching on cable back in the late 90s. That film had a lot of "relationship" dialogue to it, primarily set in a loft. In the film, Downey's car is always refusing to start, but despite that he's still undaunted in his drive to win a girl. He preps himself before a mirror. He psyches himself up. He gets pickup lines prepared in his brain. And he goes out there with a ton of confidence, using museum artists as descriptive flattery. Molly, in a fun change of pace, plays along with him, provoking him to want to pursue her specifically. She's sharp, can challenge his gift for gab, and lead him around. She even fucks him, leaving him behind to go to work. He's like a dog after a bone and she makes him follow after. And the film continues as he can't get her off his mind and desperately yearns to be romantically involved with her.

Robert Downey Jr. is a New York City Lothario who becomes smitten with a stunning red head(Molly Ringwald, given a chance to star in an adult drama for a change)throwing his whole swinging lifestyle into a tailspin. In actuality he's a schoolteacher who lives with his grandmother and keeps the phone numbers of girls he hits on while cruising streets in his ailing Camaro Convertible which loves to die on him at the most inopportune times. Ringwald is the daughter of a drunk (Dennis Hopper who remains in an incoherent stooper the entire film) with a huge gambling debt she's trying to somehow repay but his ill-tempered bookie (Harvey Keitel) offers her a chance to eliminate it by pleasing a rich foreigner he wants to keep in his favor. Danny Aiello is a pal of Downey's who likes to give him advice although he often doesn't take it(as you'd expect Aiello owns a diner—stereotyped much?). Keitel is his usual intense, dangerous self, having worked with director Toback previously in FINGERS, constantly pushing Ringwald to basically hooker herself to pay off papa's debt. Downey Jr. shows here that he was a star-in-the-making, even though his character is a bit off-putting the way he follows girls like a mutt in heat. Ringwald, I imagine, was happy to star in a film where she gets to portray an adult, her Randy Jensen trying with every fiber in her being to shake off Downey's Jack Jericho and come up with some sort of solution to her dad's situation. This movie has the tiresome trip to Atlantic City where Ringwald tries to win at Blackjack to secure the money needed while Downey, despite her demands to stay away, follows behind—and yes, there's the giant Roulette wheel spin with Hopper's life hanging in the balance, which I can guess you know the result. Ringwald is adorable as always, if a bit more complicated because she has a lot to deal with and doesn't know what to do about her feelings for Downey. Downey has that effortless charm and charisma which has kept him a movie star for quite some time. - January 2011